23 September 2018

Open House weekend

We queued in the rain to see 18 Folgate, the house that Dennis Severs made famous, then went via the cafe at Town House - which continues the Old Spitalfields them - to Bishopsgate Institute.
The front of the (long) queue at Dennis Severs' house
It's interesting to see it, and the owner who set up this "living museum", at the start of this 1985 BBC programme (complete with Brian Cook-style topographical title sequence); a more recent video, with the same presenter, is here -
We ambled through Spitalfields ...
The basement cafe at Townhouse gallery and antique shop
(I recommend the Bakewell cake)

The 1720s facades of Fournier Street
 ... and took in a tour of the Bishopsgate Institute, set up in the mid-19th century for the education of working men and still offering courses, concerts, and talks -
1890s tiles - when some needed restoring, the original
manufacturer still had the template on file

Reference library and twice-restored dome 
The diorama of Spitalfields was commissioned in 1972 and has been housed in the library since 2012 -


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