Take a look any map of medieval London and you can’t miss the 30 or so religious complexes dotted around the City and suburbs, housing the likes of monasteries, schools and hospitals. Surrounded by stone walls with secure entrances through gate houses, these private precincts grew into thriving […]
When the late Queen Mother undertook tours of the suburbs she often dropped in on the residents of prefabs, claiming the developments resembled holiday camps. Walking around the Excalibur estate in Catford, south London, this afternoon I could see exactly where she was coming from – proud people […]
Travelling across Romania, the ghost of Nicolae Ceaușescu is always present. In town after town we drove through we found the hallmarks of the communist dictator’s stamp on urban planning – grimy, shoe-box apartment blocks within easy reach of equally grotty industrial estates. During a nine-day trip to […]
Past In The Present 