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Eltham Palace: Discovering South London’s Gorgeous Art Deco Secret

Things to do / By Julianna Barnaby / 4th September 2020 3rd September 2020 / Eltham, greenwich

Eltham Palace

If the word palace conjures images of fogeyish rooms in old buildings, filled with overly elaborate gilt objects and gaudy …

Eltham Palace: Discovering South London’s Gorgeous Art Deco Secret Read More »

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London's full of castles but have you heard of Sev

London's full of castles but have you heard of Severndroog Castle? ⁠⠀
First things first - you have to chug your way to the top of Shooters Hill to visit this eccentric spot. ⁠⠀
As you make your way along the quiet path, there’s little to pre-empt the appearance of London’s strangest fortress. Suddenly, there it is - triangular-shaped and turretted, poking out above the canopy of the surrounding Oxlea Woods. ⁠⠀
Severndroog may be a castle by name, but it’s actually a folly by nature - one of those weird mock castles that actually served no real purpose. ⁠⠀
What’s the story there then? The castle was built as a memorial to naval commander Sir William James by his wife Lady James of Eltham in the 18th century. ⁠⠀
After a swashbuckling naval career, Sir William retired to London and died (incidentally, at his daughter’s wedding - how awkward) a rich man. ⁠⠀
His wife, unsure of how to memorialise her late husband, naturally struck on the idea of building a mock fortress to house his belongings and so Severndroog came into being. ⁠⠀
#londonxlondon⁠⠀
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#severndroogcastle #eltham #prettylittlelondon #londonluxury #londonview #londondisclosure #bestlondonphotos #igerlondon #londonlovers #londonadventures #londoners #londonuk #londonlover #londondays #photosoflondon #igotlondonskills #londonlive #londonpop #lovelondon #london4all #igerslondon #londondecanted⁠⠀

Enter the kaleidoscope 😍⁠ @camillewalala tota

Pretty as the Thames Barrier is, it's actually pra

Pretty as the Thames Barrier is, it's actually practical AF. ⁠
Its purpose? To protect London from high tides and surge waters that could flood the city. ⁠
Sceptical about whether that would really happen? Well, it did. In the 1928 Thames flood saw much of central London flood - waters flowed over The Embankment, part of Chelsea Embankment collapsed and 14 people died. ⁠
Still, it was only when the North Sea Flood of 1953 wreaked havoc on many parts of the UK, Netherlands and Belgium that real agitation began for a protective defence system. ⁠
In London, that protective defence was, you guessed it, The Thames Barrier. ⁠
It finally started operating in 1982 so that basic-ass peeps like me could drag ourselves out of bed at sunrise and photograph it decades later. ⁠
#londonxlondon

Talk London to me 🇬🇧⁠ Love walking around

Talk London to me 🇬🇧⁠
Love walking around the old streets of Clerkenwell. I think it's one of Central London's unsung heroes, don't you? ⁠
#londonxlondon⁠

Did you know about London's 1920s Egyptian craze?

Did you know about London's 1920s Egyptian craze? ⁠⠀
You may not know it, but London in the 1920s gave birth to the brilliant weirdness that is Egyptian Revival Architecture. ⁠⠀
The world had gone gaga over the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and this obsession manifested itself in some rather quirky and wonderful buildings. Think of it as Art Deco meets Ancient Egyptian. ⁠⠀
Few of these buildings remain, but luckily the most impressive example - Carreras Cigarette Factory - can still be found on a busy road in... Mornington Crescent of all places. ⁠⠀
Carreras Cigarette Factory really took the Egyptian theme to the max - with onyx cats and elegant pillars very much at odds with the Georgian architecture surrounding it. ⁠⠀
Like many London buildings, the tale of Carreras is no simple one. Fierce criticism led to it being largely homogenised in the sixties when it was being turned into office space - the pillars were squared up and the striking decorations were removed 😏. ⁠⠀
Decades later, it was then partially restored in 1998 - 1999, though many of the details you see today (including those iconic cats) are replicas rather than the originals. ⁠⠀
#londonxlondon⁠⠀
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#hiddenlondon #londonview #londonhiddengems #hiddengemsoflondon #cityofculture #londonlandscape #londoners #igerlondon #lovelondonlife #secretlondon #londongems #london #londonview #igerlondon #theuk #bestlondonphotos #explorelondon #unitedkingdom #greatbritain #londonphotos #unitedkindom #londonpics #londondisclosure #londonbloggers #centrallondon⁠⠀
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