I have been to London many times on day-trips from Caversfield. I have passed over and under Tower Bridge, and have seen it from the water and the land, but I wanted to go inside the most iconic of all London landmarks, so I came down to the Thames to take a close-up look.
The easiest approach from my train station is Tower Hill Underground Station, outside of which is one of the few remaining bits of the old City of London wall. The next photo illustrates what is so obvious in today's London: the juxtaposition of architectural styles, from ancient to modern.
The approaches to Tower Bridge are next to The Tower of London. The immensity of the size of the Bridge becomes more and more apparent as I walk towards it.
Today, just for fun, I decide to keep my eye on The Gherkin, aka, The Pickle, the dominating office tower in the money district. Here it pokes its head above The Tower of London.
Tower Bridge is a 244-metre (800-foot) bascule and suspension bridge. It is obvious to the eye that the bridge was meant to complement the fortress, and the original designers were guided by this principle.
The bridge was opened 30 June 1894--after eight years of construction--by the Prince of Wales (later Edward III) on behalf of Queen Victoria, and by his wife, Lady Alexandra.
A view of The Tower of London (and The Gherkin) from the north tower of The Tower Bridge.
The walkways are 42 metres above the Thames. They were closed in 1910 because, as one source says, they weren't being used by pedestrians; another says it was because they were frequented by prostitutes and pickpockets. The walkways were re-designed and covered in 1982, and opened to house the Tower Bridge Exhibit.
Cleverly, the designers added little sliding windows one can open to snap photos of the Thames and London.
These space-suited workers have a great job, high above the water. An official bridge photographer accompanied this fellow, filming him as he worked. The four-year facelift of the Bridge started in 2008. Part of the work consisted of sanding down the original beams to bare metal and repainting them blue and white. Apparently, the bridge was originally chocolate coloured.
Opposite was another bridge worker. I hoped I wouldn't distract him so that he might fall! (I assume he was attached to some kind of bungee cord, or, less adventurously, to safety harnesses.) Work on the four suspension chains was completed in 2010, and meant coating them with up to six layers of "paint."
The Bridge was designed by the London City Architect, Horace Jones, but he died before completion, and the task passed to George Stevenson, who replaced the originally planned brick facade with the more ornamental Victorian Gothic style, harmonizing it even more with The Tower of London.
One of the exhibits catches my particular attention, of "incidents" involving the Bridge. One of the earliest was a fly-through in 1912, when Frank McClean flew through in a biplane. I had stayed with members of his family in 2008 in Scotland. Another famous incident was in 1952 when a double-decker bus was on the bridge when the south bascule (or leaf) started to rise to let a boat pass under. The driver made a split-second decision to accelerate and jumped the gap to the lower bascule which hadn't started to move. No one was hurt. Other stunts ended less positively: in 1973 a single-engine Beagle Pup piloted by a young man accused of stockmarket fraud flew under the walkway, then buzzed London buildings; he died when he flew to the Lake District and crashed. In 1968 a disenchanted jet pilot flew his jet--unauthorized--under the walkways: he was court-martialled. In 1999 a City of London Freeman "herded" two sheep across the bridge in protest (claiming an ancient right) about the treatment of older citizens.
A walkway view of The Gherkin and The Tower of London.
Looking towards St. Paul's Cathedral. I found out later that at this very moment--11:00 a.m.--a memorial service was just starting for British Designer Alexander McQueen. Had I stopped there first, maybe I could have seen Kate Moss, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stella McCartney, and Naomi Campbell. Maybe I would have heard Iceland's Bjork sing Gloomy Sunday, wearing angel wings!
Looking down at London City Hall at the More London Development. The naval ship The Belfast is docked on the Thames here as a museum.
Inside the Bridge tower, looking up at models of Victorian construction workers.
Workers access certain sections of the Bridge via circular staircases.
To the left of Tower Bridge on Shad Thames is Butler's Wharf from the 1870s; it was a dock and warehouse complex, which is now an artists' section and full of luxury flats and upscale restaurants. Past the far end is London's Design Museum.
The new blue and white paint "job" is evident in these photos.
Not everyone thought Tower Bridge was an excellent design: H. H. Statham wrote in the early 20th century that "it represents the vice of tawdriness and pretentiousness, and a falsification of the actual facts of the structure." Frank Brangwyn wrote that "a never more absurd structure than the Tower was never thrown across a strategic river."
Although more modern machinery raises and lowers the bascules--about 1,000 times every year--the original steam-powered equipment has become the Engine Room exhibit. There was only one raising of the roadway today, and I was fifteen minutes late to see it.
I watch a couple of older blokes who appear to be gazing lovingly at the steam wheels and pistons. What I don't know about machinery would require many volumes, but I guess the men may have worked with similar machinery and know what they are looking at.
Nevertheless, I must admit I admire the shapes and lines of the machines.
And while there is no indication of what this counter--er, counts--it's an attractive design. I need my art expert pal, Paul, to tell me all about "form following function."
Some of the wheels and gizmos are actually wheeling and gizmoing, but I assume it's just for effect.
Contrary to some opponents, I think it would be difficult to deny the beauty of Tower Bridge, and from its construction until now it has served its purpose well.
I stroll downriver to the London Design Museum, behind Butler's Wharf at first, where I find the Anchor Brewery.
Ale has always been brewed Thames-side, and brewing is mentioned by Geoffrey Chaucer, at Southwark, and by Shakespeare, at Horselydown. There has been a brewery at this site since at least 1797, and in 1798 the Anchor Brewery Book reported that the first 51 barrels of beer had been produced here in Horselydown. This building was built in 1871 as part of the Butler's Wharf complex, and was re-built in 1894-1895. It was restored and listed in 1985-1989.
There is a fair bit of visual clutter here in front of London's Design Museum, what with the carefully positioned anchors, the river cruise boats, The Bridge and The Pickle.
A fascinating sculpture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, KBE, FRA (1924-2005). This work is entitled "Head of Invention."
The text on this end of the sculpture is from Leonardo da Vinci:
"Though human genius in its various inventions with various instruments may answer the same end, it will never find an invention more beautiful or more simple or direct than Nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking and nothing superfluous."
Paolozzi was from Leith in Edinburgh (where we stayed recently). I blogged about his sculpture "A Maximus ad Minima" at Kew Gardens. I have admired his mosaics at Tottenham Underground Station. He also designed the cover of Paul McCartney's WINGS album, Red Rose Speedway.
I did not know what this London Bus outside the Design Museum represented until I read about it in the press the next day. It was being prepared for a presentation later this day, as part of London Design Week.
The artists involved have created UNTOLD III: Pop-Up Boutique.
This memorial is entitled "All the World is Now Richer: The First Man." Created by Sokari Camp, there is a plaque that reads as follows:
"From our rich ancestral life.
We were sold, bought and used:
But we were brave.
We were strong.
We survived. All the world is now richer."
The statue is located in Burgess Park, alongside The River Thames.
The young people may be well-off students, or tourists. It is here that I watch an obviously not well-to-do young man and his partner taking pictures of one another. I approach them and with sign language--they speak no English, I think they are Polish--I ask them if I can take a picture of them together for them. They are humbly thankful and both shake my hand after the fellow takes a photo of me with my camera.
My Thames-side photo by my new Polish "friends."
Next I come upon Hay's Galleria, located at the edge of the section of The Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, called The Pool of London. A plaque tells us that "in the mid-1850s, following the steady rise of the river as the commercial lifeline of the City of London, Sir William Cubitt was commissioned to build a new wharf around an enclosed dock. Ships from all over the world visited the new Hay's Wharf but the most beautiful were the tea clippers from India and China. By the end of the century, over 80% of all perishable goods passed through the area which became known as the 'Larder of London.'"
The focal point of Hay's Galleria is this public sculpture from David Kemp from the Atlantic coast of West Cornwall. He calls it "The Navigators (1989)."
On his website, Kemp writes:
"I make things out of things, big things, little things, old things and new things. I like to recycle things, and find uses for things that have been thrown away. Some things say something about their surroundings , and other things say something else."
His website says he is inspired by the natural landscape, and by the remains of the tin-mining industry carried out there since medieval times. "Living among the ruins, he collects fragments, piecing together curious connections between past and emergent mythologies and technologies." As soon as I saw "The Navigators" I thought immediately of Terry Gillam's 1981 film, Time Bandits.
At Hay's Galleria, noticing a sign claiming that Côte Brasserie was an award-winning eatery, I stop in for an excellent chargrilled butterflied chicken breast with wild mushroom, crème fraîche and thyme sauce, served with gratin potato.
I have this lunch across from The Gherkin, which has been over-shadowing me all morning.
Glide gently, thus forever glide,
O Thames! that other bards may see,
As lovely visions by thy side
And now, fair river! come to me.
Oh glide, fair stream! for ever so;
Thy quiet soul on all bestowing,
'Till all our minds forever flow,
As thy deep waters now are flowing.
(Upon the Thames at Evening, 1790, William Wordsworth)
Further along is Southwark Cathedral, with its interesting stonework. It is the mother church for the Anglican diocese of Southwark, and although it has been a place of worship for 1,000 years, it has only been a cathedral since 1905. The cathedral is in William Shakespeare's "old stomping ground" and he buried his brother Edmund here in 1607. There is a stained-glass window depicting scenes from Shakespeare's plays, and a statue of the Bard, reclining, with a quill.
It was originally the priory of Saint Mary Overie--see next photos--who was made a saint because of her charity. During the Reformation the church was renamed St. Saviour's Church.
Sir Francis Drake's ship was The Golden Hinde. He was knighted on board. In 1580, Queen Elizabeth I decreed that his ship be preserved at Deptford so that the public could visit the ship and celebrate Drake's and England's success. Not surprisingly, the ship had rotted away by the late 1600s. It was reconstructed in 1973 as a Tall Ship and has circumnavigated the globe and has sailed thousands of nautical miles. Today it is berthed permanently as an exhibit at St. Mary Overie Dock.
Drake' ship was named for the heraldic name for a deer--a golden hinde. The legend of St. Mary Overie is based on the existence of a ferry boat that crossed the Thames here before nearby London Bridge was built, in the 10th century. The operator of the ferry, John Overy, decided to fake his own death and save money, since all his servants and family would fast for a day and thus save on provisions. Instead, they celebrated, and this enraged the old man so that he leapt from his death-bed. In panic, one of the servants hit him with an oar and killed him.
"The ferryman's daughter Mary sent for her lover, who in haste to claim the inheritance fell from his horse and broke his neck. Mary was so overcome by these misfortunes that she devoted her inheritance on founding a convent into which she retreated."
Further long are the ruins of Winchester Palace, surprisingly only re-discovered in the 19th century following a fire; it had been converted into tenements and warehouses. The Palace was one of Medieval London's most important buildings, designed as a place of respite for visiting bishops; it was founded in the 12th century by Bishop Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen. This remaining wall was likely the end of the great hall, a room for great feasts and celebrations. It was here, in 1421, that King James 1st of Scotland and his wife, Joan Beaufort, held their wedding feast.
On an adjacent wall is a rendering of old sketches of the rose window. It commemorates the 1980's re-development of the area when the wall was finally revealed.
Part of the 1980s re-development of the area. Next is the Clink Prison Museum and exhibits. Since this area--Southwark--was just outside the City walls, it was notorious as a place for "entertainment" including visits to the Bishop of Winchester's "geese" who worked in the local "stews" (brothels). This was also the location of the theatres--such as The Globe--so hated by the Puritans, and amusements such as bear baiting. The Clink Prison, of course, gave us the command, "Throw her in the Clink!"
The Anchor is an acclaimed and famous pub. One has been sited here for 800 years. Samuel Pepys wrote about the Great Fire of London in his Diary, having watched it from here in September 1666. It was popular not only with sailors from the tea clippers, and warehousemen, but by notables such as Dr. Samuel Johnson (he of the great dictionary) and by the writer James Boswell. It burned in 1750 and 1876. Today it is popular with tourists, office workers and other young professionals.
Another juxtaposition: The replica of Shakespeare's Globe and the tower of The Tate Modern. I have a seat in the upper tier centre for The Merry Wives of Windsor next week.
A wonderful little clump of birches next to The Globe and Tate Modern, at the end of The Millennium Bridge. The Globe performed MACBETH early this year, so these trees are reminiscent of the approach of Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Castle as the forces of Good arrive to destroy the evil tyrant: "Look out, Macbeth! It's the copse!"
From the centre of the Millennium Bridge looking towards The Tower Bridge, from whence I have walked since noon.
Getting ready to follow the northside of the Thames, along Paul's Walk.
This is my favourite of all the London bridges, this one only for pedestrians.
The Thames nocturne of blue and gold
Changed to harmony in grey;
A barge with ochre-coloured hay
Dropt from the wharf: and chill and gold
The yellow fog came creeping down
The bridges, till the houses' walls
some changed to shadows, and St. Paul's
Loomed like a bubble o'er the town.
(Impression du Matin, 1881, Oscar Wilde)
Along Paul's Walk is a plaque marking the site of Baynard's Castle. The first castle, a Norman fortification, built by Ralph Baynard, was put to ruin by King John in 1213. The second was destroyed in The Great Fire in 1666. It was the headquarters of the House of York during the War of the Roses. Both Edward IV and Queen Mary were crowned here. Henry VII reconstructed it as a royal palace and Henry VIII gave it to Catherine of Aragon on the eve of their wedding.
Temple Underground Station is located at Temple Bar, where once stood the Temple gate into the City of London, designed by Christopher Wren. (The gate was removed in 1878, but recovered and re-assembled in Paternoster Square next to St. Paul's in 2004.)
My next stop is Kensington Palace, home of the Royal Family from the 1690s until 1760, when George III moved into Buckingham Palace. In 1911-1912, the new London Museum used the Palace Staterooms as its new location; a few years later, the Museum moved to another location and the Staterooms closed; in World War II they were used as offices for charitable organizations. The Palace was damaged by German bombing, but re-opened in 1949, as the London Museum once again moved in, until 1976. Today, Kensington Palace is undergoing a £12 million renovation.
Kensington Palace has long also been a residence for members of the Royal Family. One of the best-known recent Royal residents was Princess Margaret, who lived here from May 1960 when she married Anthony Armstrong-Jones, through her divorce from Lord Snowdon in 1978 to her death in 2002.
Another was, of course, Lady Diana Spencer, The Princess of Wales, who moved in following her wedding on 29 July 1981 and lived here until her death on 31 August 1997. We often saw photos of her with Charles and her sons--and later alone--at Kensington Palace and shopping nearby on the Kensington High Street. We remember the images from Kensington Place in the days after her tragic death, as mourners left over a million bouquets in front of the Palace gates. On 6 September 1997, her funeral cortege left her Palace for the four-mile procession to Westminster Abbey.
Whilst the two-year restoration of Kensington Palace is underway, much of it is closed to the public, except for The Orangery--housing the restaurant--and a special exhibit using some of the Staterooms. It is this exhibit I want to see.
Uncover the Secrets of Kensington Palace at THE ENCHANTED PALACE.
The premise is clever and the slogan is catchy:
"Kensington Palace is being transformed."
The idea is that as the renovations happen, amidst the dust and rubble, are released the secrets and powerful stories of Kensington's Seven Princesses. Each room has been filled with artist-created installations by designers including Vivienne Westwood, William Tempest, Stephen Jones, Boudicca, Aminaka Wilmont and Echo Morgan. Actors from Cornwall's internationally-acclaimed theatre, WILDWORKS, provide the human element in helping the visitors unravel the clues that allow us to identify the Seven Royal Princesses, by acting as Detectors. WILDWORKS creates unique landscape theatre in challenging places, and the beauty of the Palace Staterooms--minus its furnishings--complements the settings created by the artists/designers.
It is all very magical and even the trees in the gardens have been decorated for the exhibit.
Photography is strictly forbidden, so I have borrowed on-line images, either from WILDWORKS or Getty Images. Above is the Knitted Throne, The Seat of Power, on which the visitor can sit and imagine ruling the kingdom.
The dramatic Room of Royal Sorrows (Amanaka Wilmont) is one of the first in the Quest to name the Princesses. It tells the story of Mary II's (1662-1695) death by smallpox.
The Room of Dancing Princesses.
"One day, like so many girls before her,
she leaves the palace searching for love . . ."
Here we find the tiara Margaret wore at her wedding, and a beautiful gown worn by Diana when she went to dine at Buckingham Palace.
"I think these princesses will dance forever!"
The Room of a Sleeping Princess tells us about Victoria: "It is a room of humour and charm, but also of melancholy and longing. It's about childhood, and duty, freedom, the unfettered potential of dream-time, and escape. Upon becoming Queen, Victoria never returned to this room."
Other rooms were Room of the World, World in a Room (Caroline, 1683-1737), Room of Flight (Charlotte, 1796-1817), Room of the Quarrel (Anne, 1665-1714), The Gallery of War and Play--in which is set up a war game with 10,000 toy soldiers; it is here that King William played here with his nephew William--and the strange Room of Royal Secrets. (It was here that a feral child, Peter--found in Hamelin in 1725--was kept as the King's pet for a while!)
Having passed through all the Rooms, and having achieved the Quest--of discovering the Seven Princesses--the visitor arrives in The Gallery of Dancing Shadows--to see projected portraits of all of the Royal Princesses found in The Enchanted Palace.
It have been a wonderful hour of so of enchantment. One reviewer compared it to Tim Burton's recent Alice in Wonderland film, and it's an apt image.
"One of Lady Diana's dresses is given a white feather halo, glass vitrines display children's shoes and booties and kid gloves and bonnets, and little baby footprints mark a path across the floorboards. A tiara sparkles, a feral child hides among jewels and pelts. A ring, a rat, a rook. All the while, oddly costumed Detectors bustle around the palace, chanting, singing, carrying out their orders. 'The Master of the Great Wardrobe', a chanted voice echoes out, with increasing urgency and desperation. A wolf howls, deep in a mirrored forest." [Spoonfed Web.]
I have a bit of time left before boarding my train, so I walk from the Baker Street Underground Station to nearby Regent's Park again, this time to see the Boating Lake and abundant waterfowl. I am not surprised to see bed after bed of flowers, too.
I enter through the Clarence Gate, next to Clarence Bridge.
The bandstand next to the lake was sadly the site of an IRA bombing in 1992, in which seven soldiers were killed.
Across from the boating lake is the London Central Mosque. Except for the two young ladies running about, and the pedal-boaters, everyone else I see is Muslim. If there is any tension in London about Islam, only once have I seen it, when some young men yelled derogatory comments at a family outside Buckingham Palace.
The birds are uncountable, and unsurprisingly friendly. (Every one of them is looking for a handout!)
A majestic swan bids me farewell and I stroll back to Baker Street and over to Marylebone to meet my train.
Some of the London Underground stations are cleverly decorated. I have passed through Baker Street--usually elbow to elbow with crowds--dozens of times, and hadn't noticed the Sherlock Holmes motif!
I may only have one more day in London, but I am satisfied that I have gotten to know the city quite well without living here, and continue to admire and love England's capital.
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