Cities: Walking The Thames at Night
Places look very different at night.
After dark, bland grey concrete walls can be illuminated with colour.
Shadows describe edges that may or may not be there. The eye is led in many directions, down different “virtual alleyways” to those they would follow during the day. Armed with my iPhone I took a walk along the River Thames, crossing several bridges. Through my photos, you can join me on that stroll!
The 325 metre Millennium footbridge, or “the blade of light”, was designed by a consortium including Foster + Partners. It was built for the year 2000 but closed after a couple of days due to “lateral sway”. Apparently people walking making subtle allowances in their stride for the movement in these suspension bridges. The impact of hundreds of people making that adjustment had an amplifying effect and the bridge became dangerous. After 2 years the issue was resolved and the bridge reopened. I once passed Neil Tennent from The Pet Shop Boys as I crossed that bridge!
The bridge was quiet tonight, save for a group of “guerrilla marketers” with a big projector, throwing a massive image on the side of the Tate Modern art gallery. Looking back from the split gangway at the end, St Paul’s Cathedral seems to float on the bridge, one of the classic vistas of London.
I started my walk from our offices on Victoria Embankment, crossing Blackfriars Bridge. Here, alongside one of many of London’s lost rivers, (the “Holebourn”) a Dominican monastery was built, the monks wearing black robes and giving the name to this area. By 1875, the mediaeval religious buildings had long gone, replaced by a pub (The Black Friar), where I may possibly have had the odd pint after work in the summer.
Crossing the bridge and looking west, I stopped halfway across to admire the sunset, the blue neon of Sea Containers House and the red letters of the windows of the OXO tower. The latter is a very interesting building, as at the time of its refurbishment around a hundred years ago, advertising along the riverfront was banned. Owned by the famous meat stock company, after the redesign, the windows “coincidentally” spelt OXO, the name of the product – a neat way of getting around the marketing problem!
On the Southbank, I headed west towards Westminster. It is not always appreciated that ‘The City of London’ still covers the original square mile from Roman times and that Westminster is a different city altogether (although now all, and hundreds of other former villages are consumed into a wider concept of London, the metropolis). The south bank has always been a little rebellious, just across the river from London, where in ancient times the city’s laws did not extend.
The Southbank is also home to some incredible “brutalist” style buildings. many of which date from the 1951 “Festival of Britain” a showcase of British technology and art. The festival covered a large area of this bank, and these new designs in architecture reflected the brave new world – not replacing the bomb damaged city like for like, but pressing on with building reflecting the age. As I walked by, the concrete forms seemed to rise up due to the under glow, and throbbing blocks of bright projected colour almost give these buildings life. Opposite the grand curves of offices above Charing Cross Station seem to imply a grand railway terminus in pink and orange, but it’s all for show, the station itself and lines are all hidden below.
A vision in bright purple, the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, The London Eye towered above me. This was opened on 31st December 1999 and only supposed to run for 5 years. But due to its popularity it is still here. I looked up as the smell of roasting chestnuts drifted from a nearby seller and music from buskers was carried on the wind. Staring across the river, the small light chains that spread between ornate lampposts seemed to frame the scene. Like looking into the bulb-edged mirror in a theatre changing room, it too showed the city in its glamorous “evening makeup”, the lipgloss of light and “the imperfections” dressed in colour. It was a good place to pause.
Crossing Westminster Bridge, I was drawn as usual towards the Houses of Parliament. On a night like this one, the lights of the city are trapped by the low cloud, so you get the feel of 1950s film noir – full of drama and atmosphere. I almost expected Watson and Holmes to appear from a gate in the railings. What did appear on the railings, as is now ubiquitous, were the locks attached by lovers. I was reminded of the railway bridge in Cologne, Germany where I saw thousands of locks, so many it’s amazing the bridge still stands. Just beyond, in Westminster Square, the blowing coat and outstretched hand of David Lloyd George guided me to follow the statue of Winston Churchill towards the bells of Big Ben.
Heading up past Downing Street, I sat on the edge of the fountains in Trafalgar Square for a quick drink, and watched as the statues went through their range of several colours (I decided green looked best!). Designed by Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, I had seen a lot of his work on another one of my big city walks in Delhi – he designed much of the grand government and ceremonial buildings there. Apparently he had a similar “grand plan” blueprint for the rebuilding of London after WWII – it was rejected. Probably just as well – as we now have the more organic “hotch-potch” of architecture across this city.
The previous “grand architectural plan” was implemented after the previous razing of the city, by fire in 1666. In medieval times, the original St Pauls was the second longest church in the world and the third highest, but it was gutted by the flames before it could deteriorate further. The new St Pauls was designed by Sir Christopher Wren as were 50 other churches throughout the rebuilt city. I was instead heading for St Mary le Strand, a church built in the early 18th century (pictured above left), for a classical music performance within it’s baroque interior. Being built in an island between two roads, the surrounding streets were apparently very noisy even in the 1700s, hence the main body of the church was built with no windows at ground level.
After a great hour of Chopin, I continued my journey onwards towards St Pauls and Ludgate Hill where I was staying the night.
Passing St Paul’s Cathedral I visited two lesser known monuments.
The first, aptly illuminated in red and gold is the National Firefighters Monument, a three figure statue of firemen at the height of the blitz in 1940 when German bombers attacked the city for 57 consecutive nights.
In 1998 it was extended to commemorate all firefighters killed on duty. There are currently over 1200 names on the surrounding metal plaques,
The second is an elaborate water fountain with an interesting history. Within the ornate design are statues to St Lawrence and St Mary Magdalene and this was one of many water fountains erected across the city following The Metropolitan Water Act in 1852. Various societies were set up to supply clean water.
In a situation not unlike today, water supply in England was dominated by a few private water companies. The difference then was that instead of having amongst the best water quality in the world (as it does today), the country had experienced significant population increase and quality and quantity were both poor. A public drinking fountain movement started in Liverpool, but soon spread to London with The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association being formed to ensure:
“That no fountain be erected or promoted by the Association which shall not be so constructed as to ensure by filters, or other suitable means, the perfect purity and coldness of the water”
This fountain was moved here a few years ago after being rediscover in a warehouse. It acts as a memorial to those times when the basic right to clean drinking water was not always satisfied, even in this country.
It had been a busy evening, and with work in the morning it was time to head to bed. It amazing how much you can explore in an evening, just by foot.
