From the Chairman:

This Newsletter comes to you with the latest edition of our Journal, now happily settled into its new format. We owe special thanks to Justin Barton, the photographer, for his marvellous cover illustration of Sunset Over The Dome from Trinity House Buoy Lighthouse. The lighthouse is illustrated in the new Buildings of England: London 5 East, itself a landmark in publishing of which there is more in the Journal.

There is also included with this mailing the next programme of events. Our forthcoming programme includes the Banister Fletcher lecture on Lutyens in London on 1^st June and our Annual General Meeting on 29^th June. I hope to see many of you at these two important dates in the Society’s calendar.

Recently I spent a few days in France, just as the Olympic assessors made their visit to Paris. I was struck by how similar the comments about Paris, as reported by the French press, were to those they had made about London, as reported in the British press. One or two issues ago in this Newsletter I asked if members had views about London’s Olympic bid. It met with a nil response, but I can’t believe that no-one is interested. Perhaps, like me, you have ambivalent views. I don’t like the idea that the assessors could prefer another city to London. The London bid has been well put together and presented. London will make a great venue and the people of London will welcome Olympians. But why do the Olympic Games have to be seen as the catalyst for regeneration? If parts of London need investment, and parts certainly do, then it would seem right that they should get that investment, games or no games. And with the Millenium Dome in mind I suppose we all have anxieties about great prestige projects and fear that money directed towards the Olympics may be directed away from other necessary things. An article in the Spring issue of Planning in London suggested that there were projects adding up to more than £100 billion in the pipeline for London, most of them focused on the east of London and the Thames Gateway. To what extent are these dependent on a successful 2012 bid?

Certainly the Royal Institute of British Architects sees London at the cutting edge of current architectural activity. The May issue of the RIBA Journal sets out the shortlisted schemes for RIBA awards. It is a very long shortlist, but about a third of over 150 items on the national list are in London. These include conservation schemes on older historic buildings, such as Chandos House and Danson House or newer ones such as Peter Jones in Sloane Square, as well as brand new buildings, such as the Salvation Army Headquarters Building, on the route from St Paul’s to the Millenium Bridge, and new housing for the Peabody Trust. The RIBA has also issued a Manifesto for London which is intended to raise design issues higher on to the political agenda. The Society’s motto – ‘guard the venerable, strive for the beautiful and take thought for the future’ – means that we take an interest in new development as well as London’s historic buildings. Our visits list is as wide ranging as we can make it: I recently joined members on a visit to Hawksmoor’s Christ Church Spitalfields, the first time I had been there since the triumphant return of the galleries to the interior. If you have ideas about new buildings you would like to visit then please let us know, though our experience is that it is not always as easy to make arrangements for access to these as to those more accustomed to visitors.

One area which continues to concern the Society is Smithfield, reported on in the last issue of our Journal. Since then the Secretary of State has been persuaded that the cold store is of special historic interest and it has been listed. We hope that this will provide an opportunity to review the proposals for the whole area, including the future of other buildings which have not been listed but contribute to the character of one of London’s most distinctive areas.

One thing for which London is internationally known is its squares, both public and private. Since the replanning of Trafalgar Square more and more events take place there – a great improvement on the pigeons. On 11-12 June the next Open Garden Squares Weekend will take place, an opportunity to visit some of those many squares, greener than Trafalgar Square, which remain firmly locked to all but residents for most of the year. Over a hundred little known bits of London will be accessible. The weekend is organised by the London Parks and Gardens Trust and you get more information from their website.

In Bloomsbury a new programme, led by a partnership between the University of London and English Heritage, will bring improvements to Bedford, Woburn and Gordon Squares. While work in the former will be mainly to the hard-landscaping around the enclose the two latter will see works to the gardens and, perhaps most importantly, the opening of the squares to the general public.

There are a number of exhibitions of London interest currently on show. The National Gallery (but only until 5 June) has large canvases in black ink and shellac recently painted by John Virtue, with views from a number of London’s high buildings; his sketches and drawings for these are on display at the Courtauld Institute Gallery at Somerset House. Of more antiquarian interest are the lithographs of London by Thomas Way (1861-1913), Whistler’s associate and assistant. These are on display in the print room at the Guildall Library until September. Four of Way’s illustrated books are in the Society’s library. For those who look to the future there will be an exhibition of schemes, built and unbuilt, for new urban spaces. These will be on show at City Hall from 3^rd to 30^th June. So if you want to see what the architects are lining up for us and take in Norman Foster’s building for Ken Livingstone at the same time, here is your opportunity.

I end this Newsletter with a little more Society business. We thank the family of the late Bob Cumming for generously augmenting the Society’s library with a gift of books. The library is an important resource and is easily accessible at Mortimer Wheeler House. The catalogue is available on the Society’s website so you can browse in advance for what you want; but please telephone to make an arrangement to visit.

With all good wishes,
Frank Kelsall

TheLondonSociety

From the Chairman:

The
London
Society