Open House London 2013 - 74 St. James's Street

This is one of a short series of blog posts describing visits during Open House weekend in London, September 2013. You can find out more about Open House on their web site.

Whilst other, higher profile, locations attracted long queues, the situation here was far more relaxed, with a good opportunity to explore and investigate a site which has a stunning mix of old and new styles.

74 St. James's Street was the site of the old Conservative Club. Construction started in 1843, and although the club moved out a century later, the building went on to be home to McKinsey and Co. in the early 1970s, and now houses the London office of HSBC Private Bank.

There are a few more photos here.

52 Weeks 52 Photos

Last year I enjoyed spending some "December down time" rummaging through Picasa albums in search of 2011's best bits, so this year I thought I'd do it all over again.

Inevitably London and the Olympics feature strongly, as does Lincoln Cathedral, a place it's difficult to visit without taking lots of photographs. Some places, such as Bletchley Park will be visited again soon, so there's more to come from them I suspect.

Click here to view the Picasaweb album.

Open House London 2012 - Broadgate

This is one of a short series of blog posts describing visits during Open House weekend in London, September 2012. You can find out more about Open House on their web site. Having visited the Lloyd's Building, there was just enough time for another City of London visit before heading up to Dollis Hill for the tour around Paddock.

Unfortunately 1 Finsbury Circus closed early due to its popularity, but nearby in Broadgate a few of the buildings had their lobbies open to the public. 10 Exchange Square was perhaps the least interesting, but was a handy stop on the way to the Broadgate Tower, the newest building in Broadgate.

The tower lobby is actually split over three levels, all of which were open, each offering interesting views of the others. From there, it was over to 155 Bishopsgate, one of the oldest buildings, being one of those built during the original redevelopment in the mid 80s. This has an upper and lower lobby, accessed via the Great Eastern Walkway and Bishopsgate respectively, although for Open House only the latter was open, which did cause some confusion for those arriving via the walkway, who could see other visitors inside even though the doors were locked!

155 Bishopsgate is a stark contrast to the Broadgate Tower, and shows how design has changed over the last 25 years or so - dark panelling replaced with bright colours and gleaming metal finishes.

You can see some more photos here.

Open House London 2012 - The Lloyd's Building

This is one of a short series of blog posts describing visits during Open House weekend in London, September 2012. You can find out more about Open House on their web site. Some events are turn up on the day and queue, and the Lloyd's Building is one of those, and is one of the most popular with visitors.

Fortunately the Saturday was a fine day with clear blue skies to start. As this is such a popular attraction the queues are long, and even if you arrive an hour before the opening time, you'll still be in a queue, so you should allow for this when planning your day. The event is well organised, having been run for a number of years now, and there's no pressure to move around at any speed. Although there are no guided tours, there are plenty of event staff around to help you with any questions you may have.

There is security on entry, inevitably, so be prepared to have your bags searched, and sharp objects will be removed (and returned to you when you leave). The contents of my backpack were queried, as the contents were my heavier boots, ready for the afternoon trip to Paddock in north London!

From there, the route is laid out before you, going up on to the main floor, and across it, with plenty of time to look at the Lutine Bell, the Nelson Exhibition, and the atrium, before heading out to the lift lobby to take one of the building's trademark external lifts up to the 11th floor.

The 11th floor offers spectacular views of nearby buildings, as well as across London, and being at the top of the atrium, you get a chance to look back down at the Lutine Bell way below you. Also on the 11th floor, the route takes you through the Adam Room [PDF].

On the other side of the building, the lifts take you back down, this time to the 3rd floor, where you get another chance to look down, and also across at the network of escalators which run up and down across the atrium. Indeed, these are the next stop on the route, and take you back down to the ground floor level, where you can complete your tour with a visit to the Coffee House for refreshments.

This is an excellent place to visit, with plenty of time to look round and take photos (some of mine are here), allow around 90 minutes including stopping for a drink on your way out.

Open House London 2012 - Paddock Bunker

This is one of a short series of blog posts describing visits during Open House weekend in London, September 2012. You can find out more about Open House on their web site.

Some events are turn up on the day and queue, but many are ticketed (although still free) and must be booked in advance. Paddock Bunker in Dollis Hill, north London is one of those.

Paddock, the Alternative Cabinet War Room, was built in 1939 to provide a backup command centre for the government during the Second World War. However it only hosted two Cabinet meetings, the first chaired by Churchill in 1940, and the second by Clement Atlee in 1941.

Although Churchill had been keen to establish a base outside central London in case the primary Cabinet War Room sustained heavy damage, after the first meeting he felt it unsuitable for long term use. He missed the second meeting due to illness. The facility was abandoned before the end of the war.

The bunker has remained largely intact and untouched since then, although it did suffer some flood damage some years ago, and is now owned by a housing association. It is open to the public during Open House weekend, with guided tours from Subterranea Britannica volunteers, who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Hard hats (provided on arrival) must be worn by all visitors because there are a few low doorways and other obstacles. The facility is now also quite wet, with standing water in places, so sensible footwear is a must.

This is a fascinating tour, is altogether different to many other Open House tours, and is highly recommended. You can see a few photos from the tour here.

You can learn more about Paddock on the Subterranea Britannica web site.