Hidden London: Lamb's Conduit Street

As the nights draw in and the days get colder, I confess I find it harder and harder to budge from the cozy confines of my flat. But yesterday, the chapter meeting of the Romantic Novelists' Association motivated me to move from my sofa and head down the Central Line to Bloomsbury -- to The Lamb pub on Lamb's Conduit, to be precise.

Although I've been to Russell Square countless times, I'd never been down this small stretch. Partly pedestrianized and lined with independent shops and galleries, it's a feast for retail-hungry eyes. The street is named after William Lambe to recognize the donation he gave to rebuild a nearby conduit in 1564 (source: Wikipedia).

At the end of the street, The Lamb (photo: Wikipedia) is chock full of charm. Built in the 1720s, Charles Dickens is said to have been a frequent punter. What better place, then, to hold a literary lunch?

Take a stroll through the street with Monocle.

Regents Canal Cruise

A few weeks ago now, The Man and I -- along with my step-daughter -- took a lovely cruise along Regents Canal. It was quiet and peaceful and in some places you've never actually believe you were in London at all! Until you get to Camden Market, that is..

Starting out in Little Venice.

Passing canal-side mansions.

One of the many boats on our way.

Shops in Camden Market.

Fishy pedicure. Yuck!

Interesting seating arrangement in Camden Market!

Hidden London: The Old Royal Naval College

While you could hardly say it's 'hidden', this collection of Baroque buildings is a world away from the hustle and bustle of maritime Greenwich. I've been to Greenwich several times but never had I thought about wandering into the campus of the Old Royal Naval College, just a five-minute walk from the Cutty Sark DLR.

Last weekend, I attended the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference held within the grounds of the College. As nervous as I was, as I approached the building where the conference was being held I couldn't help but look around me in awe. Every building loomed over me with perfect proportions; it was almost like wandering around the Vatican!

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren as a hospital for pensioners, the College took over the buildings after the hospital closed in 1869. Admission is free and you can take a wander around the grounds -- including the chapel and the Painted Hall -- anytime between 10 am and 7 pm. For information, go here.

If you want to here more about the conference and see a few extra photos, head over to my Talli Roland blog.

Happy Monday!

Hidden London: Debenham House

As readers of my Talli Roland blog know, I recently did a photo shoot at the lovely Debenham House, just outside of Holland Park. One of the things I love about Holland Park is all the gigantic houses scattered about, popping up behind fences and rearing over walls, taking you by surprise.

Just off of Addison Road, Debenham House is definitely one of those. In the early-evening light, the glazed blue and green tiles sparkles like jewels, looking oddly out of the place amidst the rather dull stucco exteriors of its neighbours.

Built in 1906 for the chairman of the famous department store chain Debenham's, the house is now worth around £30 million -- and it's up for sale, if you have the dosh!

Here's what the estate agent has to say about it:

The house is a mixture of the Arts and Crafts movement, neo-classical and Byzantine styles. Glazed tiles are used extensively inside this ten-bedroom, five-bathroom house. Some depict peacocks, eagles, flowers, galleons and mythical beasts. Many may have come from an assignment originally commissioned for the Russian czar's yacht Livadia, built in the 1870's. In addition, there is a covered walkway from the road, a front garden laid out in a formal Dutch style and an Orangery in the back garden, where there is also a croquet lawn and a coach house with two-bedroom suites.

Go on, treat yourself!

Hidden London: Thackeray Street

Just off High Street Kensington (almost directly behind the massive Whole Foods) is a small winding street called Thackeray Street. Although it's literally a stone's throw from the shopping crowds, it's a whole other world -- and century -- away.


The street is named for William Makepeace Thackeray, the 19th century English novelist, who lived nearby. You can almost picture him striding into Riders & Squires for his equestrian gear, or pulling up a chair outside Montparnasse Café for a baguette.


Peer through the windows of the art galleries or sip a coffee at Ottoemezzo and get a taste of le vrai Kensington.

Hidden London: Marylebone Parish Churchyard

Wintry view of the churchyard from Marylebone Blog.


Like many spots in London, the St Marylebone Parish Churchyard is not exactly hidden. But if you didn't know it was there, you could easily miss it. Just off busy, traffic-clogged Marylebone Road, you only need to scoot ten feet from the pavement and you leave the noise of the cars far behind.

The parish church -- for which the surrounding area is named -- is where Robert Browning married Elizabeth Barrett in 1846. Nearby resident Charles Dickens also had his son baptised here. But for me, it's the rounded churchyard that's the real drawing card -- particularly on Saturdays, when the Cabbages and Frocks market is on. Circle the yard for a selection of jewellery, shoes and food. The Man and I once bought a very potent and extremely tasty Jamaican rum cake here, narrowly missing out on spotting the wonderful Alan Rickman.

But the best time to visit this little patch of land is just when dusk is falling, with rush-hour at its height. Sinking down on a bench and listening to the distant horns of impatient drivers, it's pretty easy to feel that everything's perfect in your world at that moment.

Nearby recommendations: Just a little way down Marylebone High Street is Providores, a warm and welcoming Spanish restaurant with plenty of tapas and wine. And check out Daunt Books, also on Marylebone High Street.

Hidden London: Kensington Square

Photo from Open Squares.

It's been awhile since I've done a Hidden London post, mainly because I needed a wee break from writing about London. But I can't stay away from the topic for too long -- I just love this city.

Wandering around High Street Kensington today, I ducked behind Whole Foods and into the leafy quiet of Kensington Square. As a student of philosophy, The Man had been keen to show me this square where John Stuart Mill had lived and since then I've always loved its timeless ambiance.

It's one the oldest squares in London, created in 1685 by Thomas Young who 'did sett out and appoint a considerable part thereof to be built into a large Square of large and substantial Houses fit for ye Habitacion of persons of good Worth and Quality, with Courts and Yards before and Gardens lying backwards’.*

Building a square so far from the centre of London was fairly radical and Young apparently had problems finding tenants (today, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't want to live there!), but his venture was saved by the establishment of a Court at Kensington Palace.

The Court left Kensington in the 1750s and the square languished, with no renovation schemes or remodernisation. Because of this, the square still retains a lot of its original characteristics.

Although the gated garden is for the use of residents only, it's enough to wander the square, examine the houses' facades and imagine the former residents.

And if you get hungry, pop by Kensington Square Kitchen for some delectable cupcakes and muffins to bring you back to reality.

*From: 'Kensington Square and environs: Introduction', Survey of London: volume 42: Kensington Square to Earl's Court (1986), pp. 5-11. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50303 Date accessed: 04 December 2009.

Fancy Some Tea... in a Stranger's Living Room?

Londoners drown in the choice of places to take tea. From over-the-top The Ritz to The Berkeley's Pret-a-Portea, where biscuits are shaped in the latest designer bikinis and handbags, there is a mind-boggling array of venues.

But this week's TimeOut profiled a new idea on the tea scene: taking tea in a stranger's living room. Although the idea of 'underground' eating isn't new to London, it's nice to see the concept extended to the age-old tradition of afternoon tea.

Check out what TimeOut has to say here. Or for more information, go to http://www.hiddentearoom.com/.

Hidden London: Ye Olde Mitre Pub

It's been awhile since I've done a 'Hidden London' post, but I tracked down this pub yesterday and it is so hidden, it deserve to be found.

The Man and I made a voyage to Hatton Garden, London's centre for diamonds, yesterday. We were on a hunt for wedding rings, but I knew Ye Olde Mitre was around there somewhere, so we decided to try to find it. After looking at some exorbitantly prices rings and wandering the streets for awhile, we finally decided to ask a jeweller where on earth this elusive drinking hole was to be found.

Turns out he was the perfect person to ask. He had a drink at that pub when he came to interview for his diamond apprenticeship at age 14. He pointed us in the right direction, and off we trotted.

The sign on Ely Court, off Hatton Garden.

Sadly, the pub was closed (it's only open on weekdays), but it was definitely worth a look. Apparently part of the bar is an old cherry tree that Elizabeth I danced the maypole around.

The passage-way back to Hatton Garden.

The facade of the pub.

Hidden London: Cheshire Street

Graffiti on a door in Cheshire Street, East London.

It's been awhile since I've posted about my beloved adopted city, so I figured to get back on track I would post about Cheshire Street - just off of Brick Lane - in East London. I'm not sure how 'hidden' it is, given the amount of market stalls and shops, but I'm guessing most tourists don't even know it's there.

It's easy to get caught up in the hubbub that is Brick Lane on a Sunday afternoon. But if you take a dive away from the curry houses, you are rewarded with stalls flogging everything from cheap underwear to £5 plimsolls. Fresh fruit is sold alongside tatty leather jackets and vintage shops line the street. It's a totally different vibe than West London - in fact, you feel like you're in a different country. The infamous Kray Twins once owned a pub there and Reggie Kray's funeral procession even went down the street.

You could easily spend the whole afternoon on that one grubby stretch. But curry fumes were calling, and eventually we succumbed...

Tip: Check out vintage shops I Dream of Wires and Beyond Retro.

Hidden London: Kensington Church Walk

This fifty metre stretch is one of my favourites in London. And even better, it's in my neighbourhood! I always try to walk through there whenever can. With its old-school shops - miles away from the chain gang on High Street Kensington - you could almost believe you're back in the 1700s when Kensington was the 'royal village'.

The first part of Church Walk - off of Holland Street. Image courtesy of RduJour

Church Walk runs from Holland Street (just off of Kensington Church Street), behind St Mary Abbott's Church, through Alec Clifton Taylor Gardens and finally finishing at High Street Kensington.

Flowers in bloom last weekend in Alec Clifton Taylor Gardens. Yes, that is a tombstone.

St Mary Abbott's church and cloister.

St Mary Abbott's back door.

Hidden London: The King's Wardrobe

Blue plaque commemorating the original King's Wardrobe



I can't express how much I love this small, tucked-away gem just steps away from St Paul's. It's almost impossible to find. We certainly wouldn't have stumbled across it had it not been for yet another London Walk (and no, they're not paying me to endorse their service - yet, anyway!).



The small square is accessed via a gangway which cuts through a row of narrow houses. And to find the gangway, you need to navigate the maze-like streets of old London, passing by traditional pubs, decrepit passage-ways and ancient churches. If it wasn't for the screech of buses from nearby streets, you could almost believe you were back in Edwardian London.



Although the original building -- purchased by King Edward for all his ceremonial robes -- was destroyed in the great fire of 1666, a blue plaque marks the spot. Surrounded by old structures with shade-dappled flagstones, you may feel like you're in a different world -- but you're not alone. Like all good historical locations, the courtyard has a resident ghost: a lady in white who silently drifts from building to building.




The courtyard.

Hidden London: St Christopher's Place

Image courtesy of The London Traveller

To help motivate me to get out and explore my adopted city, I'm starting a new feature: Hidden London. Once a week, I'll post places off the beaten tourist trail. This week: St Christopher's Place.

You couldn't have an area closer - yet further - from the adrenaline rush of Oxford Street. All you need to do is locate the clock, find the hidden passage, and thirty seconds later you're in a quiet square lined with cafes, restaurant and boutiques. Sound magical? It is, in a way. The square has a Continental feel to it and you almost feel like you've been transported out of London.

I first discovered St Christopher's Place on a London Walk. The Man and I have done almost all the walks now - covering everything from Dickens' London to the Jewish East End. This one, focusing on Marylebone, was one of our favourites. Following our tour guide, we scooted past Selfridges and turned into a narrow corridor. I was immediately intrigued, but we had no time to linger as we continued up to Marylebone High Street (where we ran into Alan Rickman outside of Waitrose).

A year or so later, I attempted to find St Christopher's Place with my friend J, who was visiting from Toronto. I could vaguely recall it was somewhere outside of Selfridges, but the multiple glasses of champagne at Selfridge's champagne bar didn't aid in the search. Vision blurred, I managed to track down the clock and we scoffed some divine Turkish food at Sofra.

If you need some respite after shopping - and you can find it - St Christopher's Place is worth the hunt.