Tag: England

Photo: Vibecke Markhus

Photo: Vibecke Markhus

Photo: Vibecke Markhus

Horse Guards is a large Grade I listed historical building in the Palladian style in London between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade. The first Horse Guards building was built on the site of the former tiltyard of Westminster Palace during 1664. It was demolished during 1749 and was replaced by the current building which was built between 1750 and 1753 by John Vardy after the death of original architect William Kent during 1748. Horse Guards Road runs north-south on the western boundary of the parade ground, while Horse Guards Avenue runs east from Whitehall on other side of the building, to Victoria Embankment.

The building served as the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces until 1904 when the job was abolished and replaced by the Chief of the General Staff. The Chief of the General staff was relocated to the Old War Office Building during 1906 and Horse Guards subsequently became the headquarters of two major Army commands: the London District and the Household Cavalry. The building is the formal entrance to St James’s Palace via St. James’s Park (though this is now entirely symbolic). Only the monarch is allowed to drive through its central archway, or those given a pass (formerly made of ivory).

 

The Queen has three official residences – the best known, Buckingham Palace; the oldest, Windsor Castle; and the most romantic, Palace of Holyroodhouse. Among the few working royal palaces in the world today, they serve as both family homes and as the setting for the business of Monarchy. Each has its own distinctive story – long histories that reflect good and bad times, triumph and tragedy and, of course, the lives of some of our most memorable kings and queens. But they all share certain features – incredible collections of treasures that reflect both the tastes of their occupants and the artistic development of the nation, and architecture that has evolved across the centuries to meet the needs of different ages, reflecting the story of Britain and its people like no other buildings.

Buckingham Palace may be just about the most famous building in the world, but its story is much less familiar. Fiona Bruce reveals how England’s most spectacular palace emerged from a swampy backwater in just 300 years. The journey of discovery takes her from the sewers of London to the magnificent State Rooms; from a home for camels and elephants to the artistic brilliance of C18th-century Venice; and from a prince’s Chinese fantasy to the secret of how the Palace’s glittering chandeliers are cleaned today.

Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of Britain and its Empire during the First World War. The museum’s remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the museum aims ‘to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and “wartime experience.

If you want to read more about the  War Museums in London check out this link.

 

 

 

Sea Life is a little unusual for an aquatic centre in that it’s essentially built underground: Entering the main gates, you descend a set of steps into the forecourt, which is below street level. There’s also an entrance tunnel that leads directly onto the onto the beachfront path, which avoids the steps.

Originally built in 1872 as Brighton Aquarium, the building was designed by Eugenius Birch, architect of the beloved West Pier, and its underground vaulted crypt-like architecture makes it feel like you’re exploring a lost underwater city. Which is cool. If you’re not that keen on fish, you can study the ceilings. The underground setting (no windows) is probably useful for the sealife, in that it probably helps to maintain a steady temperature. The Aquarium predated both the adjacent Palace Pier (1899) and the Volks Electric Railway (1883).

The space is a lot darker than the photos might suggest. If you like dark and creepy places, you’ll probably love the setting: if you’re claustrophobic or don’t like the dark, then this might not be the place for you. Opportunities for photography are limited, unless you can take really long exposures with your camera’s “night” settings and a very steady hand. You can’t use flash because it can traumatise the fishies.

Sea Life has done a good job of exploiting the location, the main hall has a cafe lined with a series of glass-sided tanks that hold various fishy creatures, such as large catfish. I liked the tank of rays, each over a foot across, all apparently in different colours and markings, gliding over each other and poking their noses out of the water, presumably waiting to be fed.

To one side of the open tanks and displays is a set of sealed tanks with twitching coral, small jellyfish, and Cassiopeia, which are basically upside-down jellyfish that sit on their heads on the seafloor, pulsing water over their fronds, and behind that there’s a dark and mazelike mirrored walkway that leads you past a set of damp rainforest exhibits (and which smells a little like the tropical greenhouses at Kew Gardens. Mudskippers! Did I mention that they have mudskippers? It’s one thing to see these fish-out-of-water crawling over rocks in a nature program, quite another to see a collection of real ones. If you’ve already seen all these creatures while diving in tropical waters on your holidays, then all this may seem a little yawn-inducing … but if you’ve never seen real, live, wriggling coral before, watching the creatures in real life is very different to seeing them on television.
Away … somewhere … from the main hall there’s the sea tank, which is surrounded by banked seating, and where they can give public showings. The Victorian architecture and feel makes some parts of the centre feel like something from a Jules Verne film, and the centre designers have seized on this, and reworked a “Nautilus” section of corridors to look like part of some vast and ancient Victorian cast-iron submarine, complete with brown riveted walls. To top the effect off, there’s a “20000 Leagues under the Sea” room, which is essentially a small submarine-themed cinema where you can sit as a group and watch a presentation.

Downside: the ticket cost is a little eye-watering, but (as with train tickets) you can get discounts if you buy in advance, online. Aquatic centres tend to be expensive places to visit (because the fish need to be fed and maintained, by specialist staff), so if you’re visiting, you might want to time your trip to take in as many items as possible, and if you’re only in Brighton for the day, you might not be able to set aside enough time to justify the entrance fee.

For more information follow this link

 

 

Photo: Vibecke Markhus

The Royal Pavilion, designed by John Nash in 1815, is in the style of the Moghul palaces of India. The idea for using this style came from Humphry Repton’s Designs for the Pavilion at Brighton (1808). It was a style which he also recommended at Sezincote. The gardens of the Pavilion, which are not extensive, have been returned to their 1826 appearance. Loudon complained, in 1842, about the grounds being shut in by a high wall, instead of by an iron railing. The fault was remedied. He also wanted the surrounding houses to be cleared away, to give the Queen a larger garden. Fortunately, this was not done.

Want to visit? Read more here or at VisitBrighton

 

 

Photos: Vibecke Markhus

The West Pier is a pier in Brighton, England. It was designed by Eugenius Birch, opening in 1866 and closing in 1975. The pier was the first to be Grade I listed in Britain but has become increasingly derelict since closure.
The pier was constructed during a boom in pleasure pier building in the 1860s, and was designed to attract tourism in Brighton. It was the town’s second pier, joining the Royal Suspension Chain Pier of 1823. It was extended in 1893, and a concert hall was added in 1916. The pier reached its peak attendance during this time, with 2 million visitors between 1918 and 1919. Its popularity began to decline after World War II, and concerts were replaced by a funfair and tearoom. A local company took ownership in 1965, but could not meet the increased maintenance cost, and ultimately filed for bankruptcy. They could not find a suitable buyer, so the pier closed in 1975 and subsequently fell into disrepair.

The West Pier Trust now owns the pier and has proposed various plans to renovate it. Some schemes have been opposed by local residents and the owners of the nearby Palace Pier, who have claimed unfair competition. The pier gradually collapsed during the early 21st century. Major sections collapsed in late 2002, and two fires in March and May 2003 left little of the original structure. Subsequently, English Heritage declared it to be beyond repair. Structured demolition took place in 2010 to make way for the observation tower i360; further structural damage from storms has occurred since.