LONDON

Vauxhall is a district of south-west London on the right bank of the River Thames. It is said that a Russian word вокзал (pronounced 'voksal', and meaning meaning 'railway station' ) is derived from the place name Vauxhall. For two centuries, from the mid-17th to the mid-19th, Londoners enjoyed themselves in the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall. Today, a monument stands to commemorate its existence(see image below).

I am very grateful to my good friend Sue D for introducing us to to fairly unknown modern pleasure gardens in Vauxhall: The Bonnington Square Gardens and the Harleyford Road Community Garden. Bot of these are close to the site of the original Vauxhall Pleasure Garden, with which the diarist Samuel Pepys was familiar.

Bonnington Square was built in the 1870s to house railway workers. During the 1980s when it had become disused and deserted, its buildings were occupied illegally by squatters. They successfully negotiated with the rlevant local authorities to prevent the square from being demolished, and to use it again as a residential district.

There was a bombsite left over from WW2 in the heart of Bonnington Square. By the end of the 1980s, there was a risk that developers would build on this vacant plot. Dan Pearson, a resident in the square, writing in the Guardian newspaper dated 8th of June 2008, informs us:
"Fast as lightning, Evan English, one of my neighbours, proposed that the site should be turned into a community garden. With a core group of residents behind him, he struck lucky with a local councillor who had one of the last GLC grants to give out to such a project. So, with just over £20,000 in our pockets and a team of council-appointed landscape architects, we put in the bones of the new garden."

In a short time, a wonderful garden began growing where redevelopment had been threatened. This lush garden is an oasis of greenery overlooked by distant high-rise buildings.

At one end of the gardens, you can see Vine Lodge An official report recorded the following information about this distinctive building:

[from: www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/CA32VauxhallExtensionReport1984.pdf]

At the far end of the rectangular garden from Vine Lodge, there is a relic of the industrial activity that used to exist in this district. It is a huge metal wheel with cups around its circumference. Dating from the 1860s, thsi wheel was rescued from a nearby marblecutting works, which was being demolished whilst the gardens were being constructed.

Bonnington Square Gardens Industral archaeology

Bonnington Square Gardens with the wheel on the left side of the image

A notice by the entrance to the gardens provides a useful history of the place. Near to the entrance,

There are a couple of eateries: the ITALO - a café-cum-delicatessen & the BONNINGTON CAFE, which is not a cafë but a purely vegetarian restaurant. The latter has been a feature of the square since the squatters moved in long ago.

At one end of the square an archway in the corner leads through the houses at that end of the square to:

This delightful garden area is bang next to the busy Harleyford Road that connects Vauxhall Station to the Oval Cricket Ground. This garden pre-dates the Bonnington Square Garden. It was begun in the 1980s, and is gardened by local rsident volunteers.

A narrow path with occasional inlaid mosaic tiling wends throuh the gardens.

Walk slowly through this lovely place so as not to miss little details that have been added to this creation.

I hope that this short blog will encourage more of you to leave the 'beaten track' to discover London's hidden gems.

Harleyford Road Community Gardens: a mosaic

Harleyford Road Community Gardens: exit to Bonnington Square

Abutting Hyde Park to the east, Kensington Gardens extends westward to notting Hill Gate and Kensington Palace. Once the home of the Museum of London back in the 1960s, the palace has been home to royalty for many centuries.

The Palace was the birthplace of Queen Victoria. A staue of her as a young woman stands in front of the Palace (see above illustration). This statue was sculpted by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise (1848-1939). Louise lived and died in Kensington Palace.

Here are a few more pictures of Louise's depiction of her mother:

Not too far away from the young Queen Victoria sculture, you will come across the Diana Playground, constructed in memory of another of Kensington Place's inhabitants, the late Princess Diana.

Near to the entrance of the Diana Playground, there is what looks like an old fashiond zoo animal cage. It contains something that attracts many people to go up close to it to examine it.

The cage contains a dead tree, the stump of an (apparently) 900 year old oak tree. But, why is it in a cage?

Go close to it, and you will see something that is both kitch and enchanting. The folds, nooks, and crannies of the tree are filled with tiny carved figures. These figures depict insects, birds, animals, and people.

The figures were carved from 1911 onwards by the illustrator Ivor Innes.

In recent years, the commedian Spike Milligan financed the restoration of this curious attraction.

Kensington Gardens is filled with artworks by various sculptors including Henry Moore and George Frederic Watts (see illustration below).

Since time immemorial, a good view of London could be obtained by climbing up to the top of what is now known as Parliament Hill. Of course, many centuries ago there would have been little or nothing of what is now called London to be seen. As the city developed, various constructions have gone up, whose summits provide good vistas of London from above.

In 1671, the Monument to the Fire of London was constructed. For a small fee (now it is not so small!), the visitor could ascend the spiral staircase, and, on reaching the top, gain a great view of the city beneath. Now, it is still fun to ascend the Monument, but the views have bee wrecked by the tall buildings constructed all around it. At around that time, Christopher Wren's St Pauls Cathedral was built. Those with stamina to ascendt to the top of its dome would have been able to enjoy a great view. I have done this once, but cannot recall the view, only the awful climb!

In 1965, when I was just entering secondary school, the construction of the Post Office Tower was completed. For a few years after that, it was possible to take a lift to the viewing platform just beneath the rotating restaurant. If you were feeling particularly well-off, you could enjoy a meal in the dizzying roatating restaurant. Terrorism related to troubles in Northern Ireland were partly responsible for closing the Tower to the public.

London Eye viewed through a sculpture on the South Bank

Passenger pods on the London Eye

Coinciding with the arrival of the Millennium in 2000, was the opening of the giant Ferris Wheel called the 'London Eye'. The views from this are, without doubt, fantastic, and worth paying for at least once.

In about 2012, the so- called Shard building near Tower Bridge opened. I have heard that the view from its summit is amazing, as it should be being so high above the ground.

Coinciding with the Olympic Games in London, the Emirates Air Line was opened. This cable car service, which connects North Greenwich (near the O2 - Millennium Dome) with Royal Victoria Dock across the Thames. provides the Emirates Airline Company with excellent publicity as well as providing a much needed additional crossing of the river. In addition, it is a wonderful tourist attraction, which unlike The Shard, is easily affordable.

Emirates London cable cars

A cluster of Emirates Airways cable cars

I have travelled on the cable car three times, always in bad weather. Nevertheless, the views from its small cabins are fabulous. Looking down, one gets great views of the Dockland developments and an unusual view from above the Millennium Dome. Looking out in less of a downward direction, there ar magnificent vistas of the myriads of other cabbins travelling in both directions.

Emirates London Cable cars and gasometer

EM AIRW 6 View from Emirates London Cable Car

Traversing the river by means of this cable car system takes less than 10 minutes when it is not peak hour, but speeds up during rush hour.

I suppose that those with a fear of heights should avoid this attraction, but judging by what fellow passengers, who claim to be scared of heights, say this is quite manageable. It is an exciting, worthwhile way to see London from the top!

The first thing we saw was an upturned electricity pylon. It was not there by accident:

The next work of art is a signpost placed on the Greenwich Meridian:

Close to this, there is an older marker recording the position of the Meridian:

Then another curiosity, a slice of a ship:

"Slice of Reality" by Richard Wilson

"Slice of Reality" by Richard Wilson

"Slice of Reality" by Richard Wilson

And beyond this, a view of a reed-bed:

And further along the riverside walkway, a sensuous work of art with a view of the Emirates Cable Car line in the background:

"Liberty Grip" by Gary Hume

"Liberty Grip" by Gary Hume

Almost beneath the Emirates Airway Cable Car system, stands a work by Anthony Gormley:

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"Quantum Cloud" by Anthony Gormley

"Quantum Cloud" by Anthony Gormley

"Quantum Cloud" by Anthony Gormley

Then the LINE is interrupted. To continue it, one must cross the waterways. And, the best way to do it is by taking the Emirates Airway Cable Car, which I will describe elsewhere. After 'landing', we saw a work by the late Eduardo Paolozzi:

"Vulcan" by Eduardo Paolozzi

"Vulcan" by Paolozzi

"Vulcan" by Paolozzi

The last sculpture we saw was the only disappointment:

If you are lucky enough to be invited to attend a function at the National Liberal Club in Whitehall Place, do attend! It is worth visiting this club if only to see its late Victorian, over-exuberant, somewhat decadent, pseudo- renaissance internal decor. The internal decoration makes great use of ceramic tiling. The Club is a superb example of Victorian over-exuberance.

I heve visited the place twice: once for a wedding, and once to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the Independence of Kosovo. On both occasions, I was overwhelmed by the Club's over-the-top architecture.

The Club was founded in in 1882 by William Ewart Gladstone. Amongst its past members, there were notable people such as Muhammed Ali Jinnah, David Lloyd George, Ramsay Macdonald, Dadabhai Naoroji, George Bernard Shaw, and the author of "Dracula" Bram Stoker. There are many portraits of well-known people hanging on the walls.

The present club house, which was designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse (who also designed the natural History Museum), was opened in 1887.

For me the highlight of the place is its elegant curved Grand Staircase.

Large functions are often held in the vast Gladstone Library, whose walls are now lined with fake bookspines.