Bicycle Tag of bike

That's amazing. Had no idea.

Also : It was built with some financial support from none other than Charles Dickens.

Re: Columbia Market being demolished - I seem to recall there was bomb damage during the Blitz but I may be mistaken.

That excuse was used to get away with the wholesale destruction of some of London't most beautiful and (socially) valuable historic buildings.

I bought a huge book of photos of demolished things, and 80% of them are real tragedies.

Columbia road,

Val's sandwiches, mmmmmm

I have a number of 'Lost London' and 'Forgotten London' type books, and Columbia Market was always one of those things of which you just couldn't believe that it had once been there. A grievous loss.

I think too much Victorian London has survived!*

*by that I particularly mean Victorian Gothic architecture. Which I loathe.

@BQ, when you say it was socially valuable, what do you mean? I seem to recall Columbia Market was built as a kind of new sort of workhouse - or am I woefully mistaken?

I mean things like the last wooden houses or galleried pubs etc, where you really lost a piece of history once they are gone, and also just buildings and areas that were really beautiful and whose presence made the lives of those who saw them that little bit nicer. Things that then got replaced by ugly office blocks or estates of no particular architectural or artistic merit.

Yes! Absolutely.

I'm not sure St Pancras or The Houses of Patliament fall into that category - I just see Gothic Revival as the architecture of patronly, didactic, status obsessed, anti-enlightenment forces. Endarkenment, if you will. Have you seen the obstructed tiny windows they liked?!

I'm with you Skully about a lot of gash Victorian gothic.

The biggest loss/impact to London certainly socially was all the 2up2down houses particularly in Deptford.

I absolutely love a good bit of Victorian Gothic.
The houses of parliament aren't that nice, really, but I love St Pancras. I was so pleased when they finally spruced it up.

Pugin certainly viewed classical architecture as pagan and bad, and gothic as Christian and good, but Gilbert-Scott didn't really care*, and was an absolute master in both styles, as his neo-classical Foreign Office bulding shows. Good architecture is good architecture, whatever the style.

*though he was a fan and avocated its use in secular buildings.

His grandson was quite the modernist, and gave us those lovely red phone boxes

I quite like neo-gothic stuff. The cruciform at UCL is one of my faves.

Slightly off topic, but:

Why isn't there some kind of planning law on the size of windows in new buildings? Most new apartment type complexes and houses, even relatively expensive ones, have tiny little windows. It's depressing.

Re: window sizes, yes I agree it's shocking how horrible most modern residental design seems to totally disregard natural light.

On the subject of the previous tag:

I really let the Morph clue throw me (I was wondering if it was something to do with Peter Lord) even though I really kind of knew the location of the tag just from the building (now that's a lovely building) and it's position next to that row of houses. I even searched for sculpture museums then got sidetracked. I totally missed the RBSS in the clue however. Good tag bluefleet. Hard to believe it lasted so long, maybe the horrid weather had an effect.

I think it might be down to the size of the rooms in general (windows cost both money and useful wall space)..

I knowz it. Looking at 6/7. Don't tagfuckingzump me.

gon be darkkkk

Yeah and that place scares me at the best of times. There be dragqueens.

From an architectural point of view the worst thing about modern fenestration (ooh get me) in most residential building is the total disregard for proper/attractive proportion; to the building, to other windows in the same elevation and even to themselves. most modern windows have frames which are of the same sized extrusion regardless of window size. Usually in white UPVC.
Yuk.
Just look at the simple but beautiful proportion of a Regency facade with its elegant sparce rational geometry, mostly communicated by window size and proportion.

another thread derailleur.

i was very wrong

Speaking of the current tag, I used to ride there and did see a *very *drunk woman on a cycle hire bike drop in. She giggled an awful lot and actually made it over the rollers nearest the road.

i was very wrong

aw

Re: Columbia Market being demolished - I seem to recall there was bomb damage during the Blitz but I may be mistaken.

You're not that old are you skully?

Speaking of the current tag, I used to ride there and did see a *very *drunk woman on a cycle hire bike drop in. She giggled an awful lot and actually made it over the rollers nearest the road.

I was there not long after it opened. A hipster-girl on a fixie asked us if it would be ok if she had a go, on her fixie. "Sure" we said, "but you'll probably come a croppper." "Cool" said hipster-girl who proceeded and came a cropper.