B&W Strand Lane, London WC2

Musicman

Musicman

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Rob Telford
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Tucked away behind the Temple and surrounded by buildings belonging to King's College is Strand Lane, which feels very much like a survivor of a far older London when compared with the relative modernity of Aldwych, Kingsway and the Victoria Embankment nearby.

Apparently, the Watch House was built to overlook the graveyard of the nearby St Clement Danes church in an attempt to keep a look out for body snatchers. :confused:

1.

The Watch House by cybertect, on Flickr

2.

Strand Lane by cybertect, on Flickr

3.

Surrey Steps by cybertect, on Flickr

4.

Surrey Steps by cybertect, on Flickr
 
I was in this very area on Thursday!

I'm not normally a fan of B&W but this is a case of being very suited to the subject and I like the treatment.

Personally, I'd exercise a bit of "artistic licence" and get rid of the CCTV sign in the last one.
Unfortunately it's not quite so easy to clone out the hideous wheelie bins in the first shot.
I might have gone in a bit tighter with the first one and made more of the lamp post and less of the modern building.

You've now given me some subject ideas...
 
No2 is good, not to keen on No1 or 3 though :)
 
Thanks for the comments.

Brian G said:
Unfortunately it's not quite so easy to clone out the hideous wheelie bins in the first shot.

I might have gone in a bit tighter with the first one and made more of the lamp post and less of the modern building.
Click to expand...

I possibly could have done without the wheelie bins, though I quite like the contrast of age and scale with the building behind. A lot of my photography is about recording change in my city, so I'm less worried about it being a bit mixed up.
 
I know they had been doing some street works in the vicinity recently, so it's possible they were for waste from that rather than for use by buildings nearby, especially as there was that section of contractor's fencing by the bins in my photo (?)
 
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Musicman said:
I know they had been doing some street works in the vicinity recently, so it's possible they were for waste from that rather than for use by buildings nearby, especially as there was that section of contractor's fencing by the bins in my photo (?)
Click to expand...
It looks like the whole area is under development.
In a couple of months it looks like the 'modern' building in Surrey Street, in the back of the Watch House shots, won't be there anymore - about a quarter of it has been demolished already.

I always say "London is a great place - and it will be even better when it's finished!"
 
horrocks said:
I have always felt that it was a lot better before they started!
Click to expand...
So which version of London would you prefer as the definitive?
Roman, Medieval, Georgian, Victorian (before or after the construction of the sewerage system), post the Second World war blitz?

I'm afraid that, much as we may dislike it, the changing, rebuilding and additions to the City are on-going features.

It would be nice to get a skyline shot that didn't feature cranes in the background though.
 
Vast swathes of destruction of Tudor London during the Victorian era, some beautiful buildings lost early-mid 20th Century, but the planners and the architects have between them conspired in a race towards aesthetic armegeddon since the last war. The efforts of the Luftwaffe pale into insignificance by comparison.

In my oh so humble opinion....
 
horrocks said:
Vast swathes of destruction of Tudor London during the Victorian era, some beautiful buildings lost early-mid 20th Century, but the planners and the architects have between them conspired in a race towards aesthetic armegeddon since the last war. The efforts of the Luftwaffe pale into insignificance by comparison.

In my oh so humble opinion....
Click to expand...
Hmm.
There have been abominations created by every generation and I'm certainly glad to see the demise of some of the 60's construction, but overall I think the evolution of the city has been positive.
The Victorians were guilty of some dreadful developments in their time, but one cannot imagine the modern city without their contribution to sanitation and river management.
I wonder how we would feel today if Wren had got his way with the proposal to rebuild the city on a grid pattern after the Great Fire?
 
So true Brian, all generations have been careless, no less so now in rather too many instances. The Victorians certainly were responsible for some abominations.

Food for thought: When Telford and Hardwick's beautiful, now itself sadly destroyed St.Katherine's Dock was constructed in 1825 over 1000 houses were demolished, as well as St.Katherine's Hospital, which was then 600 years old!

And what have we in place of the Harwick warehouses? Some 1970s pastiche copies, and horror of horrors, the Tower Bridge Hotel, an abomination that should have anyone with any aesthetic appreciation reaching for the dynamite.
 
Really enjoyed looking at these photos. Something a bit different. The shot of Surrey Steps from the bottom of the steps is my favourite, followed by Strand Lane. Looks like a place where you could easily walk past without noticing, but if you stop to look in detail it can produce some really interesting photographs which work well in B&W. Nice work (y)
 
Very nice set of monochromes, the last tyre are quite timeless, I do like this sort of city study, a great record too, as nothing will stay the same!
 
Returning to the original images, I'm fascinated by the coloured, glazed tiles in the wall at the side of Surrey Steps.

Does anyone have an explanation as to why they are there?

View attachment 26203
 
Ah, Thanks for that, I hadn't actually made the association with the building, I assumed it was just an access way to reach Strand Lane.
Funny how those places appear to be part of the public highway and yet are closed and locked at weekends.

Another thing - In your Original Post you mentioned that the "Watch House" was built to overlook St Clement Danes churchyard.
I don't think that can be correct, since St Clement Danes is quite some distance away, on the other side of Aldwych.
A much closer church to that location is St Mary-le-Strand, which although now isolated in the middle of the road, probably had a graveyard that could have been seen from the Watch House location, and which is now buried under the Kings College buildings.
 
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