By Christine Swan
I have travelled to London for the last three years to take part in Open City’s annual Open House Festival. Each year, I optimistically take part in ballots to tour rarely seen places such as 10 Downing Street and the BBC building. Sadly, luck never never lands on my side. Never mind, I overcame my disappointment again, and was free to I construct my own itinerary and calculate travel times between venues. Registering with the Open House website allows you to view your plan and to indicate if you can no longer attend. I am always overambitious in my planning so this can prove useful.
It’s hard to snap a photo of St Pancras Church without traffic!
I began my tour by rolling out of my hotel, walking for two minutes, and arriving at the new St Pancras Church. My Cooke family ancestors were associated with the Old St Pancras Church, which I visited in a previous post. The new church was on a far grander scale and, we were informed, was the second most expensive church in London when it was built and consecrated in 1822. The Cookes were living in the area at this time but, as they lived around the Drummond Street area, the Old Church was geographically closer.
The caryatids of St Pancras guard the dead
The New Church was designed by William Inwood and his son, Henry William. He was an enthusiast for Greek architecture and this is evident before entering the church. Along its flanks are rows of caryatids, that resemble those at the Parthenon in Athens. I have seen the latter and remember being under strict instructions not to pick anything up. The St Pancras caryatids guard the crypt and create an impressive vision from the thundering Euston Road. They are made of terracotta surrounding an unseen cast iron column. However, when they arrived on site, they were found to be too tall, so had to be surgically shortened to fit. They hold an extinguished torch or an empty jug. Their size makes the viewer feel small and intimidated, as they protect and guard the dead within the crypt.
A grand interior with composite columns
I began my visit by passing through the huge red doors and Greek columns, through the entrance and into the main church. I was warmly greeted and a member of the church team guided us around the building, pointing out key features. St Pancras was a young Roman who was martyred for his faith and a sculpture of him, in military dress adorns one wall. The huge columns behind the main altar, were originally planned to be marble, however, the prohibitive cost, led to them being manufactured from a composite material. This included crushed stone, which was then polished, to give a marble-like appearance at a fraction of the cost.
St Pancras
The tour then progressed through the garden to the crypt. Descending the stairs takes you to an underground labyrinth of passages, now used as a gallery and exhibition space.
In the crypt
After my spiritual start to Open House, I then had an errand to perform. As part of a Crowdfund pledge, my reward was a tote bag to be collected from the iconic E Pellicci cafe in Bethnal Green Road. It’s easy to spot on Saturday lunchtime by the long snaking queue of customers waiting to be seated in anticipation of a traditional Full English or an Italian lunch. I stood in the smallest place possible while staff served dining customers and tried not to be in the way. The lovely staff collected my bag and off I went.
“Where did Tom Hardy sit?” I asked, “Over there!” was the reply
I walked the entire length of Bethnal Green Road and after a short detour via Spitalfields Markets and my favourite cafe, Townhouse, Fournier Street. Refreshed, I headed towards the City and the grand livery halls associated with worshipful companies of tradespeople. As I wandered through the narrow back streets of the heart of London, I spotted other tourists carrying maps and print outs, turning them through different angles to orientate their direction. My eye caught sight of the key symbol of the Open House festival. Little pockets of people were taking part in tours, looking about themselves, and other little pockets were heading for a queue, joining a queue, or reaching the front of a queue.
Crowds in Drapers’ Hall
I arrived at the Worshipful Company of Drapers’ Hall and proceeded to stumble on the small step at the entrance, which I had not seen. This wasn’t quite the first impression that I wanted to create! I picked myself up, and tried to recover my natural elegance before entering the building. The Drapers’ Hall is stunningly beautiful. This was one of the earliest livery halls to be established and it’s current site was originally the home of Thomas Cromwell, and was purchased in 1543 from Henry VIII on Cromwell’s death. Destroyed during the Great Fire of London, the building was remodelled through the next three centuries.
The sumptuous Drapers’ Hall
The chandeliers glittered and tourists snapped photographs of the sumptuous interiors and paintings. Each room was interesting in its own right. The trade organisations existed to protect the livelihoods of its tradespeople and to campaign as a collective body. It also assured quality and upheld standards. My mind cast me back to my trip to Leiden and my visit to the Lakenhall Museum, a building created for exactly the same purpose, in countries both trying to preserve their trades from cheap imports from one another.
An interesting portrait of His Majesty King Charles III
I chuckled that my four times great grandfather had campaigned on this same stand by assisting in organising a march to Mansion House. A host suggested that he may have had an association with their organisation. I thought it unlikely but, I have been surprised so many times, that anything may be possible.
In an Islington garden, at Painters’ Hall – I love this
I then made the short walk to the Painters’ Hall. I joked that my only association was with house painters. Painters’ Hall is another wonderful building to visit but especially interesting because some of the artwork within it is not what you might first expect. There are royal paintings, but also some more homely and familiar.
Inside Painters’ Hall
When I left Painters’ Hall, the festival was winding up for the day, and I had a theatre trip planned for the evening. Although I did not visit as many venues as last year, I still felt that I had managed to pack sufficient experiences, with long enough to savour and appreciate the uniqueness of each. Just one year until the next Open House festival!
More information
Open City Open House Festival 2025 – https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/
About St Pancras New Church – https://www.stpancraschurch.org/our-building
St Pancras Church crypt – http://cryptgallery.org/
Drapers’ Hall – https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/venues-for-hire/drapers-hall
Painters’ Hall – https://www.paintershall.co.uk/history/
E Pellicci – https://epellicci.co.uk/
Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 