There is a wonderful event in London called ‘Open House’. Held yearly, a vast array of London buildings are opened to the public, free of charge. Some may be generally open for a fee, but most close their doors for the remainder of the year and so this provides a unique opportunity to investigate the shuttered rooms of the area.
Some of the best sites are in Whitehall, as the major attractions in the City – the Gherkin and Lloyds of London – are inevitably booked out as soon as the chance arises. And so the Banqueting House, with its exquisite roof by Reubens, becomes free-to-all, and the Victorian decadence of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office goes on show. This is well worth a look: largely decorated via the overflowing coffers of the Indian Office, the building is a opulent palatial structure, the recent restoration making the Treasury across the road seem underwhelming. While the lost glory of Pax Britannia illuminates the FCO the Treasury has adopted a minimalist modern approach. This is probably quite practical, but makes it an unexciting spot to queue for.
We also managed to see the site of the remains of the Rose theatre. This was discovered during excavations for the current building and now resides under a pool of water and sand in the basement of the structure above. Unfortunately, while the quest goes on to re-excavate and build an exhibition centre there is little to see – a tragedy given the importance of these remains.
On a completely different note we also had the Thames Festival, complete with a beach or two on the Thames – marvellous.
