Tucked away at the far north of Wandsworth Common, behind the Fitzhugh housing estate, is one of…read moreSouth London's most remarkable buildings: on the scale - and in the style - of a baronial castle, it has variously been a school, hospital, interrogation centre and a college, and was nearly pulled down. It is now a Grade II-star Listed Building. History The building was paid for by the Royal Victoria Patriotic Fund, established to provide for the widows and orphans of soldiers killed in the Crimean War. The building was intended as a girls' school and opened in 1859. A boys' school was built to the rear in 1872. The original building - designed by Rhode Hawkins - incorporated a number of innovative building techniques, that nearly caused its later downfall. Life for the orphans was extraordinarily hard: from pumping water to the roof cisterns to having their heads shaved to counter lice, they were assembled to be hosed down with cold water every morning in the courtyard. Scandals which involved physical and sexual abuse by staff - and the death of an orphan - nearly resulted in the institution being closed down. The innovative heating system didn't work, so conventional fireplaces were provided for the staff - but not the orphans. Things had improved somewhat by the First World War (for example, central heating had been installed), when it was used as a hospital for injured troops, who arrived at a specially-built temporary railway station close by. After the end of hostilities, it resumed life as a girls' school under 1939. During World War II, it became the London Reception Centre, used by MI5 to process non-British aliens entering the country. After the war it became a teacher training college, and then a comprehensive school, before the decaying fabric - many problems arising as a result of the techniques used to build it - forced them out. The building was sold and gradually restored by its present owners, who had to endure, among other things, a fire in the Great Hall just before it was handed over. Building works took 7 years. The building now contains flats, studios and workshops for businesses in the creative industries, a drama school and a wine bar. The building The main building is built in a Scottish Baronial Gothic style, with Gothic, Jacobean and French elements, in yellow brick with stone dressings. The main façade has an imposing central tower, with matching smaller corner towers. The plan includes two central courtyards, a separate Chapel and various outbuildings, but the main feature is the huge Great Hall, with a hammer-beam ceiling decorated with the coats of arms of towns across Britain and the Empire which contributed to the original funds. The whole edifice really is an astonishing sight, especially as it has now been surrounded on the north side by comfortable suburban housing. Practicalities There is pedestrian access from Fitzhugh Grove, but vehicular access is via Windmill Lane and John Archer Way. Unless you are visiting a business or a resident in the one of the flats, the only public access inside is to the wine bar (the restaurant in the cafe recently closed down).

We walked blocks and blocks to get to this spot to see where Freddie Mercury's last residence and…read morestudio was in London. There isn't much to see but a high wall painted in anti graffiti paint. There isn't much to see or do, no tour to take - therefore it was just an okay experience for me. The highlight was the memories that sprung to mind when being in this place.

I went to visit Freddie's final haunt more for sentiment than expecting to see some great tribute,…read moreor anything much more than a vandalised door and some bricks (as the previous Yelp pictures suggested). I was pleasantly surprised that it seems a compromise has been reached between vandalism and tribute; the bricks directly beside that famous door - now redecorated with 'Garden Lodge' printed on it - are covered in perspex but fans have slipped through letters, notes, doodles, all full of so much love. In reality, Freddie was a private man and I doubt he'd want a shrine (he objected to the place being turned into a museum, apparently) but to see the love people still hold for him nearly 25 years on is beautiful. My sentiments were fulfilled, and I respectfully left listening to 'I'm Going Slightly Mad'. Just around the corner (I kid you not) I bumped into a person dressed as a life-size can of paint. I was already wondering if 'slightly' wasn't quite appropriate for me but that just proved it - hah! Worth going for the sentiment alone, if you're sentimental like that. You won't be bowled over by what you see but more what you feel, if you're that way inclined.

Almost at the end of the Thameslink you'll find Carshalton, with lots of green space, some ponds,…read moremany commuters, and the Carshalton Water Tower. It's pretty much what you'd expect, a building designed to hold some water for a large house, with some original features and if you do a guided tour, a wealth of information to be had. Most surprising is that they let you up on the roof, which in today's health and safety obsessed society was a welcome treat. Carshalton isn't an area I know well and is properly outside of my day-to-day life (I think I was last there in around 2002, looking at a flat) but I think if for killing some time on a Sunday afternoon, you could do worse than spending the £2 to come here. It's near the ponds and the nature reserve and a park, so a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Just make sure you check that it's open before you go, as it's only open seasonally and on Sundays. I was lucky enough to go during the week on a private tour!

Great to look around a bit of history. historic gardens for all!read more

An astonishing survivor in central Croydon is this lovely complex of almshouses. Located right in…read morethe heart of the shopping district, and surrounded by bars and clubs, it seems oblivious of the world beyond. The building was the brainchild of Archbishop Whitgift (c. 1530-1604) who, resident in the nearby Archbishop's Palace, sought permission from Elizabeth I to build some almshouses for the poor of the parish. Begun in 1596, and built in brick with stone detailing, it survives essentially unaltered; a quadrangle of individual houses, each with their own entrance and porch, surrounds a delightful courtyard of pretty gardens. The chapel contains a memorial to Whitgift himself, and other Tudor fittings, including the original benches. There are two entrance porches, sensibly gated off, but the one at North End allows passers-by a glimpse into this secluded world. It still fulfils its original purpose, providing sheltered accommodation for the elderly. The present Queen Elizabeth described it as 'An oasis of peace and tranquility'. It's hard to disagree. ############################################# Photographs added 01-12-2007

It's astonishing how many people must walk past the almshouses every day without giving a second…read morethought to what they are and why there are there. This beautiful building is just one of the legacies which John Whitgift left to Croydon about 500 years ago. That it still survives when so much of the town has been replaced with concrete and glass is a small miracle. Opposite the almshouses, you used to able to sit in a small raised area (dubbed locally 'pigeon s**t square' until it was demolished to make way for the tram), but now the corner is very much busier, and it is increasingly difficult to stop and take in the Tudor brickwork, the tiny windows and over-sized chimneys. If you turn your back to Primark, and claim one of the benches for 5 minutes, you might start to imagine what Croydon was like before the advent of the high street.

Holy Trinity is an Anglican church on Trinity Road close to Tooting Bec, in the parish known as…read moreUpper Tooting. It is a Grade-II listed building. The parish includes Tooting Bec station and runs down to Tooting Common in the south, straddling Balham High Road. The church was built in 1854-55, and designed by the Victorian church architect Anthony Salvin (1799-1881), who also restored a number of country houses and castles. The tower was added in 1860, and the aisles widened in 1889 and 1893. The south aisle was separated off from the rest of the church for use as a hall in 1976. The exterior is built in ragstone with Bath stone dressings, in a 14th century Decorated Gothic style. Both aisles as well as the nave and chancel have gable roofs. Although the interior is grandly proportioned and spacious, with arcades of five bays on round piers, the whitewashing rather drains it of character, and the blocking off of the south aisle unbalances what would otherwise be a really impressive space. The chancel and north chapel are rather happier architecturally, an attractive touch in the former being a pair of dormer windows. Decorations are modest, but most notable are the Pre-Raphaelite style wall paintings of St Agnes (in the north chapel) and St Oswald (on the west wall) and on the tower walls around the font, painted 1906-13 by Richard Castle. There is also some attractive Victorian stained glass. The church is happily open during the week for visits and for private prayer: a rarity these days in urban London. This should be applauded. The church is the centre of a busy parish life and has a Sunday school.

good image in the local communityread more

Interesting, educational and fun are three words that sum up the Croydon Clocktower on Katherine…read moreStreet. Within this stunning building a library can be found and also amongst it's walls various performances and exhibition's can be viewed. I remember being taken here as a child on a school trip to visit an exhibition relating to WW2, it was so much fun and really educational too. There are many events at the Croydon Clocktower for all of the family and the library is a great place to spend some time. If you're in the Croydon area then I highly recommend a trip.

This is where rock legend David Bowie lived in 1973-1974…read more Rock Star madness? It was at the time of the coal miners strike, and he wanted to know what it would be like living in a coal mine, so he painted all the interior of the house totally black (walls, ceilings, t.v. furniture etc.) Can be viewed from outside onlyno idea if it is still black inside. The houses cost just under a million in this street, Captain Scott, Antarctic explorer, lived at No. 56 which carries a blue plaque. Lady Wilde, mother of Oscar Wilde, lived at No 87. Blue plaque. Dame Sybil Thorndike, the actress, and her husband Lewis Casson, lived at No. 74 George Best, footballer, lived at No. 87

It wasn't so Much about the house itself but about the man…read moreand the ideas and songs that may have come out of room. For regular people it was just about walking by a house for me it was more than that.

Clarence House is the current residence of Prince Charles and Camilla and former home of Queen…read moreElizabeth, the Queen Mother before her passing. Since Prince Charles and Camilla do live here, Clarence House is only open 1 month of the year in August. However, if you buy tickets and sign it and get it stamped at the end of your visit, it's good for unlimited future visits for one year (though really, it's good for all of August next year because they're not open year-round). The tour is 45 minutes long and each tour is a bit different. Your guide will go over highlights that they're interested in, so if you get a different guide, you'll learn, hear, and see different tidbits and aspects of each room. Even though there are several stories, you only experience the rooms on the first floor. At the end of your tour, there is a gift shop for souvenir purchases. Beware of the condescending gentleman (if you can even call him that!) at the register who provides a snoot attitude when he deems you haven't purchased enough to receive a paper bag.

Famous as the London home of the late Queen Mother. Now the official residence of the Prince of…read moreWales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Pre-booked guided tour with a timed entrance. Small group views The Entrance Hall leading to the Lancaster Room. The Morning Room has been re-decorated by the Prince of Wales. Favourite along with the Dining Room. No photography is allowed in the grounds. Small gift shop. Wheelchair users can view all rooms.

If you're lucky enough to know someone who works inside, you can get a little tour of Portcullis…read moreHouse. I like the glass ceiling that lets in some natural light. Lunch at the cafe is great as well - nice fresh hot dishes for astoundingly low prices. Funny mix of school groups and lots of government workers in suits.

The exterior of this museum looks like a castle. This was one of the many museums in South…read moreKensington. I thought that the experience went well and that the line moved fast. I had pre-booked tickets, which made the experience smoother. Once inside, there were so many exhibits. My favorite part is the earth escalator, however, it was closed on the day that I went. I also loved the exterior gardens in the museum. It is great for a picnic or a journaling/reading session. I'd highly recommend stopping by to check out the dinosaur bones.

We were in London during a heat wave and decided a museum day was in order, to entertain our…read morechildren away from the scorching sun. We settled on the Natural History Museum, and by the time we realized it would provide but faint relief, it was too late to go somewhere else. The Natural History Museum is one of London's spectacular free museums, a beautiful building on Exhibition Road in South Kensington. We were not, apparently, the only family who decided to visit on this hot Thursday afternoon in July, and we ended up waiting in a long, slow line, completely exposed to the sun. They might have put up some umbrellas, but I guess the weather was atypical. Once we were in, we learned that the museum is an old, historic building without much in the way of air conditioning. It was crowded and steamy in there, though still preferable to being outside. There were also a few newer exhibition halls that had proper AC. Thankfully, my three-year-old has a lifelong fascination with fans, and there were dozens of these on display, giant machines designed to ventilate large spaces. He was, in fact, more into these than he was into the dinosaurs, which scared the bejeezus out of him. The museum was definitely top tier, with tons of interesting exhibits to entertain both children and adults. We entered right into Hintze Hall, where a full blue whale skeleton hung suspended over our heads. We also admired a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite, dating back to the beginning of our solar system. The dinosaur hall was excellent, even if the animatronic T-rex made my little boy cry. We fell prey to one of the photo op stops, and I definitely paid for the downloads like a sucker--what, was I not gonna own the silly green screen pictures of my family among dinosaurs, and more importantly, looking at a camera at the same time? The mammal hall was cool, though I have to say, I missed the grand diorama displays of the mammal halls I've seen back home. We went into a newer exhibit on how to fix our broken planet, mostly for the air conditioning. My kids were less into the conservation stuff than the dinosaurs and fans, but I thought it was quite well done. I actually stopped buying beef treats for my dog as a result of one of the placards, which talked about the impact on the planet of using beef for pet food. We went to two gift shops, the one by the dinosaur hall and the main one near the entrance, and both were quite nice, with lots to look at for our kids. We allowed them to buy stuffies, and our three-year-old bought a tiny dodo and a tiny ankylosaurus (on theme, good job), while our six-year-old bought a flamingo to add to his flamingo collection. If there was a flamingo display at the museum, we missed it, though I suppose I wouldn't be surprised. I can tell by looking at the map now that we missed plenty. We spent a little time in the cafe, for fans and beverages, and I realized as we were leaving that I'd left my sunglasses there over an hour earlier. I was pleasantly surprised to find it at the register waiting for me. We take the kids to natural history museums at home, and I have no doubt we'd make good use of this one if we were raising them nearby. It's a wonderful place, expansive and educational, a truly amazing free resource to anyone spending time in London.