St Peter Westcheap Churchyard

St Peter Westcheap was built in the 12th century and was rebuilt in the 16th century, when it was known as 'St Peter's at the Crosse in Cheape', because of the memorial cross erected there by King Edward I, in 1291. The cross was to honour Queen Eleanor and marked one of the twelve places where her body rested on the journey from Nottinghamshire to Westminster Abbey.

It became a holy shrine, adorned with religious carvings, and was consequently removed by the Puritans. Musicians often performed on the leads of the church during processions; and it was here that Queen Elizabeth I, on her procession through the City of London, was presented with a copy of the English translation of the Bible. 

Three Lord Mayors are buried in the churchyard.

The church was not rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666.

The shop on the corner, backing on to the churchyard, L & R Wooderson, was built just 21 years after the Great Fire.

Today, the churchyard is a pocket park, offering a place of quiet respite, just a stone's throw from St Paul's Cathedral. It is also home to a London Plane tree, said to be "the oldest tree" in the City of London.

York Watergate, Victoria Embankment Gardens

It is hard to believe, now, but that this small building once stood on the north bank of the River Thames.

Originally an entranceway with stone steps that was used to reach the river, where boats moored along the river's edge could be boarded. 

This building has not been moved. But the River Thames was narrowed, in 1862, when construction began on the new sewer system and Victoria Embankment was created, which has resulted in this building now resting some 133 metres (436 feet) from the banks of the river.

A large tablet close to the gateway reads:

THIS GATEWAY MARKS THE POSITION

OF THE NORTHERN BANK OF THE RIVER THAMES

BEFORE THE CONSTRUCTION

OF THE VICTORIA EMBANKMENT 1862.

It was built in 1626 by Nicholas Stone.

Master Mason for George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, to serve

as the watergate to York House, which the Duke had acquired from

the Archbishop of York, in 1624. The arms on the river front and the motto

'Fidei Coticula Crux' (the Cross is the Touchstone of Faith) on the land side

are those of the Villiers family. York House was demolished in 1675 and

streets were laid out on the site. In 1893, the gate having fallen into

decay, the London County Council obtained parliamentary powers

to acquire and preserve it as an object of public interest.

However, although the tablet attributes its erection to Nicholas Stone, Indigo Jones and Balthasar Gerbier may also have had a part in it.

It is built of stone in three bays, with rusticated bands on the side facing the river. The two lions on the top hold shields with anchors to symbolise the Duke of Buckingham's service as Lord High Admiral.

Today, it lacks its balustrade, stone-paved landing stage and steps.

'Sculptures' by Andrew Baldwin, Trinity Buoy Wharf

Andrew Baldwin's 'Cab Tree' above the Orchard Cafe.

Trinity Buoy Wharf is full of things to discover. From its historic buildings and vessels, to exhibitions and sculptures.

Many of these sculptures, dotted around the site, are free to visit and were created by Andrew Baldwin. They are an eclectic mix.

'Aqua Gill' by Andrew Baldwin.

A master blacksmith and welder, for 28 years, Andrew Baldwin always had an interest in Victorian engineering. This, coupled with his skill at metalworking and his wild imagination, is what has helped him create some seriously outlandish sculptures.

Quirky, eerie, scary and wonderful in equal measure, these mechanical sculptures are fascinating to behold.

Trinity Buoy Wharf Chain Store and Lighthouse.

Then there are the non-mechanical sculptures, such as a metal lighthouse and this profile of Trinity Buoy Lighthouse and Chain Store.

Andrew Baldwin's work is constantly changing and evolving, but there is always a varied selection of his work on display, all over the Trinity Buoy Wharf site. 

A Robin visits Andrew Baldwin's 'Man' sculpture.

MillenniuM Beacon, Blackwall

Back in the late 1990s the United Kingdom, and the rest of the world, was gearing up for the new MillenniuM.

London, itself, had three major construction projects underway: The MillenniuM Wheel, the MillenniuM Footbridge and the MillenniuM Dome, along with smaller, local projects, such as the MillenniuM Maze, Hanwell, and the MillenniuM Pathway, Lambeth.

Something that would link the United Kingdom together was the lighting of 'The Giant Beacon'.

Of the 1400 beacons, spread across the country, this was the only one situated in London.

Wellington Arch

Wellington Arch, from Constitution Hill.

Between 1824-25 there were several grand architectural projects in development that included the rebuilding of Buckingham Palace and a scheme for new gates and railings for the Royal Parks.

Piccadilly separated Green Park and Hyde Park and each was to have new gateways, to be designed by Decimus Burton, a 24-year old architect. His idea for the Green Park entrance could also function as an outer entrance to the rebuilt palace, so he designed two arches facing each other, over Piccadilly.

The original design.

Decimus Burton's Triumphal Arch became the scene of one of the Victorian eras'great controversies.

In 1839 the people wanted a monument to the Duke of Wellington, so the Wellington Memorial Committee appointed the designer Matthew Cotes Wyatt to design a monument 'to equal Nelson's column'.

Matthew Cotes Wyatt designed a giant equestrian statue of the Duke, which he proposed to be placed on the top of Burton's Arch. So, in 1846, the statue was mounted atop Burton's Arch, for a trial period and was ridiculed, with many saying that it looked absurd. Decimus Burton felt that the statue damaged his finest work and the statue was finally removed in 1883. One of his biggest gripes was that the statue looked 'across' the arch, rather than following the line of the gateway.

Dismantling Wellington Arch.

With the opening of Victoria station, in 1860, more pressure was placed on the roads as traffic crossed the already congested Piccadilly, which caused horrendous traffic jams at Hyde Park Corner.

So, in 1881, a scheme was devised to create a new junction and widen the road, but this would mean dismantling the Wellington Arch.

In 1883 the Wellington Arch was dismantled, to allow for the roadworks to be completed.

It was re-erected, on its current site, between 1885-86. This new location removed the arch's relationship with the Hyde Park Screen, but created a grand visual, for the arch, as it now looked directly down Constitutional Hill.