I've got some photos from London for you today. I was blown away by the Gothic Revival architecture of the city. It made me think a lot about how people used to value the work of artisans; the importance of living and working and worshipping somewhere filled with visual iconography. You can read more about the architecture of Big Ben (the clock tower with the scaffolding around it) here and more about Westminster Abbey's architecture here and the Palace of Westminster (i.e. House of Parliament) here.
A friend of mine, who is an architectural historian, told me that this kind of stone work is called "vermiculated ashlar" as in it looks like worms ate it.
As you'll see from the photos, we walked from the Gothic Revival architecture through St. James's Park and to the Neoclassical Architecture of Buckingham Palace and then to Wellington Arch, which is an example of Georgian architecture.
The unicorn is said to represent Scotland in the Royal Coat of Arms in the UK. According to Wikipedia: According to legend a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast; therefore the heraldic unicorn is chained, as were both supporting unicorns in the royal coat of arms of Scotland.
A fun aside about the Wellington Arch: Much of the planned ornamentation was scaled back or eliminated as a cost-saving measure because the King was renovating Buckingham Palace at the same time.
So, your architecture cheat sheet:
- Gothic Revival Architecture: inspired by medieval design, featuring complex and irregular shapes, castle-like towers and parapets, pointed Gothic arched windows and doorways, and steeply pitched roofs.
- Neoclassical Architecture: featuring grandeur of scale, simplicity of geometric forms, Greek or Roman detail, dramatic use of columns, a preference for blank walls, and described as antique simplicity.
- Georgian Architecture: featuring symmetrical composition along with formal details.
Hope you enjoyed my layman's architectural tour! Thanks for stopping by!
I am SO glad you love my city. It is an amazing place to live an£ be an artist in. Your images ar3 great.xx
I am SO glad you love my city. It is an amazing place to live an£ be an artist in. Your images ar3 great.xx
I am SO glad you love my city. It is an amazing place to live an£ be an artist in. Your images ar3 great.xx
I am SO glad you love my city. It is an amazing place to live an£ be an artist in. Your images ar3 great.xx
I am SO glad you love my city. It is an amazing place to live an£ be an artist in. Your images ar3 great.xx
I am SO glad you love my city. It is an amazing place to live an£ be an artist in. Your images ar3 great.xx
So pleased you loved our fair city, you made me realise how we often take the beauty around us for granted. If you make it back this way sometime, you would not be disappointed to see the amazing architecture of the Natural History Museum, one of my favourite buildings, with beautiful carvings not only on the outside but all over the inside too, hidden in corners of staircases as well as in more open spaces. Also a trip to Salisbury I think you would love, a medieval city with some amazing places and spaces.
So pleased you loved our fair city, you made me realise how we often take the beauty around us for granted. If you make it back this way sometime, you would not be disappointed to see the amazing architecture of the Natural History Museum, one of my favourite buildings, with beautiful carvings not only on the outside but all over the inside too, hidden in corners of staircases as well as in more open spaces. Also a trip to Salisbury I think you would love, a medieval city with some amazing places and spaces.
So pleased you loved our fair city, you made me realise how we often take the beauty around us for granted. If you make it back this way sometime, you would not be disappointed to see the amazing architecture of the Natural History Museum, one of my favourite buildings, with beautiful carvings not only on the outside but all over the inside too, hidden in corners of staircases as well as in more open spaces. Also a trip to Salisbury I think you would love, a medieval city with some amazing places and spaces.
So pleased you loved our fair city, you made me realise how we often take the beauty around us for granted. If you make it back this way sometime, you would not be disappointed to see the amazing architecture of the Natural History Museum, one of my favourite buildings, with beautiful carvings not only on the outside but all over the inside too, hidden in corners of staircases as well as in more open spaces. Also a trip to Salisbury I think you would love, a medieval city with some amazing places and spaces.
So pleased you loved our fair city, you made me realise how we often take the beauty around us for granted. If you make it back this way sometime, you would not be disappointed to see the amazing architecture of the Natural History Museum, one of my favourite buildings, with beautiful carvings not only on the outside but all over the inside too, hidden in corners of staircases as well as in more open spaces. Also a trip to Salisbury I think you would love, a medieval city with some amazing places and spaces.
So pleased you loved our fair city, you made me realise how we often take the beauty around us for granted. If you make it back this way sometime, you would not be disappointed to see the amazing architecture of the Natural History Museum, one of my favourite buildings, with beautiful carvings not only on the outside but all over the inside too, hidden in corners of staircases as well as in more open spaces. Also a trip to Salisbury I think you would love, a medieval city with some amazing places and spaces.
London is a wonderful, walkable city with amazing stone carving. I love it. I am just beginning to explore the rest of the UK, outside of London. I am drawn to the old churches and cathedrals. I took dozens of pictures in Fife and Aberdeenshire just to record the beautiful colors of the mossy stonework so I can attempt to recreate them in quilts later. My Scots hosts were very patient, even pointing out “good rocks” for me to take picture of.
London is a wonderful, walkable city with amazing stone carving. I love it. I am just beginning to explore the rest of the UK, outside of London. I am drawn to the old churches and cathedrals. I took dozens of pictures in Fife and Aberdeenshire just to record the beautiful colors of the mossy stonework so I can attempt to recreate them in quilts later. My Scots hosts were very patient, even pointing out “good rocks” for me to take picture of.
London is a wonderful, walkable city with amazing stone carving. I love it. I am just beginning to explore the rest of the UK, outside of London. I am drawn to the old churches and cathedrals. I took dozens of pictures in Fife and Aberdeenshire just to record the beautiful colors of the mossy stonework so I can attempt to recreate them in quilts later. My Scots hosts were very patient, even pointing out “good rocks” for me to take picture of.
London is a wonderful, walkable city with amazing stone carving. I love it. I am just beginning to explore the rest of the UK, outside of London. I am drawn to the old churches and cathedrals. I took dozens of pictures in Fife and Aberdeenshire just to record the beautiful colors of the mossy stonework so I can attempt to recreate them in quilts later. My Scots hosts were very patient, even pointing out “good rocks” for me to take picture of.
London is a wonderful, walkable city with amazing stone carving. I love it. I am just beginning to explore the rest of the UK, outside of London. I am drawn to the old churches and cathedrals. I took dozens of pictures in Fife and Aberdeenshire just to record the beautiful colors of the mossy stonework so I can attempt to recreate them in quilts later. My Scots hosts were very patient, even pointing out “good rocks” for me to take picture of.
London is a wonderful, walkable city with amazing stone carving. I love it. I am just beginning to explore the rest of the UK, outside of London. I am drawn to the old churches and cathedrals. I took dozens of pictures in Fife and Aberdeenshire just to record the beautiful colors of the mossy stonework so I can attempt to recreate them in quilts later. My Scots hosts were very patient, even pointing out “good rocks” for me to take picture of.
WOW! beautiful. what more needs to be said. thanks for sharing your views with us. someplace that most of us will never see in person.
WOW! beautiful. what more needs to be said. thanks for sharing your views with us. someplace that most of us will never see in person.
WOW! beautiful. what more needs to be said. thanks for sharing your views with us. someplace that most of us will never see in person.
WOW! beautiful. what more needs to be said. thanks for sharing your views with us. someplace that most of us will never see in person.
WOW! beautiful. what more needs to be said. thanks for sharing your views with us. someplace that most of us will never see in person.
WOW! beautiful. what more needs to be said. thanks for sharing your views with us. someplace that most of us will never see in person.
Oh, to be in England!
Oh, to be in England!
Oh, to be in England!
Oh, to be in England!
Oh, to be in England!
Oh, to be in England!
Lovely photos! I don’t get down to London often – I live just outside Cambridge, another UK city worth visiting for the architechture – but you’ve reminded me how I owe myself a day exploring. Just wish the transport system was a bit more accessible for us oldies
Lovely photos! I don’t get down to London often – I live just outside Cambridge, another UK city worth visiting for the architechture – but you’ve reminded me how I owe myself a day exploring. Just wish the transport system was a bit more accessible for us oldies
Lovely photos! I don’t get down to London often – I live just outside Cambridge, another UK city worth visiting for the architechture – but you’ve reminded me how I owe myself a day exploring. Just wish the transport system was a bit more accessible for us oldies
Lovely photos! I don’t get down to London often – I live just outside Cambridge, another UK city worth visiting for the architechture – but you’ve reminded me how I owe myself a day exploring. Just wish the transport system was a bit more accessible for us oldies
Lovely photos! I don’t get down to London often – I live just outside Cambridge, another UK city worth visiting for the architechture – but you’ve reminded me how I owe myself a day exploring. Just wish the transport system was a bit more accessible for us oldies
Lovely photos! I don’t get down to London often – I live just outside Cambridge, another UK city worth visiting for the architechture – but you’ve reminded me how I owe myself a day exploring. Just wish the transport system was a bit more accessible for us oldies
Wow, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos Julie. I loved London when we visited in 2015 but didn’t get that close to the architecture you’ve highlighted here. There is just so much to see and we only had a few days in the capital. Loved all the detail you’ve highlighted, as obviously did too. Oxford, Bristol and Bath were other highlights for me, not to mention the castles, manor houses and museums we visited. I badly want to go back again one day soon.
Wow, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos Julie. I loved London when we visited in 2015 but didn’t get that close to the architecture you’ve highlighted here. There is just so much to see and we only had a few days in the capital. Loved all the detail you’ve highlighted, as obviously did too. Oxford, Bristol and Bath were other highlights for me, not to mention the castles, manor houses and museums we visited. I badly want to go back again one day soon.
Wow, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos Julie. I loved London when we visited in 2015 but didn’t get that close to the architecture you’ve highlighted here. There is just so much to see and we only had a few days in the capital. Loved all the detail you’ve highlighted, as obviously did too. Oxford, Bristol and Bath were other highlights for me, not to mention the castles, manor houses and museums we visited. I badly want to go back again one day soon.
Wow, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos Julie. I loved London when we visited in 2015 but didn’t get that close to the architecture you’ve highlighted here. There is just so much to see and we only had a few days in the capital. Loved all the detail you’ve highlighted, as obviously did too. Oxford, Bristol and Bath were other highlights for me, not to mention the castles, manor houses and museums we visited. I badly want to go back again one day soon.
Wow, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos Julie. I loved London when we visited in 2015 but didn’t get that close to the architecture you’ve highlighted here. There is just so much to see and we only had a few days in the capital. Loved all the detail you’ve highlighted, as obviously did too. Oxford, Bristol and Bath were other highlights for me, not to mention the castles, manor houses and museums we visited. I badly want to go back again one day soon.
Wow, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos Julie. I loved London when we visited in 2015 but didn’t get that close to the architecture you’ve highlighted here. There is just so much to see and we only had a few days in the capital. Loved all the detail you’ve highlighted, as obviously did too. Oxford, Bristol and Bath were other highlights for me, not to mention the castles, manor houses and museums we visited. I badly want to go back again one day soon.
Thanks so much for sharing. London is on my “bucket list”. Beautiful pictures.
Thanks so much for sharing. London is on my “bucket list”. Beautiful pictures.
Thanks so much for sharing. London is on my “bucket list”. Beautiful pictures.
Thanks so much for sharing. London is on my “bucket list”. Beautiful pictures.
Thanks so much for sharing. London is on my “bucket list”. Beautiful pictures.
Thanks so much for sharing. London is on my “bucket list”. Beautiful pictures.