» Listings for January 2013

1. The Opulent Interiors of Lancaster House

   Posted on 8:58am Saturday 12th Jan 2013

   

     “My dear, I have come from my house to your palace”

   Queen Victoria apparently made this remark when she visited her close friend Harriet, the Duchess of Sunderland, at Stafford House (the house's previous name).

   It is one of the few surviving great London townhouses, built in a warm honey coloured Bath stone, its next door neighbour is Buckingham Palace. The house is very opulently furnished with its principal rooms lavishly decorated in a Louis XIV style.

   Today Lancaster House is managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is used as a venue for conferences and government hospitality. It is seldom open to the general public but I was fortunate to attend a private guided tour arranged for Westminster Guides. The tour was lead by James Yorke, the author of “Lancaster House: London's Greatest Town House”, whose encyclopaedia knowledge and genuine love for the house made this a very special visit.

2. A Visit to St Pancras Old Church Gardens

   Posted on 9:30am Wednesday 9th Jan 2013

   

   Last week I took a little detour to visit the delightful St Pancras Old Church which is quietly tucked away behind St Pancras International Station. Although adjacent to the busy main railway line it's a peaceful, little oasis.

   It’s believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England, dating back to 314 AD, although the church one sees today was restored in the Victorian period.  It became known as Old when the new church was built in nearby Euston Road. The church and neighbouring railway station are both named after a child martyr beheaded in Rome for his Christian faith.