London’s Heritage

London is one of the world’s most famous cities. It’s a centre for everything from fashion to finance, politics to pop music, and monarchy to the media – and it’s been at the heart of English history for thousands of years.

Our next issue sees a focus on some of the current restoration projects taking place in the capital.

We will be looking at the restoration work taking place in our UK Parliament and spotlight work carried out under the guidance and supervision of the Heritage of London Trust. There will also be a focus on projects listed by Historic England as being at risk.

The Palace of Westminster, or the Houses of Parliament as it is also known, has changed dramatically over the course of nearly a thousand years of history. Transformed from royal residence to the home of a modern democracy, the architecture and cultural collections of the Palace and the wider Parliamentary Estate have continually evolved, sometimes by design, sometimes through accident or attack.

We will be looking at some of the restoration projects and here are just a couple of examples.

Historic St Stephen’s Hall ceiling shines again as Parliament concludes major repair and cleaning work

A major piece of work to clean and repair the ceiling of the historic St Stephen’s Hall, right in the heart of Parliament, has now come to an end.

The intricate and specialist work involved is part of a wider programme of works that focuses on the repair and replacement of stonework, as well as mechanical and electrical systems in the Palace of Westminster.

Click here for further information.

Conservation of Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben

Affectionately known around the world as Big Ben and shrouded in scaffolding since 2017, the Elizabeth Tower is being repaired from the gilt cross and orb at its tip, to the bottom of its 334-step staircase.

This is the largest and most complex conservation project in the Tower’s history.

Click here for further information.

Heritage of London Trust is London’s independent heritage charity, set up in 1980 by the Greater London Council to rescue historic buildings and monuments. They work in every London borough, supporting local communities who most need their help.

The Trust identifies projects, commissions condition surveys, gives grants and guides the restoration of each site from beginning to end, focusing on heritage at risk. They encourage local authorities to get behind them and work with specialist conservators to bring every building back to life. All the projects involve young people through their Proud Places programme.

London’s lost histories inspire and delight. The Trust research the amazing stories behind every project and use them to brighten our surroundings and our lives.

As a charity Heritage of London Trust is 100% independently funded – if you can help support them, please do at www.heritageoflondon.org/donate-today

They share interesting restoration stories with schools and young people as part of the Proud Places programme. Over the last four decades the Trust has restored over 700 historic sites, helping keep the city’s heritage safe and accessible to all. For more information visit www.heritageoflondon.org

Here are a couple of projects showing what they do.

Restoration of the portico steps at Caroline Gardens Chapel

The chapel of the Licensed Victuallers’ Asylum, now known as Caroline Gardens Chapel, was built as part of a large set of almshouses for the support of publicans ‘advanced in age and suffering from infirmity... and no longer capable of supporting themselves’. Construction began in 1827 on a large plot of land in Camberwell, and continued until 1850 when the chapel was built in the centre of the almshouse crescent.

Click here for further information.

We will be looking for further projects of interest to be included so feel free to contact Richard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.