Tuesday 18 August 2026: St Alphage, London Wall, City of London

On Tuesday 18 August ten Art in the Park sketchers arrived at the ruins of St Alphage in the City of London.  St Alphage himself was a Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered by the Danes in 1012 (in Greenwich, where he has another church dedicated to him)  after refusing to let his impoverished  people pay a heavy ransom for his release.   He was canonized in 1078, deservedly.   The ruins we see now were not his original church but a former priory building which became part of a hospital which survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but then had a very chequered history, which included being bombed in the Blitz.  Happily, the base of the tower is now preserved and is a charming part of the little garden alongside which also includes a segment of the old London Wall.   The ruins are closely embraced by a rust-red raised walkway as well as the completely overpowering vast offices close by which mostly we omitted from our compositions. 

We had a pleasant session in the gardens, the heatwave being over and the rains not yet arrived.  Most people took on the arches, and all their fascinating texture,  but several found areas of interest in the gardens.  Please enjoy our images below.

Our next sketch date will be Tuesday 15 September, probably in Broomfield Park, Palmers Green.   Details to follow.

  

Image above by Michael Hill

Image above by Diane Umemoto

Image above by Gill Steiner

Image above by Janet Perkins

 

Image above by Ann Funston

 

                                                                            

                                                        Two images above by Peter Colley                       

                                                                           

                                                  Image above by William Hicks                               

                                                                        

                                                    Image above by Diana Marshall

                                                                            

                                                    Image above by Avis Dennis                     
                                                                         

                                                                              

                                                 Two images above by Sue Lees

 

    

Tuesday 18 August St Alphage, London Wall, nr Barbican, London EC2Y 5DE

On Tuesday, 18 August, we will make our first visit to the ruins of St Alphage, at London Wall Place.    Poor St Alphage only remains as three sides of its tower, with no ceilings,  but there are a number of arches which offer an opportunity to suggest past and present, as they are surrounded by new offices.   Alongside there is a good stretch of the original Roman wall, with public gardens and seating, and a little further along there is a ruined tower which is suggestive of the Tarot tower, as well as other odd bits of Wall and greenery.  Lots of opportunity to work on the texture of the disintegrating flint and rubblework.  The Corporation of London will probably have the drought situation under control so the landscape planting will be looking nice.  There are trees and shade.   Details of St Alphage can be found here.  This includes a map.

We may also be able to get access to the St Alphage Highwalk, a pedestrian flyover.   There are apparently steps in the St Alphage section of the Highwalk.   We are not sure if the Highwalk is open or not, that depends on the state of new office building in the area.    If open, it offers interesting aerial views.

We will meet at 11 o'clock by the remains of St Alphage which are unmissable if you are on the right section of the main road London Wall (between Moorgate and Wood Street).   The nearest tube station is Moorgate, about a 5 minute walk away.  Many buses will pass close by. There is a cafe/restaurant alongside, Barbie Green, with chairs outside so it will (hopefully) be possible to have a cup of coffee there and use the loo.   The cuisine is no doubt delicious, but can get expensive quite quickly.   The menu can be seen here , some of us will probably wish to bring a picnic.

As always, bring your sketching stools, there are benches but they will not always be where you exactly want to be.

Sue's telephone number for the day will be: 07975 864 142.

 

Art in the Park: Highgate Cemetery – Eastern section

28 July 2026

 

The Eastern section of this cemetery has probably its most famous monument: a plinth with the gigantic head of Karl Marx. It also contains the graves of writers such as George Eliot, musicians like Bert Jansch of more recent times, and of course, others less famous. There was a funeral happening while we were there.

It is a very pleasant jumble with stones propped up and close together. More ‘groomed’ than somewhere like Abney in Stoke Newington. The site is sloping which results in tiers and vistas of trees and tombs.

Michelle has sent this interesting link which says more about the symbolism of different grave monuments to the Victorians, based on the Undercliffe Cemetery in Bradford:

https://www.undercliffecemetery.co.uk/gallery/funerary-art/

It was a very hot day for artists but eleven of us arrived complete with hats, and one had worked on the previous day. The images give a strong sense of the crowded nature of the setting with its angels, obelisks and monuments, some very grand indeed. It was easy to find shade.

The large square monument painted by Sue and Michelle is the Dalziel of Wooler mausoleum. He was a early C20th newspaper and railway magnate and later a Tory MP. And Diane’s drawing is of the imposing and unmistakable Karl Marx.

We had picnic lunch on a park bench next door in Waterlow Park and some artists returned for more in the afternoon.

 

Gill Steiner
Diane Umemoto	Janet Payne
Peter Colley	Tricia Sharpe
Michelle Cowen
Sue Lees	Cathy Burkinshaw
Diane Umemoto	Sue Lees
Janet Perkins
And three sketches of the Eastern section, all by Audrey Rapier

Tuesday 28 July: visit to Highgate Cemetery East Side, Swain's Lane, London N6 6PJ

On Tuesday 28 July we will revisit the East Side of Highgate Cemetery.   We have not been back since our visit in September 2021, and from the viewpoint of our current heatwave, the Eastern Cemetery offers various attractions:   lots of trees under which we can sit in relative cool; lots of shafting sunlight through the trees; a classical landscape at the top end (one can imagine oneself on the Via Appia in Ancient Rome); quite a number of delicious angels (more so than in the Western Cemetery); and the possibility of a breeze as we will be up a hill. 

We will meet at 11 o'clock inside the entrance to the East side (so not the side with the impressive Gothic castle-style entrance, but this can be sketched from the across the road).   (The East side has the Karl Marx memorial.) 

There is an entrance fee of around £10 for a day ticket, the ticket office only takes cards, no cash.  

We will eat our lunch on a bench in Waterlow Park just round the corner up the hill.  Lunch can be got from the cafe in Waterlow Park (further up the hill!) or brought in advance, and we can then go back in to the Cemetery for more art.

A map can be found here:     For most people, the easiest access is to get to Highgate Hill and Lauderdale House, and to walk through Waterlow Park.   Various buses go up and down Highgate Hill:  143, 210, 263, 310, and even the W5 starts at Archway and reaches the tip of Waterlow Park at St Joseph's before turning off.    There is no parking, the area is residents only in the morning.  

Photos of the East side can be found here:

Bring your sketching stools as the benches will never be where you want to be!

Sue's telephone number for the day is: 07975 864142.

The date for our August meetup will be Tuesday 18 August, venue tba.

  

Drawing the Haydn Chamber Orchestra in Rehearsal in Christchurch, Highbury, on Saturday 4 July 2026

 Nine fortunate artists presented themselves in Christchurch, Highbury, to enjoy the wonderful sound of the Haydn Chamber Orchestra and distinguished cello soloist Guy Johnston, and to draw them all at close quarters.    Under the guidance of up-and-coming conductor James Ham the Orchestra played Delius (on hearing the first cuckoo in spring), Barber's cello concerto, and Beethoven's Symphony number 2.   A fabulous time was had by us all.   We very much appreciate the kind invitation from the Orchestra to sketch them in Rehearsal, it is a very special experience.

Here are our drawings (no paintings this time!): 

 

                                                Three images above by Rujuin Hu

 

                                                Two Images above by Tricia Sharpe

 

 

                                                Three images above by Betty Wang

 

 

                                                Three images above by Janet Payne

                                                                             

                                                                            

                                                                                        

                                                  Three images above by Marni Bloor
                                                                                      

                                        Three images above by Ann Kozlowski-Hunt

                                                                             

                                                                            

                                                    Three images above by Peter Colley

                                                                                

                                                                         

                                               Two images above by Christian Cook                

 

 

 

Visit to Finsbury Circus Gardens on Tuesday 30 June 2026

19 sketchers arrived in the very elegant Finsbury Circus Gardens. This is all that remains of the original Moor Fields, a name now immortalised as an eye hospital.    The day was lovely, neither too hot nor rainy, we even had sun in the afternoon.    Landscape experts Realm designed the award winning new arrangement, which ticks many sustainability boxes and looked very attractive.  (We were pleased to see some starlings, one of the UK's fastest disappearing birds.)  The City of London Corporation must be very pleased with the result of their expenditure.   For more info about the garden design press here:

We ate our sandwiches in the Gardens, along with many office workers.  FCG  was clearly a very popular location for people working locally, and an interesting challenge for artists with lots of possibilities.

We enjoyed the various aspects of the Gardens, particularly the buildings of the Circus peeping through the trees.   Only one person tackled the architectural curve around the gardens, possibly everyone else was put off by the number of windows. 

Please enjoy our images.   

Image above by Sara Meidan

Three images above by Audrey Rapier

Image above by Gill Steiner

Image above by Diane Umemoto

Image above by Diana Marshall

Image above by Cathy Burkinshaw

Image above by Avis Dennis

Image above by Sue Loder

Image above by Janet Perkins
 

Image above by Tricia Sharpe

Image above by Peter Colley

Image above by Steve Betts

Image above by Janet Payne

Image above by Sue Lees

Image above by Diana Butement

Image above by Michelle Cowen  

Two images above by Gafung Wong