Apr 15 - London

 Apr 15 - London

Off to the Sir John Soanes Museum today in Lincolns Inn Fields, the largest square in London. The square, named after the nearby Lincoln’s Inn, one of London’s four Inns of court, has a bit of a chequered history.  Previously this had been the home to public executions, as well as a training ground for parliamentarian troops during the English civil war (during the 1600’’s).  Today though it’s just a very nice square that we walked in/ around while waiting for the museum to open.

Sir John Soanes’ life story (i.e. he of the museum fame) was one of ‘didn’t he do well’ as he was the son of a bricklayer who eventually became Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy and then went on to receive a knighthood.  The museum holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects, as well as a large collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and antiquities that he acquired over many years.  Impressive as the collection is, and there are some wonderful pieces there, the whole place gives the impression of someone that was a hoarder, with stuff everywhere as well as too much of it in all the wrong places.  That said the Canaletto paintings and a magnificent alabaster Pharaoh sarcophagus are standouts. 


This afternoon we walked across London to get to Borough Market, a place I haven’t been to for years.  Maybe because it was Easter Friday but it was heaving with people, so many in fact it was really unpleasant. Anyway because of the numbers we didn’t take any photos there, however we did take a few when passing a number of well known London sights on the way. 

Top left clockwise-Cleopatras Needle, St Paul’s, Tower Bridge,
Tate Modern, The ‘Walkie Talkie’, The Shard. 


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