William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow
William Morris (1834 to 1896) ⇒ was a writer, illustrator, textile/wallpaper designer, a social activist and founder of the Kelmscott Press. He had a considerable influence upon design during and after the Victorian period and was a close associate of Rossetti, Webb, Ruskin and Burne-Jones.
The gallery is free to enter and contains additional works by Burne-Jones. It is not a huge collection but there is a lot of educational material and some artifacts with a real wow factor. In addition the gallery provides an online collection, exhibitions (Mary Morris from October 2017 to January 2018), workshops and masterclasses. Please see the gallery website ⇒ . The easiest way to get to the gallery is at the bottom of this page.
More of William Morris can be found at the Red House ⇐ in Bexleheath (south-east of London) where he founded the decorative arts company, Morris, Marshal & Faulkner & Co which included wives and other family members.
The above wallpaper was for Queen Victoria and required 66 separate woodcuts (that’s how it was done) for each section.
The stained glass is by Edward Burne-Jones
For a closer look please right-click on the image, select “open in a new tab” and then left click in the tab/image to enlarge.
Ruskin advised aspiring artists to copy a work by Albert Dürer “until you can’t look at anything else”. William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones spent hours with the above Knight, Death and the Devil.
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Bust of William Morris
The easiest way to get to the gallery is by traveling to Tottenham Hale Rail Station (or Blackhorse Road Staion) and then take the number 123 bus which stops right outside the gallery pictured below.
Behind the gallery is the gallery garden and further on is the very pretty Lloyd Park ⇐. Together with the free gallery it makes a very pleasant day out. 🙂
Crossness Pumping Station
18 pics. The Crossness Pumping Station ⇒ , just east of London, together with 82 miles of brick intercepting sewers, 450 miles of main sewers and 13,000 miles of local sewers were connected and officially opened in 1865. Visiting ⇒ sometimes steaming but not always open so please check the link.
This was to solve :-
The Great Stink
At that time they believed that a miasma (odour) was the cause of diseases, such as cholera which killed thousands. Indeed a city could not grow or prosper without solving the problem. The solution, of a well designed sewage system, was a major part of resolving the actual cause of such diseases, infected water.
Another important contribution was a clean water supply system. An example of this and the great engines can be found at the London Water and Steam Museum ⇐.
The London sewage system was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette who also designed many other Victorian London buildings and mustaches. 🙂
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The pumping station continued in use until the 1950’s, abandoned until 2003 when one of the four engines and most of the ornate ironwork were restored.
Visitors get hard hats.
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Each engine was of the triple expansion type where; a high pressure steam cylinder (the lower here) received high pressure steam (lots of pounds per square inch) over a small number of square inches, an intermediate pressure cylinder received lower pressure exhaust from the high pressure cylinder over more square inches and the intermediate cylinder exhaust was passed to the largest low pressure cylinder. An efficient way to use all of the pressure provided by a boiler.
The high pressure cylinder in the basement.
The intermediate and low pressure cylinders on the ground floor.
A chap with a proper hat is always reassuring. 🙂
One of the main beams (the refurbished one) on the first floor.
And, from underneath. The shaft on the left operates one of the pumps and the one on the right leads to :-
.. the crank and wheel which simply maintain a steady impetus.
The governor (or regulator) is attached to the engine so that it spins. The faster it spins the more the weights are forced outward by centrifugal force. As the weights are forced outward they depress the central plunger which reduces the flow of steam and slows the engine achieving a regulated speed.
And, outside on a wet day..
I hope you enjoyed your visit.
Tower Bridge
North Approach to Tower Bridge
London’s Tower Bridge ⇒ was built and ready for use by 1894. The centre section still opens to allow tall vessels to pass. The bridge lift schedule ⇒.
A little history:-
1912 – during an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly between the bascules (lifting sections) and the high-level walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident.
1952 – a London bus driven by Albert Gunter had to leap from one bascule to the other when the bridge began to rise with the number 78 bus still on it. – Harry Potter would have been proud.
The bridge is next to The Tower of London ⇐ and both are very close to Tower Hill Underground rail station.
Entrance to the bridge interior is from the either the north or south tower. Entrance from the north tower is easier because it means that one goes down the only section of stairs. I do prefer stairs that go downward. 🙂
Do keep your ticket for later entrance to the old engine rooms.
At the base of the north tower there is a lift which leads to a small exhibition/film area.
Then to the two walkways. Each walkway has a section of glass floor..
One small step for man.
One giant leap ~ these boots need a clean.
Younger feet seemed to have less apprehension doing this. Perhaps because when I was young glass was more fragile.
View to the East and Canary Wharf
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View to the West including HMS Belfast ⇒
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At the top of the South Tower and then down the stairs to the next lift.
Then out of the South Tower.
. . and follow the blue line on the pavement to the old engine rooms.
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Coal fired steam was used to drive an hydraulic pressure pump.
Accumulators
Pressure in the system was accumulated under weights.
These are the engines which pumped water under the accumulators.
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When there was sufficient accumulated water pressure it was used to power the bascules (central raising section) drive engines. Since 1974 an electrical driven hydraulic system has been used. Tours ⇒ of the less accessible interior are available.
Now on the South Bank there is access to HMS Belfast, a number of eateries and the extensive South Bank attractions ⇐ .
Freed From Time 
Wheels on Fire
We have come a long way since the horrors of starvation, disease and widespread homelessness of the past, even though we have some way to go and further still in some parts of the world. It is not very long since these scenes were quite common, even the heart of one of the most prosperous empires in the world. Albeit, part of the solution has left us with another problem to solve. Here is some of the past that made the present.
Viewers can click on any picture to expand and again to magnify. These pictures are from a temporary exhibition at the Geffrye Museum
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The solution was in part due to the great philanthropists who sought social justice as much as charitable actions. Amongst them, those proposed for the Beacon Awards, Angela Burdett-Couts, David Lloyd George, the Salvation Army (150 years and going strong) and many others.
Amongst the work-houses were the Alms Houses, usually provided for those from specific trades or professions who had fallen upon hard times (pictures from a small exhibit/tour at the Geffrye Museum). Alms houses still exist, please click here for more.
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Then there were those who courageously fought for common rights.
The formation of workers unions and the fellowship of humanity.
Even Winston Churchill, who started as a Liberal and became a Conservative, said “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries”.
Even surrounded by the pursuits of greed, the slow advance of true humanity has been indomitable. Showing itself as inherent throughout time, it cannot decline, it keeps on being born.
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Amongst these pursuits has been the advantages of coal, steam and steel. An industrial revolution and an extent of hard toil that gave us all the modern advantages, which we largely take for granted.
Our societies have been the foremost in receiving the advantages of the industrial revolution and therefore the foremost in creating the resulting problems of climate damage. It is those who have yet to follow this route who will suffer the most damage before they receive any major benefit. It is up to us, who have the benefits, to be the foremost in resolving the matter. Those who may wish to know more about how, could click here ⇐, and maybe one day ~
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And, thank you for visiting Freed From Time.
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July 19, 2015 | Categories: Climate Change, East London, History, uk | Tags: alms house, Climate Change, geffrye museum, homeless, philanthropists, poverty, salvation army, social comment, social justice, victorian, work house | 6 Comments