Earlier Walks and Visits
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The Historic Houses, Gardens, and
Walks Gay Group
WALKS THROUGH THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS OF LONDON
Pictures courtesy of London-GB.com
The group aims to bring together gay
people who are interested in the history and architecture of London and the Home Counties. It has been
operating for over a decade. The programme consists mainly of walks in the
various districts of London,
though there may also be occasional visits to historic properties, museums and
gardens.
There is no membership fee nor any
charge for the walks. Also, there is no need to book in advance The emphasis is
on informality. In summer the walks usually begin at about 2.00 p.m. and in
winter at 1.30 p.m. They normally last about a couple of hours, or so, usually
finishing at a convenient pub. (The pub attendance is not compulsory!)
Typically 30 plus people attend these walks.
Walks normally start and finish near an
Underground, Overground, DLR, or Rail station, though
very occasionally a short bus journey may be involved. A provisional programme for much of 2016 is given below but this
programme may be subject to change in the weeks preceding each monthly walk, so
please regularly check the website for updates.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME 2016
Sunday 9 October 2016 –
Stamford Brook to Kew Bridge via Chiswick House Click here
for details
Sunday 13 November 2016 - Westminster to Holborn
Sunday 11 December 2016 - Westminster Abbey to Westminster
Cathedral via Millbank
Sunday 8 January 2017 –
Peckham Rye to Surrey
Quays
Stamford Brook to Kew Bridge Walk - Sunday
9 October 2016
© Copyright Stefan Czapski
Licensed for reuse under this Creative
Commons Licence
This
walk explores a stretch of the north bank of the River Thames starting at Chiswick
Mall and finishing at Kew
Bridge. The first
important section of the walk is along Chiswick Mall which has several claims
to fame, as well as now being lined with attractive houses. In 1864, John Isaac
Thornycroft, founder of the John I. Thornycroft & Company shipbuilding company, established
a yard at Church Wharf at the west end of Chiswick Mall. The
shipyard built the first naval destroyer, HMS Daring of the Daring class, in
1893. The gardens of Bedford House on Chiswick Mall were the original site of
the Griffin Brewery. Beer has been brewed in the area for over 350 years. Lastly,
the novel Vanity Fair (1847/8) by William Makepeace Thackeray opens at Miss
Pinkerton's Academy for Young Ladies in Chiswick Mall. The last section of the
walk is along Strand on the Green. The area is renowned as a particularly picturesque part of London. A footpath runs
along the bank of the river, overlooked by numerous imposing 18th-century
houses and local pubs. One of the houses overlooking the river (No.65) is
marked with a blue plaque noting that the 18th century portrait painter Johann Zoffany lived there at the end of his life. The actor
Donald Pleasence lived in Strand-on-the-Green. The
film director John Guillermin lived at No.60 (The
Dutch House). The newspaper publisher Sir Hugh Cudlipp,
and the botanist and explorer of Australia Allan Cunningham have both lived at
No.21. The painter Joshua Compston lived at No.75.
The musician Midge Ure lived at No.70 (Zachary House)
in the 1980s. Other more recent residents
in the area include the actor Rhys Ifans, and the
television entertainers Ant and Dec.
Please
meet at 2.0 p.m. outside Stamford Brook tube station.
For
directions of walk click here
Transport
for London Journey Planner
To be added to the circulation list
for regular updates email: info@outandabout-london.org
Tel: 020 8989 5295 or 07785773917
Updated: 23 September 2016