Every year for one weekend buildings across London open their doors to the public. The majority of these are places that don't usually have public access. As you will see from the photos it was a rainy weekend.
The City of London is only 1 mile square. Some of the buildings needed to be pre-booked or used a ballot system in order for entry. There are a lot of other free places to visit across the whole of London. You can either find out more online or get a book from the library. The information usually comes out in August for open house weekend in September.
We visited 3 different Churches within the city. One of them being St Stephen Walbrook. This church is the place were the Samaritans was founded and was build by Christopher Wren as a protype for St Paul's Cathedral. It's altar was made by Henry Moore in 1972 and is a large central stone (8ft wide) commissioned by Lord Palumbo. The surrounding kneelers were made by Patrick Heron, an abstract artist, in 1993
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| St Stephen Walbrook |
We managed to get onto a pre-booked tour at the Leadenhall building around the architect's offices on the 14th floor. The building leans back from the street as there is a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral from Fleet Street. The lift lobbies at the back of the building were put in last and mean that the whole floor space is available for use. Unused lift lobbies are home to the toilets.
The view from the 42nd floor of the Leadenhall Building, at 198m high were very good. Had it not been raining the view would have been amazing. It overlooks a number of landmarks, including Tower Bridge, the Shard, St Paul's cathedral and the Thames.
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| View of London from Landing 42 |
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| The Gherkin |
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| More of London from Landing 42 |
We visited Customs House alongside the Thames. There were a number of presentations and stands giving information. The Long Room is home to a large open plan room and neighbours the robing room, where originally the judges would get dressed into their finery. From the quayside you get a great view of Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast.
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| View from Customs House quay |
Finally we visited Billingsgate Roman Baths. They are very well preserved as they have been protected since the 1800's when they were first discovered. It was built at the centre of another building. It clearly shows the 3 different sections of the Roman Baths - the cold, warm and hot rooms, along with the fire to keep the hot room hot.
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| Billingsgate Roman Baths |
