Posts by Michael Trapp
Göttingen and the Strand: Publishers and Princes
What connects Somerset House and King’s College London in the Strand with the University of Göttingen in Germany? The answer, it turns out, is a combination of the Royal House of Hanover and the movements of an enterprising eighteenth-century Dutch publisher. The current Somerset House was begun in 1776 in the reign and under the…
Read MoreThe All-New Watch House
The scaffolding has recently come down from around the Old Watch House in Strand Lane, after a five-month restoration project sponsored by King’s College London and carried out by PAYE Conservation . It has been completely re-rendered, the zinc sheathing of the penthouse storey has been replaced, and the zinc, woodwork and wrought iron of the balcony…
Read MoreStrand Lane: Getting into the Bath
There’s good news for anyone who has been frustrated by having to peer into the Strand Lane ‘Roman’ Bath through its often misted-up and damp-infested window. Thanks to two recent developments it is much easier than it used to be to get inside it, physically and virtually. Besides the appointments to view that you can…
Read More170 Strand with reflections of Bush House
Morning light, early autumn. Before becoming part of King’s College London, this building was known as Aldwych Chambers; this floor was occupied at one time by the stamp merchant Bridger & Kay—the fixing-points for the letters of their name can be seen along the architrave at the top of the photo. It’s a good balcony…
Read MoreThe Old Watch House and Roman Bath in Strand Lane
The so-called ‘Roman’ bath, though not the buildings over it, dates from the early seventeenth century. The Watch House (the white building with the balcony) once belonging to St Clement Danes, looks early nineteenth century in its present form, but there are documents to show that there was a building of this shape (projecting over…
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