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Here are some ideas for special interest tours of
London that I can guide. Look also at the walking tours page for tours
themed along similar lines, but in very focused geographical areas. If you
want to do something that isn't listed here, contact me, and if I can't do
it myself, I can probably recommend someone who can.
Architecture
1. London's newest buildings: a look at the work of
some of our leading architects in central London, Docklands & the
Jubilee Line
2. The work of individual architects, eg:
Sir Christopher Wren - Wren's City Churches, Wren's Royal Palaces.
Sir John Soane - the Sir John Soane Museum, Pitshanger
Manor, & other examples of his work, eg. the Bank of England.
3. The architecture of a particular period or type, eg:
Medieval churches
Historic Houses
The great Victorian architects & engineers, their
railway stations, bridges & public buildings.
4. A closer look at individual buildings, eg:
Westminster Abbey
St Paul's Cathedral
Tower Bridge
The Temple Church
Art
1. Major gallery tours, eg. National Gallery, the
National Portrait Gallery, Tate Galleries, art in the British Museum, the
V&A.
2. Art collections, eg. the Foundling Museum, the Courtauld Institute, the
National Maritime Museum, the Imperial War Museum
3. Medieval art in London - in the British Museum, the British Library,
the Victoria & Albert Museum.
4. Individual artists, their homes & their works in London
collections, eg:
Walter Sickert's Camden Town
Hogarth's House, the Foundling Museum, the Tate Gallery, the
National Gallery.
Lord Leighton's House, the C19 arts world in Kensington &
Chelsea, the Guildhall Art Gallery, Tate Britain.
The William Morris Gallery, the Red House, the V&A.
Fitzrovia & Bloomsbury - artists of the early
20th century
Sir Anthony van Dyck & Blackfriars
The public sculptures of Sir Jacob Epstein
5. Exhibitions
6. Public monuments - sculptors, artists & architects
Sculptors & monuments in Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral
Gardens
My interest in gardens is from the point of view of their history &
design.
As well as a number
of small, private gardens that will open by special arrangement, London
has some interesting historic gardens, eg Chiswick House, Ham
House, Syon House, Hampton Court Palace. For the botanists, there's the
Chelsea Physic Garden and Kew Gardens. Many garden tours are timed to
coincide with the annual shows at Chelsea & Hampton Court.
History
1. Historical periods & themes eg:
The Romans - the City Wall, the Amphitheatre, the Mithraeum,
bath house remains, the Museum of London, the British Museum.
Kings, Queens & Government.
2. Religious Heritage, eg:
The Wesleys in London The Reformation
Writers
& the Theatre
1. Individual writers, eg:
William Shakespeare - A lot of Shakespeare's London has disappeared, but it
is still possible to see the streets where he lived, some of the places
where his plays were performed, the church where his brother was buried, and of course the new Globe Theatre with
its museum, and his work in the British Library.
Dorothy Dunnett - the Lymond Chronicles: Lymond & Philippa in London
Anniversaries
1. The 1000th anniversary of the birth of King Edward the Confessor was
celebrated in October 2005. His London has largely disappeared, but it is still possible to recall him at Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral,
London Bridge, the Palace of Westminster, and in art works of his time.
2. 2006 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
the great Victorian engineer. London is lucky to have examples of his
work, and also those of his father Marc & son Henry Marc.
3. 2006 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of George Bernard Shaw.
Although a Dubliner, Shaw spent much of his adult life in London, where he
took part in local politics, and was a founding member of the Fabian
Society.
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