Urban wanderings

A few weekends ago, we took the opportunity to do some London exploration before the end of summer.

On Saturday, we took the train from London Bridge to Erith, it's in zone 6, by the Thames.

We walked from Erith along the Green Chain pathway, taking in Rainham Marshes, the desolate Thames and old wooden piers. We passed St John the Baptist's Church - which has existed for nearly 1000  years - before crossing over the dual carriageway and up Hillside to Frank's Park (named after a local philanthropist). 

Looking over to Rainham Marshes, Erith

We walked through Frank's, across some roads till we reached Abbey Wood, we lost the trail for Green Chain Walk for a bit so explored the wood until we found our picnic spot - the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. This was built by Richard de Luci as penance for his part in the murder of Thomas Becket. We planned to walk further but time was getting on so we got the train from Abbey Wood back to London Bridge (20 minutes).

Abbey Wood

Lesnes Abbey

On Sunday, we went on one of the Barbican's Architecture Tours, this is part of their Urban Wanderings exhibition. I'm a big fan of the Barbican, I would say I'm generally a fan of tower blocks in the way they look but the Barbican has a much greater aesthetic than most social housing. I have never full explored the estate, as I tend to get lost and run around till I find where I'm actually needed to be. 

We were the only two on the tour, so it was quite informal. And by way of starting, our guide explained that many people get lost here, not just me. The Barbican Estate is 32 acres and was built with defense in mind, hence all the convoluted entrances. The architects wanted all entrances to be above street level but there is one at street level, for The Arts Centre. Additionally, The Arts Centre wasn't originally in the plan so there wasn't much room for it, it's thought of as a vertical structure as opposed to a horizontal structure, hence why you get lost even more once inside.  

The guide mentioned semi circles were a big theme of the design, this is taken from the semi circle remains of the 13th Century London Wall within the estate. The architects wanted history to play a big part in the design, the housing blocks are named after people connected to the area, Cromwell was married in St Giles for instance. See here for more. 

The architects were also influenced by castles (the logo on the blocks is a castle turret), again echoed by the fortress-like quality to the Estate.

Crenellation of roofs to echo St Giles Church 

The Conservatory 

Complete with 'arrow slots'

People see The Barbican as a brutalist structure, but the architects actually tried hard to make the buildings attractive. Ways of doing this included lots of plants, the artificial lake and the granite concrete used on the exteriors was drilled to create a texturised effect - this was done in situ, it's now less surprising that it took 20 years to complete the Estate.

St Giles church

Semi circles everywhere

Residents' spot

Maintenance room where a wall remains of exterior concrete tests

All photos my own.