Clik here to view.
Spitalfields Parties of Yesteryear
The van drivers of the Spitalfields Market certainly knew how to throw a party, as illustrated by this magnificent collection of photographs in the possession of George Bardwell who worked in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fritz Wegner’s Christmas Plates
A few years ago, I came across this set of small souvenir Christmas plates Fritz Wegner designed for Fleetwood of Wyoming between 1980 and 1983 in limited editions, which I acquired for almost nothing....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scenes From Dennis Severs’ House
. Over the past year, it has been my delight to work for the Spitalfields Trust at Dennis Severs’ House, devising the new Dennis Severs’ Tour and rehearsing the actors, Joel Saxon and Lisa D’Agostino...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Christmas Glass Baubles
If any of my readers would care to join me for a socially-distanced guided walk through the history of Spitalfields on New Year’s Day at noon please drop a line to spitalfieldslife@gmail.com I do not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Panto Years
. Longer ago than I care to admit, fortune led me to an old theatre in the Highlands of Scotland. Only now am I able to reveal some of my experiences there and you will appreciate that discretion...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A New Sculpture For Frank Dobson Sq
Please support our JANUARY BOOK SALE. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves by buying copies at half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Margaret Rope’s East End Saints
Please support our JANUARY BOOK SALE. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves by buying copies at half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chaplin In Spitalfields
Please support our JANUARY BOOK SALE. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves by buying copies at half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Billy & Charley’s Shadwell Shams
Please support our JANUARY BOOK SALE. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves by buying copies at half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Peta Bridle’s East End Sketchbook
Please support our JANUARY BOOK SALE. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves by buying copies at half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A New Future For The Custom House
Please support our JANUARY BOOK SALE. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves by buying copies at half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More Furniture Trade Cards Of Old London
Last chance to support our JANUARY BOOK SALE which ends on Sunday. We only have nine titles left in the warehouse and some are on the brink of going out of print, so you can assist us clear the shelves...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Metropolitan Machinists’ Company
Since the first lockdown I have eschewed public transport and become a committed cyclist, so I was delighted to discover this 1896 catalogue for The Metropolitan Machinists’ Co, yet another of the lost...
View ArticleClik here to view.
At Nichols Bros, Woodturners
Geoff Nichols standing at his father Stanley’s lathe ‘We are the last proper woodturners in London,’ boasts Geoff Nichols of Nichols Bros (Woodturners) Ltd in Walthamstow. It sounds like quite a bold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ann Sotheran’s West End Champions
The Champion Perhaps more than anywhere else in London, Oxford St is where the grief of the world can descend upon me without warning – especially when I make the foolish mistake of going to the West...
View ArticleClik here to view.
At Dirty Dick’s
These are the dead cats that once hung behind the counter of the celebrated “Dustbin Bar” at Dirty Dick’s Old Port Wine & Spirit House in Bishopsgate. It is a location that holds a special place...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Romance Of Old Bishopsgate
Thomas Hugo, the nineteenth century historian of Bishopsgate, wrote a history of this thoroughfare prefaced with a quote from his predecessor, John Strype in 1754 –“The fire of London not coming unto...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Save The George Tavern
For twenty years now, Pauline Forster has worked to restore the magnificent George Tavern in Commercial Rd and fought tenaciously to protect it from developers. Now it is under threat again. Click here...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The East London Group & Photography
With the retrospective at the Beecroft Gallery in Southend until 3rd April, David Buckman – whose book From Bow to Biennale recovered the lost history of The East London Group – considers the use of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From Limehouse To Shoreditch
I took advantage of yesterday’s January sunshine to enjoy a ramble along the Regent’s Canal with my camera, tracing its arc which bounds the northern extent of the East End. At first, there was just...
View Article