Open House 2017

Last weekend was London Open House, the annual event (now in its 25th year) when hundreds of buildings across the capital open their doors to the general public. If you are not aware of this fabulous initiative, check out their website at www.openhouselondon.org.uk.

My visits this year were not picked for their clock interest, so I have included some clocks seen along the way as well as ones at the specific locations.

The first is a glimpse of Holy Trinity on Marylebone Road, a John Soane church of 1828.

The next exhibit is from a tour of Piccadilly station. There are several ordinary clocks around the ticket hall concourse, and then there is this oddity.

This shows the time anywhere in the world, with the focus of course on London, including the hour's difference during British Summer time.

The clock is still functioning mechanically, but no longer keeps good time. But as everyone passing seems to ignore it, perhaps this doesn't really matter.

Piccadilly Circus station was opened in 1906, but the clock dates from when the below surface booking office was completed in 1928.

The next clock is also from an Open House visit, and would not normally be accessible to the general public. But once year I allow them to be included in this blog. The clock in question is in one of the meeting rooms in the Royal College of General Practitioners on Euston Square.

Now to St Saviour's in Pimlico, which somewhat confusingly is on St George's Square. I haven't explored this part of London before, so it is the first time that I have come across this church. Which, if you are interested, was consecrated in July 1864.

Next is a clock of which I am familiar, but not from this vantage point.

The building in Buckingham Palace Road now houses the National Audit Office, but was originally completed in 1939 as the central London terminus of Imperial Airways.

And now another new church to me. This is St Barnabas, just off Pimlico Road. This church dates from 1850.

Eventually it is time to go home, starting from Sloane Square underground station. One interesting fact about this station is that the Westbourne River is carried in a huge pipe (not shown in the pictures below) across the platforms.

Now make a note that next year's London Open House event is on 22 / 23 September 2018.

Oxford : Part 2 - inner

The second part of our trip to Oxford takes in all the non-university buildings in the city centre. The "inner" is defined by the larger scale insert on the AZ Street Plan produced by the Geographers' A-Z Map Company Limited.

At the outer edge of the inner bit is The Plain. This is a junction where St Clements Street, Cowley Road and Iffley Road all converge as they enter Oxford just to the east of Magdalene Bridge.

The Plain was made into a roundabout in 1950, enclosing the fountain with its roof and clock tower which dates from 1899. Currently this roundabout in undergoing a major upgrade to improve the safety for cyclists.

The inscription underneath the clock faces reads Lympha cadit, Ruit hora, Sagax bibe, Carpe Fugacem, which translates as the water falls, the hour goes by, be wise and drink, seize the swiftly flying time (or something like that).

Carfax Tower is properly inner inner, at the junction of Cornmarket Street and Queen Street.

The tower is all that remains of St Martin's church, the rest of the building being demolished in 1896.

The drizzly weather made a retreat into the Covered Market a wise move (it was drinking the water at The Plain that gave me inspiration!).

Many indoor markets have a clock hidden somewhere amongst the stalls / shops, and Oxford has its own example by Gents. Nothing flashy or ornate, but it does its job efficiently.

Back outside, it is dry enough to visit Marks and Spencer in Queen Street. This version of the M&S always makes me think of After Eight mints.

The transport network in Oxford has not proved very fruitful for clocks, with nothing to be found at the railway station. The bus station hidden away in Gloucester Green does however provide the quarry I am hunting for.

The bus station is in a poorly accessed site and is very cramped for space. Maybe because of this the clock is mounted very high up and is partially obscured by cctv equipment. Overall this is an appalling piece of design.

The view of the clock is better from the other side, but is still not very useful for people wanting to catch a local bus or the frequent coaches to London. The whole design screams "get out of this town as soon as possible", or for those arriving by public transport "abandon hope all ye who enter".

Lets get back to the nicer parts of Oxford. And look, the sun is shining.

This is the church of St Giles.

A bit further south is the church of St Mary Magdalene.

And continuing southward we come across St Michaels.

 

And finally, yet another church. This is St Barnabas, tucked away from the centre in Cardigan Street.