#lundene

[londiniumlundene]

Hello, it's been a while. I planned to take a short break, and I guess that turned into a couple of years away.

I got a notification yesterday that this blog turned 8 years old. Coincidentally, I had logged in for the first time in a while the day before. I'm pleased to see some of my posts are still getting reblogged!

In a further coincidence, yesterday, I had a day exploring some places in London I hadn't been to before - I saw the statue of Sekhmet outside Sotherby's, visited Handel Hendrix House, and finally ticked of Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station stations.

I'm not sure I'll ever be back to posting as frequently as I used to, but maybe something will appear every so often. It's nice to be back, even if just occasionally. I've missed this.

Anyway, here is Sotherby's Sekhmet:

[synintheraven]

Few more sketches from season 2 of The Last Kingdom I did 👉👈

[londiniumlundene]

Bank of England Museum

As museums go, the Bank of England’s is a bit of an odd one. To get in, the visitor goes through a bag scanner (one would have thought there would be a similar procedure on exiting but apparently not), and is then told to “keep left” to go through the exhibits. The idea is that this will take you on a journey through the Bank’s history from founding to the modern day, but in practice everything winds up as a bit of a jumble and rather repetitive, as if each room is trying to tell the same story from a different perspective.

You’ll learn about the construction of the building (three times), how the idea of a national bank was arrived at (three times), how banknotes were invented (three times), how interest rates are set (at least twice), and the security features of polymer notes (3 times). And still not remember much of it when you leave…

Kudos though to the museum for trying to make banking seem interesting to younger visitors. This includes a vague ship-like construct (demonstrating how setting interest rates is like sailing) with interactive activities such safe-cracking, a game about keeping interest level, and banknote puzzles. There’s also an opportunity to hold an actual 13 kg gold bar (secured in a special box with several CCTV cameras trained on it) and then have gold explained to you by an animated gold brick voiced by Stephen Fry, who tries his best with the many groan-inducing one-liners.

[londiniumlundene]

An Unknown Girl’s Grave

In 1995, builders were clearing the site for the construction of 30 St Mary Axe – these days better known as the Gherkin. An archaeological investigation unearthed the grave of a teenage girl, estimated to be between 13 and 17 years old. Carbon dating and pottery finds dated her death to between 350 and 400 C.E.. Whether she was Roman, Briton, or from elsewhere in the Empire is unknown.

Whilst construction of the skyscraper continued, the girl’s remains were removed to the Museum of London. When the Gherkin was finished in 2004, the developers requested that the girl be reburied at the site. In 2007, she was given a service at a nearby church, followed by a procession accompanied by an approximation of Roman music, and laid to rest (again).

Her new grave can be seen (somewhat appropriately) on Bury Street; the marble benches that are often occupied by bankers on lunch (or at after-work drinks) bear a small memorial. The inscription reads, in both English and Latin: “To the spirits of the dead, the unknown young girl from Roman London lies buried here.”

[londiniumlundene]

Gresham’s Grasshoppers

Sir Thomas Gresham’s will provided for the founding of Gresham College – the location of free public lectures (and which has previously featured on this blog). Gresham made the money that facilitated this through his career as a merchant and financier, serving Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. However, it was perhaps a clever bit of investing that gave him his biggest income, which was his proposal to build the Royal Exchange at his own expense, in return for a share of the profits from the rental incomes of the shops that would be situated there.

Gresham’s original Royal Exchange opened in 1571, but was then burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666; its successor fared just as well, burning down in 1838. One feature survived both blazes: the weathervane of a golden grasshopper – Gresham’s crest. Another golden grasshopper can be seen a short walk away in Lombard Street, the site of Gresham’s former headquarters.

Why was the grasshopper Gresham’s symbol? A story was told that his ancestor, Roger de Gresham, was abandoned in a field of tall grass as a baby. The noise of a grasshopper attracted a woman to the spot, and she rescued the child. The more likely explanation, however, is that the grasshopper is simply a play on the similarity between the sounds of “grass” and “gres”.

[londiniumlundene]

British Optical Association Museum

The British Optical Association (BOA) was founded in 1895 to be the first ever professional body for ophthalmic opticians (also known as optometrists). In 1901, the BOA started its museum collection as a means of recording the development of corrective eyewear. The earliest collection was comprised of mostly spectacles and visual aids, but soon expanded to include ophthalmic instrumentation and artworks related to ophthalmic practices.

The museum found its first residence in Cliffords Inn Hall in 1914. Initially only open to members of the BOA, the first members of the public admitted in 1915 – though with the outbreak of the First World War the BOA gave over some of its space to the war effort, and the museum was not fully open until 1926. In 1934 the BOA moved to Brook Street where it remained until 1979, moving again to Knaresborough Place.

In 1980 the BOA merged with rival bodies the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers and the Scottish Association of Opticians to form the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians, today known as the College of Optometrists. The College and museum moved once more in 1997, to its current home in Craven Street. Keeping the BOA brand, the museum continues to collect almost anything to do with the eye.

Visitors receive a short tour from the curator, who will point out highlights of the collection, including Dr Johnson’s spectacles, an eye of Horus, NHS eyewear, saints holding eyeballs, celebrity contact lenses, eye-washing cups, the late Queen Mother’s collection of glasses, and anti-henpecking shades for chickens. Visitors will also learn why the optometrists’ symbol is a turtle, and about the ghosts that are said to haunt the museum.

[londiniumlundene]

Sewer Gas Destructor Lamp

Joseph Edmund Webb patented a design for a sewer gas destructor lamp in 1895. Such lamps served the purpose of burning off gases (such as methane) from sewers, removing their odours and potential explosive hazards, with a further benefit of providing light to the surrounding area.

Webb sold many of his lamps worldwide (notably to Sheffield), though the success of his design was limited, as the lamps were not as efficient at removing the odours as hoped. The last remaining sewer gas destructor lamp of London stands in Carting Lane, an alleyway to one side of the Savoy Hotel. In the 1950s, a lorry backed into the lamp, leading to it being restored by Thames Gas; it is now looked after by Westminster Council. It still burns biogas both day and night.

[londiniumlundene]

Londinium Lundene is leaving London?!?

I apologise for this abrupt announcement. After nearly five years of living in London, and four-and-a-half of sharing my experiences via this blog, in a few short days I will no longer be a Londoner. This has been planned for a few months now, but only now as I write this surrounded by moving boxes (so many boxes!) does it seem real.

I am not yet leaving for good though. Whilst I am moving out of the capital to a smaller commuter town somewhere in the wilds of the home counties, I am keeping my London job, so I will be in the city for a few days every week. I’ll also only really be a short train journey away, so I will probably spend a weekend or so every month back here to see things or meet up with friends.

My posts will probably be a little less frequent: even less so than they have been for the last few months, and certainly whilst I get settled in to the new home I will be taking a break from writing and posting.

I’m not entirely sure what direction the blog will take once I resume; Lost London and London Through a Looking Glass are interesting but take a lot of research, so I may only do those once in a while. My list of places to visit is still at least two pages long, but I will need to review this once all restrictions are lifted, as I sadly suspect that some may not reopen. My river walks have proved popular, and I’d like to continue with these, focussing more on those north of the Thames now I have almost done most of the south London rivers (I recently walked the Peck, so that will appear at some point in the near future).

There will always be more London to write about and take photos of - for example, the photos in this post are from outings I haven’t featured here for various reasons.

Thank you for your continuing followings, likes, reblogs, and all the rest. I’ll be back soon!