Saturday was a glorious day — warm, sunny and blue skies all day. Armed with my camera and index cards, I was out the door a little past 10 a.m. to walk one street over for the first destination. The house at 1 Hugo Road is a Victorian terrace house, originally a two up two down, very similar to the one in which I'm staying, that was renovated throughout in 2017 with a fantastic kitchen extension into the back garden. There was already a queue outside when I arrived. Once inside, we were given access to the garden level and the first floor. They've really done a great job with the small footprint. I could live there happily. In my dreams.
Next destination was five minutes away — the Acland Burghley School, a brutalist Grade II listed building. I got there just after a tour group had set off through the building and another group was waiting in the auditorium for the next tour in 45 minutes. So I pushed on.
I was headed to the farmers' market on Parliament Hill to pick up fruit, veg and bread. From the school, I zigged and zagged west and north, cutting through a housing estate until, to my delight, I popped out into Little Green Street, a place I knew. Roger and I visited several of the Georgian terrace cottages here during Open House several years. At that time, the street was under threat of nearby construction and the residents were keen to draw attention to this unique little street. It's been saved and is no longer an Open House venue, but it was so nice to see a familiar place.
While around Granary Square, I also did the tour of the Coal Office (it had small trees growing out of the roof last time I saw it; now it's cleaned up and occupied by designer types). Next up was the nearby Victorian Waterpoint. Getting there was a bit tricky as I had to wait for two canal boats to go through the lock and then walk the narrow plank on top of the lock arms to the other side of the canal. Well worth the trouble and the somewhat-scary stairs to the top, where the views on this glorious day were grand.
Opting not to double back to either of the places with the tours I had missed, I forget ahead to 2 Temple Place, a destination always described in superlatives but one that I'd never been able to see. It took no time to get to Holborn on the tube and to walk to the Strand and then into Temple Place. Imagine my surprise to see no queue, just a regular flow of people in and out the door. Let's just say it's pretty opulent and worth seeing.
When I finished poking around there, I went over to Embankment Gardens for a sit down and a consultation of my Open House app, which informed me that the faux "Roman" bath/cistern two streets over was open for viewing. The bath is 17th century, not Roman, and David Copperfield bathed there, as did Charles Dickens himself, when working nearby in a blacking factory. It's another place that's been on my to-see list for yonks but I've never timed it right until now.
Hard to believe that I still possessed any energy, but I was on a roll and hustled back to King's Cross for one more venue — Impact Hub King's Cross. Located in an old lead factory (Grade II listed), this collaborative workspace is the second of its kind and now one of over 100 collaborative spaces worldwide. There's a caff/performance space, meeting rooms, flexible office space, etc., for use on a short- or long-term basis. I rolled up for the last tour. What a day!
Dinner at my gaff, wine, sleep (many hours in a comfy bed), shower (hot and strong), and out the door a bit after 9 a.m. on Sunday morning for more of Open House. My first destination was the Golden Lane Estate (Grade I and II* listed) in the City of London near the Barbican. This was some of the first post-war housing built on a heavily bombed, former warehouse area in order to provide much-needed housing to people employed in the City. I had pre-booked for 11 a.m. entry to the roof top of Great Arthur House on the estate. As I was early for that and the first tour of the estate wasn't to be until 11:30, I signed in at Golden Lane and tried to find my way through the Bloody Barbican to see St Giles Cripplegate first. The BB confounds me. I can't figure out how to get in, and then once I'm in, I can't find my way out. I walked all around the perimeter till I found a way to the church from London Wall and Wood Street, only to find a service in session. I was waved off by an old lady, so beat a hasty retreat and groped my way out to Beech Street and back to the Golden Lane Estate. Reaching there just in time, our group went up to the roof terrace where Jen was stewarding. The threatened rain had held off, I brushed off my trepidation about heights, and the views were as great as advertised.
Needing sustenance and a sit down, I nipped into a Tesco Metro for a deal meal (egg and cress on brown bread and a bottle of water) and into the churchyard of St Bartholomew the Great (you've seen it in Four Weddings and a Funeral) to sit on a bench and eat. As I sat there, the sound of hymns being sung and the smell of incense wafted out of the open door of the church.
Skies were looking threatening and I forged on to Smithfield where I hoped for a tour of the new Museum of London space in the old General Market. Yes, this was another tour I missed, as they had already filled up. (Wait, was there something on the web about timed entry? I think not.) A nice member of staff did walk me to an entry where I could look into the space and see all the people on the tour with their hardhats. Oh, well. It opens in a few year's time and I'll see it then.
My next destinations were to be in the East End and I was so happy to find that the best bus for me to take stopped right in back of Postman's Park. I got there as the 100 bus was stopped, waiting for a delay somewhere else on the route to clear, giving me just enough time to nip into Postman's Park, a place I "discovered" on my first trip to London in 1998. Twenty years on, it's still a favourite place.
From St Botolph without Aldersgate (where Postman's Park is located) to St Botolph without Aldgate to make my way through Petticoat Market to Toynbee Hall and Toynbee Studios where I had timed it just right to do both tours. Whew! These were the highpoint of my 2019 Open House and ticked all the boxes for me: interesting architecture with a mix of old and new, social justice mission and history, community programming, education, arts, nice caff, good toilets. Stellar!
Too late to make it to the Sandy's Row Synagogue, I went to 1 Bishops Square (Foster and Partners, ho hum) for my last stop. It's a nice modern office building, without many wows. Good for those who like that sort of thing. And the skies were cloudy and drizzling when I got to the roof terrace.
In for the evening now. Tomorrow is another full day.
Stats for Saturday:
£12 or 13 at the Parliament Hill Farmers' Market
22,355 steps
9.44 miles
Stats for Sunday:
£35.10 for one-week travel card
£1.75 for lunch
£6.55 more groceries at Sainsbury's
22,512 steps
9.33 miles
Wow, if the Toynbee duo was better than 2 Temple....! Had to look up “brutalist” architecture. Ah!: the UMass Fine Arts Center, which always made me think of Yeats’ “some rough beast / slouching toward Bethlehem to be born.” Full days!
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