OUT AND ABOUT IN LONDON.

OUT AND ABOUT IN LONDON is basically a column that I used to write for a local paper that was entitled ‘My East End – The Old and The New’ and  I have kept on with it over the years just for my journals.  I usually stay  roughly within the E1/City Boundaries but venture a little further afield from time to time.  Every month I will try and add something that I hope will be interesting on to this HEADER. 

Sept 2013.

Brick Lane and Spitalfields. 

We still get the occasional visitors from abroad or even other parts of the UK who have never visited this part of London before and if they are here for long enough try to interest them in a local day out.  Short sweet and to the point – and more importantly only a five minute bus ride away - it takes in architecture , art , antiques , multi-cultural history , horror , fashion and food all in one easy walkabout. 

 

As we  get off the number 25 bus on the south side of Whitechapel High Street ,  across the road and just about still inside the E1 boundary standing out amongst some of the old remaining rag trade showrooms and fast food stores  is The Whitechapel Art Gallery. This fine looking red brick building,  a masterpiece of Art Nouveau design has been a recognised piece of art history almost from the moment it opened in 1901 bringing the high and mighty from the worlds of art and finance to this impoverished part of the East End of London – and now after a 2 year and 13.5 million pound regeneration and extension it still does. 

                                                                   Piccasso's Guernica

Funded by wealthy philanthropists  it began life in 1891 as The Whitechapel Library. Ten years later the main Gallery was added on to the existing building and with a fanfare of publicity and works by Constable , Rubens and Hogarth  the official opening of the new art gallery took place in 1901.   Over the passing years The Whitechapel Gallery  has  hosted work by some of the worlds most celebrated artists.  Artworks by many radical artists from all over the world were given space here alongside the more conventional and perhaps better known artisans and just a few of the famous names have that have  exhibited here including Modigliani , Frida Kahlo and Jackson Pollock.  Picasso also had an exhibition of his own work as well as a very special one in 1939, when his famous picture Guernica hung in the main gallery as part of an international anti-war statement. 

 

In spite of its renown , unlike the majority of other museum or galleries I have been to over the years  it has  retained a certain atmosphere of ordinariness , making it a comfortable place for people from all walks of life.   Although it now boasts a very posh restaurant as part of the new building works - with matching prices of course - the French style bistro upstairs where I still take the occasional lunch is still very much as it was , with laid back service , serving lovely food and excellent wine all at very affordable prices.  

                                                         Brick Lane by night.

Only about 50 yards along the road from the museum is Osborne Street , just a short road which very quickly turns into that well known East End highway Brick Lane,  also known nowadays as Banglatown.   A bit of an unfair description as far as I am concerned, as although there are now lots of Indian and Bangladeshi  restaurants along this long avenue, plenty of the old shops selling trendy and vintage gear still remain.

This part of London was a regular hang out for me in my teenage years, where no matter what time of the day ( or night ) you could always find something interesting to do ,to eat or to drink - and you probably still can.  Almost at the top of the lane is the Jewish bakery that opened its doors in 1901 , exactly the same year that the Whitechapel  Gallery did theirs .  Veer to the left and keep on going and you will eventually come to Club Row, notorious in days gone by for its dodgy antiques bought in the early hours of the morning while it was still pitch dark,  as well as almost every kind of animal and bird - from huge parrots to cuddly little puppies and pussies.  The animals are long gone, but you can still find the oddest of things for sale here on a Sunday morning.

                                                                    Fournier Street.

About half way down The Lane a few narrow streets on the left hand side will take you into an area known as Spitalfields.  All very similar in appearance but with a veritable wealth of fine quality architecture my favourite is Fournier Street.   The houses here date mainly from the 1720s and  with their fine wooden panelling and elaborate joinery such as carved staircases, fireplaces and highly detailed door-cases form one of the most important and best preserved collections of early Georgian town-houses in Britain. They were originally occupied by French Huguenot  immigrants, wealthy craftsmen who brought with them their masterful skills of spinning fine silks.    The silk for Queen Victoria's Coronation gown was woven  right here - at Howard House - number 14 Fournier Street.  

At the Western end of Fournier Street and opposite the new Spitalfields Market is the magnificent Christ Church designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and built in the mid-1870’s. At the other end is The Ten Bells public house, notorious for its connection with Jack the Ripper during the 1880s. Two of his unfortunate victims were seen here just before their mutilated bodies were discovered and all five of his victims lived close by.   So there you are – the holy , the historic and the horrific - all in less than 100 yards.  

Town House - number 5 Fournier Street has been carefully restored to it’s original splendour and during the daytime visitors can actually get inside and take a good look around. That’s because  some absolutely delightful and fascinating people have made a home and a business in this wonderful historic and  elegant house.  There are three galleries on the ground floor with an eclectic and tasteful collection of antiques and curios for sale and old china, glasses and colourful modern pottery  in the downstairs kitchen, where they also serve a selection of nice teas, coffees and cakes.   I always call in for a quick cuppa and relaxing sit down when passing by.  There is also a separate apartment which is available to let for short stays in this almost perfect location.  

 

Only a few hundred yards away on the other side of Commercial Street is the old and the new Spitalfields Market , a vast collection of shops and stalls selling about everything under the sun, plus  restaurants of just about every size and style from the gastronomic to the really ghastly. ENJOY.

 

New Spitalfields Market.