Fire and flood: the saga of Richmond Lending Library
As those who use it know, Richmond Lending Library is currently closed for repairs. All of our library buildings need upkeep, and buildings sometimes close for longer to allow for…
The Shell Guides: a short history
Introduction In 1933 John Betjeman, who was then working for Architectural Review magazine, came up with the idea for a series of county guides. He conceived the guides as an…
Orleans House and The Octagon – [Local History Notes: 1]
The riverside residence at Twickenham which was to become known as Orleans House was built in 1710 for James Johnston (1643?-1737) by John James, one of Wren’s chief assistants. (James…
Skira, Phaidon and Thames & Hudson: 3 Art Publishers
In Richmond upon Thames Libraries we hold a wide range of books on the history of art, design and architecture. Amongst the collection there are older books held in the…
Discovering Richmond upon Thames Libraries
Did you know that here in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames we have thirteen libraries? They range from the small and cosy Kew Library to the grand Teddington…
Pevsner: the Man and His Eponymous Architectural Guides
Nikolaus Pevsner was an academic and writer. He was born in Leipzig in 1902 to Russian-Jewish parents who had moved to Germany at some point before 1900. His parents took German…
The Eiffel Tower: a quick tour
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous and most visited landmarks in the world. It opened on 31 March 1889, 128 years ago today. History and background It was…
London: the city as a phoenix [Part 2] – the Blitz and St. Paul’s
The Great Fire of London, which destroyed and devastated four-fifths of the city, began on 5th September 1666. 274 years and 2 days later, on 7th September 1940, the city…
London: the city as a phoenix [Part 1] – The Great Fire of London
On the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London we take a look at how London has risen, phoenix-like, from conflagrations, both man-made and natural, after the Great Fire…
Utopia to Dystopia: Utopian ideas in Twentieth Century architecture
Utopia The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word Utopia as 'An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect'. 'The opposite of Dystopia'. The word originates from the 16th century…