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Wapping Stairs
Wapping Old Stairs I need to keep reminding myself of the river. Rarely a week goes by without some purpose to go down there but, if no such reason occurs, I often take a walk simply to pay my...
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Gustave Doré’s East End
I have been thinking about Gustave Doré lately, as the freezing miasma of winter descends upon the city and I struggle to negotiate the excited crowds thronging in the busy streets. Gazing upon the...
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At Vout-O-Reenee’s
“It’s a tribute to Sophie!” - John Claridge When Contributing Photographer John Claridge summoned me to the crypt of the Church of the English Martyrs in Prescott St down by the Tower of London, I had...
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George Cruikshank’s Festive Season
As we brace ourselves for the forthcoming festive season, let us contemplate George Cruikshank‘s illustrations of yuletide in London 1838-53 from his Comic Almanack which remind us how much has changed...
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Friederike Huber, Book Designer
Friederike Huber by Patricia Niven You may not be aware that there is a common sensibility which links four out of the five books I published in the past eighteen months. It is that of Designer,...
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New Era Estate Is Saved
After months of uncertainty and in response to widespread public protest, yesterday a deal was done to transfer ownership of the New Era Estate in Hoxton from the disreputable Westbrook Partners,...
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Christmas Baubles
Each year on Christmas Eve, I bring in the tree at dusk, fetch the box of old glass decorations from the roof to hang upon its boughs, and set to work, decorating the tree as darkness falls I do not...
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The Lotteries Of Old London
On Boxing Day, traditionally the occasion for sport and gambling, it is my pleasure to publish this selection of lottery handbills from John Ashton’s ‘History of English Lotteries’ published by the...
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Christmas At The Whitechapel Mission
Before dawn on Christmas Eve, Contributing Photographer Colin O’Brien & I ventured out in a rainstorm to visit our friends down at the Whitechapel Mission – established in 1876, which opens every...
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Objecting To The Goodsyard Proposals
Today I publish the complete text of The East End Preservation Society‘s formal objection letter to the Bishopsgate Goodsyard Proposals as sent to the Planning Officers at Hackney & Tower Hamlets...
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Eleanor Crow’s East End Ironmongers
. Daniel Lewis & Son Ltd, Hackney Rd As you can see, illustrator Eleanor Crow shares my love of ironmongers. “The inventive displays and signage of hardware stores make these my favourite...
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At The Cutting Of The Baddeley Cake
Harry Nicholls cuts the Baddeley Cake with the cast of ‘Babes in the Wood’ in 1908 Contributing Photographer Sarah Ainslie & I made one of our rare trips up to the West End this week to join the...
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Save Spiegelhalters!
One of my favourite buildings in the East End is Wickhams Department Store, wrapped snugly around the former Spiegelhalters’ Jewellers in the Mile End Rd. But now the owners Resolution Property plan to...
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CR Ashbee In The East End
As The East End Preservation Society announces the Inaugural CR Ashbee Memorial Lecture at the Bishopsgate Institute on April 14th, I trace a brief outline of the life and work of a man who deserves to...
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At Rinkoff’s Bakery
Ray Rinkoff braids his Challah “Hold on a few minutes, I’ve got something in the oven!”” exclaimed Ray Rinkoff, when Contributing Photographer Sarah Ainslie & I arrived at his family-run bakery in...
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Paul Sandby’s Cries Of London, 1760
Frontispiece to Paul Sandby’s ‘Cries Of London Done From The Life’ Observe this young woman displaying her raree box containing the views of Paul Sandby’s ‘Cries of London Done From Life’ while, in...
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Nicholas Borden’s New Paintings
Petticoat Lane Nicholas Borden is the hardiest artist I know. When I met him in January two years ago, he was standing at a easel on Valance Rd in a blizzard. One afternoon last December, I came upon...
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George Cruikshank’s Sunday In London
George Cruikshank published these engravings in 1833 as a protest against a Sabbatarian bill ”in order to promote the better observance of the Lord’s day” which called for restrictions upon secular...
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At The Model Engineering Exhibition
Over the weekend, I braved the frozen wastes of North London to visit Alexandra Palace for the London Model Engineering Exhibition at which myriad wonders of handmade technology were to be admired. It...
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More Of Paul Sandby’s Cries Of London
“Turn your copper into silver before your eyes” Last week, I published Paul Sandby’s twelve plates of Cries of London, 1760 and today I present a gallery of his sketches held by the Yale Centre for...
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