citylikeyou — The London Metropolitan Archives

London / Museum

A treasure trove in the The City of London. The Archive of London. Strongrooms hold kilometres of shelving; boxes of matter that has somehow been catalogued and categorised in a traceable manner by the public, for academic, genealogical and other research. This beautiful book is from a box on Epping Forest. On the same visit, I looked through photographs of Blitz singsongs in Bethnal Green Underground station, 1980s anti-Thatcher / pro-GLC gig posters and paper concertina optical models of the Crystal Palace.

Address
The London Metropolitan Archives, EC2Y 8DS, London, United Kingdom

Designer

Current city: London

peternencini.co.uk

Peter Nencini came to London in 1992, to study at the Royal College of Art. Aside from a three-year interlude working in Brussels, he stayed put. A designer and educator, he has worked across print and television for clients such as the New York Times and the BBC. More recently, he has gravitated towards editioned and exhibited work in ceramic, fabric, wood and metal — with a bonding interest in the space between typographic and figurative form. An interview about his work, with Ryan G. Nelson for the Walker Art Center, can be read here. His editioned box and wall works are currently showing at Partners & Spade, New York.

More Places in London 471

London / Park

Let your imagination run wild in this surreal London Park. Crystal Palace is a great place to walk around dinosaurs and get introduced in prehistoric vibes. Sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to make lifesized models of newly discovered dinosaurs back in 1952. They were the first dinosaur sculptures in the world, pre-dating the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. They have been recently remodelled in 2002. Note: family and children friendly over the weekends

London / Restaurant

Westerns Laundry is a restaurant and wine bar (natural wine) in a converted laundrette that does brilliant small plates (focus on seafood).

London / Library

It's a members-only library but you might be granted access with a research request. The writer's room is great but there's a few special, hidden corners among the bookshelves to tuck yourself away in.

London / Architecture

SOAS university has a small gallery space dedicated to exhibitions about Asia, Africa and the Middle East. There's a small but beautiful Japanese zen garden on the rooftop (currently closed for refurbishment)

London / Park

Half a mile from Markfield Park down the River Lee is Springfield Park. The park rises steeply up from the river and has an amazing array of tree species making it beautiful in all seasons. At the brim of the hill there is a line of park benches each one surrounded by box hedge offering a private view across the Lee Valley, Walthamstow and beyond. The park warden was nice enough to give me a chestnut log a couple of years ago from which I carved a bench and two stools.