15 artists made their way to the Bishopsgate Victorian Turkish bathhouse. Like a little jewel box surrounded by modern glass and concrete boxes (and the prestigious Ivy restaurant), the Turkish bathhouse is covered with Islamic-style tiles designed by its architect S Harold Elphick and topped off with an onion domed lantern. Those of us who arrived on time were able to have a guided look inside the building, kindly taken round by Daryl Pettyfer of Camm-Hooper who run the building as a unique events location.
Unfortunately, such is the money sloshing round in the City, this little building is threatened with huge development constricting its external space even further. There is a planning application in to knock down one of the dreary office blocks alongside and replace it with a bigger dreary 24-storey block which will also go over part of the roof of the bathhouse, held up by cantilevered supports. Images of the vast proposals can be found here: The Victorian Society is objecting, not least because if this plan goes ahead it will create a precedent for the (dreadful) plans to put a vast building over Liverpool Street Station round the corner. The Victorian Society's objections are here: If you would like to object to the plans, the planning application is here and many individuals have already written in. Your editor is going to object. So depressing to discover this when putting together the report on our nice day out in the Bishopsgate Churchyard lane, which is also blessed with an eighteenth century church and St Botolph's Church Rooms, (selected as a subject by one of our artists).
Our artists took varied approaches to the subjects available. Some of us focussed on the stained glass in the windows, others the tiles, and (new to us) one artist converted the islamic designs in the tiles and the glass into cross-stitch motifs. One person took an earlier painting as a base, and teased the bathhouse out of existing tones. Some of us looked at the buildings beyond and behind. We all found the little area charming, we had a nice lunch at the pub alongside.
Here we are discussing our work:
We also have one painting of Becket from a sculpture in St Paul's Churchyard from our previous visit.
Enjoy!
A reminder that our next date is WEDNESDAY 30 August, when we are going to Astey's Row, Islington, details will follow shortly.
Image below by Diana Marshall
Image below by Chris Baker
Two images below by Christine Khwaja
Two images below by Gafung Wong
Image below by Gill Steiner
Image below by Peter Colley
Image below by Diane Umemoto
Image below by Audrey Rapier
Image below by Sue Lees
Image below by Priscilla Worley
Image below by Tricia Sharpe
Image below by Janet Payne (of St Botolph's Church Rooms)
And finally, Maggie Pettigrew's painting of the sculpture of St Thomas a Becket in St Paul's Churchyard
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