About the Introduction to London Architecture Walk in London
Constantly changing throughout time, London's topography and architectural elements are completely different from those of any other big European capital. Spanning from the Norman times till recent years, this walk will offer a general introduction to the main periods and styles of London architecture.
A walk through Architectural styles
Walking around the central areas of Holborn and Bloomsbury, we will get to know the main features of London's buildings through the different ages, the sources of their styles, the building materials and their practical function in the urban environment. Our walk starts at Temple church, built by the Knights Templar in the shape of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which represents one of the best places to discuss Medieval London and the passage between Norman-Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Depending on opening times we may visit then Prince Henry's Room or the Staple Inn, two of the few examples of Elizabethan and Jacobean timber-framed houses
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Constantly changing throughout time, London's topography and architectural elements are completely different from those of any other big European capital. Spanning from the Norman times till recent years, this walk will offer a general introduction to the main periods and styles of London architecture.
A walk through Architectural styles
Walking around the central areas of Holborn and Bloomsbury, we will get to know the main features of London's buildings through the different ages, the sources of their styles, the building materials and their practical function in the urban environment. Our walk starts at Temple church, built by the Knights Templar in the shape of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which represents one of the best places to discuss Medieval London and the passage between Norman-Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Depending on opening times we may visit then Prince Henry's Room or the Staple Inn, two of the few examples of Elizabethan and Jacobean timber-framed houses that survived the Great Fire of 1666. We may step inside the Staple Inn to see the great hall, a typical feature of medieval English houses and mansions. For the Jacobean period and the introduction of the Classical architectural language in London, we will then consider Lindsey House on Lincoln's Inn Field, the only survival of an ambitious house-building project, one of the first examples of land development in the West End of the town.
Crossing the lively area of Covent Garden, and walking through the British Museum, we will reach then Bloomsbury and in particular Bedford Square, one of the finest preserved examples of mature Georgian square, a typical eighteenth-century attempt to reach perfect symmetry and uniformity in the planning of urban spaces.
Our walk will end with one of the most eccentric expression of Victorian architecture, the Russell Hotel.
