1.
London Colosseum
–
The London Colosseum was a building to the east of Regents Park, London. It was built in 1827 to exhibit Thomas Hornors Panoramic view of London, the design of the Colosseum was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The Colosseum was a venture of English artist and surveyor, Thomas Hornor, the Colosseum was built on the east side of Regents Park, between Chester Terrace and Cambridge Terrace. Designed by Decimus Burton, with the assistance of John Young it was in the form of a sixteen-sided domed polygon and it was built of brick rendered with cement in imitation of stone. On 12 December 1825, E. T. Parris started work on the panorama, the project would involve great artistic as well as technical and mechanical challenges for the artist. By means of squares, Parris began to draw the outlines in chalk, on a scale 16-times larger each way, or, in other words, 256-times the area of the original drawings. This was a work of much labour, and demanding close attention, Hornor engaged several artists to assist Parris in the undertaking, but progress was slow and unsatisfactory due to their unfamiliarity with the type of work required. There were also problems of consistency of colour, composition etc. eventually, Parris decided to take charge and do the whole thing himself with the assistance of several house-painters, this proved to be the right choice. In addition to the problem of the volume of the canvas. This is where Parriss mechanical ingenuity came into its own, he devised all kinds of light scaffoldings, bridges, and platforms. Sometimes he was supported from the floor by two or three long and slender spars, which vibrated with every motion of his arm, sometimes he was suspended by cords from the roof. On two occasions Parris fell from a height, fortunately, in neither case did he suffer any serious injury. The panorama was completed in November 1829, after a period of 4 years, the painting was the largest ever created, totalling over forty thousand square feet in area, and a testament to Parriss great artistic skill, talent, and perseverance. Hornor fell into difficulties and the property passed into the hands of trustees. It went into decline as a place of amusement. It was remodelled by William Bradwell, former chief machinist of the Covent Garden Theatre, who added an entrance in Albany Street. The new owners announced a Glypoteca, or Museum of Sculpture, instead of calico draperies which had the appearance of a tent hastily fitted up for some temporary purpose, the visitor was promised a lofty dome, of several thousand feet of richly cut glass. The frieze of the Glypoteca was decorated with a copy of the Panathenaic procession from the Parthenon, modelled by Mr Henning, Jr, the staircase leading up to the panorama was now disguised by a framework hung with handsome and classically disposed drapery
London Colosseum
2.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
London
–
Palace of Westminster,
Buckingham Palace and
Central London skyline
London
London
London
–
The name London may derive from the
River Thames
3.
WC postcode area
–
The WC postcode area, also known as the London WC postcode area, is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes parts of the London Borough of Camden, City of Westminster, London Borough of Islington, the area covered is of very high density development. The current postcode districts are relatively recent, divisions WC1 and WC2 districts established only in 1917. Where the districts are used for other than the sorting of mail, such as use as a geographic reference and on street signs. Both the WC1 and WC2 postcode districts are part of the London post town, there are no dependent localities used in the postcode districts. The numbered districts were created in 1917, before then they had been included in the WC postal district. There has been no significant recoding of the area from 1990 to 2007. There are Post Office branches in the WC1 postcode district at Grays Inn, High Holborn, Marchmont Street and Russell Square, the Western Central District Office was located on New Oxford Street, which was a stop on the London Post Office Railway. Deliveries for WC1 and WC2 now come from Mount Pleasant Mail Centre in Farringdon Road
WC postcode area
–
WC postcode area map, showing postcode districts in red and post towns in grey text, with links to nearby
EC,
N,
NW,
SE,
SW and
W postcode areas.
4.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
5.
London Underground
–
The London Underground is a public rapid transit system serving London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2015–16 carried 1.34 billion passengers, the 11 lines collectively handle approximately 4.8 million passengers a day. The system has 270 stations and 250 miles of track, despite its name, only 45% of the system is actually underground in tunnels, with much of the network in the outer environs of London being on the surface. In addition, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London, the current operator, London Underground Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London, the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in Greater London. As of 2015, 92% of operational expenditure is covered by passenger fares, the Travelcard ticket was introduced in 1983 and Oyster, a contactless ticketing system, in 2003. Contactless card payments were introduced in 2014, the LPTB was a prominent patron of art and design, commissioning many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in a modernist style. Other famous London Underground branding includes the roundel and Johnston typeface, to prepare construction, a short test tunnel was built in 1855 in Kibblesworth, a small town with geological properties similar to London. This test tunnel was used for two years in the development of the first underground train, and was later, in 1861, the worlds first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, the Metropolitan District Railway opened in December 1868 from South Kensington to Westminster as part of a plan for an underground inner circle connecting Londons main-line termini. The Metropolitan and District railways completed the Circle line in 1884, built using the cut and this opened in 1890 with electric locomotives that hauled carriages with small opaque windows, nicknamed padded cells. The Waterloo and City Railway opened in 1898, followed by the Central London Railway in 1900, the Metropolitan Railway protested about the change of plan, but after arbitration by the Board of Trade, the DC system was adopted. When the Bakerloo was so named in July 1906, The Railway Magazine called it an undignified gutter title, by 1907 the District and Metropolitan Railways had electrified the underground sections of their lines. In January 1913, the UERL acquired the Central London Railway, the Bakerloo line was extended north to Queens Park to join a new electric line from Euston to Watford, but World War I delayed construction and trains reached Watford Junction in 1917. During air raids in 1915 people used the stations as shelters. An extension of the Central line west to Ealing was also delayed by the war, the Metropolitan promoted housing estates near the railway with the Metro-land brand and nine housing estates were built near stations on the line. Electrification was extended north from Harrow to Rickmansworth, and branches opened from Rickmansworth to Watford in 1925, the Piccadilly line was extended north to Cockfosters and took over District line branches to Harrow and Hounslow. In 1933, most of Londons underground railways, tramway and bus services were merged to form the London Passenger Transport Board, the Waterloo & City Railway, which was by then in the ownership of the main line Southern Railway, remained with its existing owners. In the same year that the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, in the following years, the outlying lines of the former Metropolitan Railway closed, the Brill Tramway in 1935, and the line from Quainton Road to Verney Junction in 1936
London Underground
–
A deep-level
Central line train at
Lancaster Gate bound for
Ealing Broadway
London Underground
–
London Underground
London Underground
–
A larger sub-surface
Metropolitan line train at
Farringdon bound for
Aldgate
London Underground
–
The Metropolitan Railway opened using GWR broad gauge locomotives
6.
Charing Cross tube station
–
Charing Cross is a London Underground station at Charing Cross in the City of Westminster with entrances located in Trafalgar Square and The Strand. The station is served by the Northern and Bakerloo lines and provides an interchange with the National Rail network at Charing Cross station. On the Northern line it is between Embankment and Leicester Square stations on the Charing Cross branch, and on the Bakerloo line it is between Embankment and Piccadilly Circus stations, the station is in Travelcard Zone 1. The station was served by the Jubilee line between 1979 and 1999, acting as the terminus of the line during that period. For most of the history of the Underground the name Charing Cross was associated not with this station, the Northern line and Bakerloo line parts of the station were originally opened as two separate stations and were combined when the now defunct Jubilee line platforms were opened. The constituent stations also underwent a number of changes during their history. The first part of the complex, the Bakerloo line platforms, was opened as Trafalgar Square by the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway on 10 March 1906. The Northern line platforms were opened a year later, as Charing Cross, by the Charing Cross, at its opening this station was the southern terminus of the CCE&HR which ran to two northern termini at Golders Green and Highgate tube stations. The interchange station between the BS&WR and District had been known hitherto as Charing Cross and Embankment and these names lasted only a short time, on 9 May 1915, Charing Cross was renamed Strand and for Charing Cross the tube lines adopted the District Railway name of Charing Cross. At the same time, the separate Strand station on the Great Northern, Piccadilly, the Northern line Strand station was closed on 4 June 1973 to enable the construction of the new Jubilee line platforms. These platforms were constructed between the Bakerloo line and Northern line platforms together with the long-missing below-ground interchange between two lines. In anticipation of the new station, from 4 August 1974 Charing Cross was renamed Charing Cross Embankment. The West End branch of the Northern line has been known as the Charing Cross branch since before the 1979 renaming, and this name has continued despite the change of station to which it refers. Although Charing Cross was constructed as the terminus of the Jubilee line. The tunnels were constructed beyond the station beneath the Strand as far as 143 Strand. The tunnels also extend beyond the platforms into the Overrun, each overrun has the capacity to stable a further two trains each. As the Jubilee line platforms and track are maintained by TfL for operation reasons, they can also be used by film. In 2006, it was proposed that an extension to the Docklands Light Railway from Bank station would take over the platforms, intermediate stations at Aldwych and City Thameslink would be opened, mirroring the planned route of the old Fleet line
Charing Cross tube station
–
Entrance at Villiers Street/The Strand
Charing Cross tube station
–
Northern line southbound platform at Charing Cross, looking north
Charing Cross tube station
–
One of the entrances to Charing Cross tube station from
Trafalgar Square.
Charing Cross tube station
–
Closed stations
7.
Leicester Square tube station
–
Leicester Square is a station on the London Underground, located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of Leicester Square itself. The station is on the Northern line between Charing Cross and Tottenham Court Road, and the Piccadilly line between Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden and it is in Travelcard Zone 1. Like other stations on the sections of the Piccadilly and Northern lines. New station entrances were constructed to a new ticket hall. As with the similar sub-surface ticket hall previously built at Piccadilly Circus this was excavated partially under the roadway, from there banks of escalators were provided down to both sets of platforms. The redundant lifts were removed but the lift shaft remains in use as a ventilation shaft hidden behind a door on the first landing of the Cranbourn street entrance stairs. The redeveloped station opened in 1935, the building, known as Transad House, was in its early years, occupied by the publishers of the Wisden Cricketers Almanack and an image of cricket stumps appears above a door way. On all four platforms, film sprockets are painted down the length and on the top and bottom of the display area. The station is featured briefly during the video sequence of the 2009 film Harry Potter. London Buses routes 14,19,24,29,38 and 176 and night routes N5, N20, N29, N38, N47, leslie Green – architect of original station building Charles Holden – architect of new ticket hall and entrances Photographic Archive. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18, archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Underground Journeys, Leicester Square, Design drawing and history, archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07
Leicester Square tube station
–
Leicester Square
8.
National Rail
–
The name and the accompanying double arrow symbol are the intellectual property of the Secretary of State for Transport. The National Rail logo was introduced by ATOC in 1999, and was used on the Great Britain public timetable for the first time in the edition valid from 26 September in that year. Rules for its use are set out in the Corporate Identity Style Guidelines published by the Rail Delivery Group, the NR title is sometimes described as a brand. As it was used by British Rail, the operator before franchising, its use also maintains continuity and public familiarity. National Rail should not be confused with Network Rail, the two networks are generally coincident where passenger services are run. Most major Network Rail lines carry traffic and some lines are freight only. About twenty privately owned operating companies, each franchised for a defined term by government. The Rail Delivery Group is the association representing the TOCs and provides core services. It also runs Rail Settlement Plan, which allocates ticket revenue to the various TOCs, and Rail Staff Travel and it does not compile the national timetable, which is the joint responsibility of the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail. Since the privatisation of British Rail there is no longer a single approach to design on railways in Great Britain, the look and feel of signage, liveries and marketing material is largely the preserve of the individual TOCs. However, National Rail continues to use BRs famous double-arrow symbol and it has been incorporated in the National Rail logotype and is displayed on tickets, the National Rail website and other publicity. The trademark rights to the arrow symbol remain state-owned, being vested in the Secretary of State for Transport. The double arrow was already prescribed for indicating a railway station, the lettering used in the National Rail logotype is a modified form of the typeface Sassoon Bold. It is a misconception that Rail Alphabet was also used for printed material. The British Rail typefaces of choice from 1965 were Helvetica and Univers, TOCs may use what they like, examples include Futura, Helvetica, Frutiger, Bliss, and a modified version of Precious by London Midland. Several conurbations have their own metro or tram systems, most of which are not part of National Rail, LO now also possesses some infrastructure in its own right, following the reopening of the former East London line of London Underground as the East London Railway of LO. Heathrow Express and Eurostar are also not part of the National Rail network despite sharing of stations, northern Ireland Railways were never part of British Rail, which was always confined to Great Britain, and therefore are not part of the National Rail network. National Rail services have a common ticketing structure inherited from British Rail, through tickets are available between any pair of stations on the network, and can be bought from any station ticket office
National Rail
–
Young Person railcard rail ticket from
Wellington to
Shrewsbury
National Rail
–
Child Return from East Kilbride
9.
Charing Cross railway station
–
Charing Cross railway station is a central London railway terminus on the Strand in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover, all trains are operated by Southeastern, which provides the majority of commuter and regional services to south-east London and Kent. It is connected to Charing Cross tube station on the London Underground and it is one of 19 stations in the United Kingdom that are managed by Network Rail. Charing Cross is the 14th busiest station in the country, the tracks approach the station from Hungerford Bridge over the River Thames. There is an office and shopping complex above the station, known as Embankment Place, the original station building was built on the site of the Hungerford Market by the South Eastern Railway and opened on 11 January 1864. The station was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw, with a single wrought iron roof arching over the six platforms on its relatively cramped site. It is built on an arched viaduct, the level of the rails above the ground varying from 13 feet at the north-east end to 27 feet at the bridge abutment at the south-east end. A year later the Charing Cross Hotel, designed by Edward Middleton Barry, opened on 15 May 1865 and gave the station an ornate frontage in the French Renaissance style. Contemporary with the Charing Cross Hotel was a replica of the Eleanor Cross in Red Mansfield stone, also designed by Edward Middleton Barry and it was based on the original 13th-century Whitehall Cross that had been demolished in 1647. Distances in London are officially measured from the site of the cross, now the statue of Charles I facing Whitehall. The condition of the cross deteriorated until it was in such a condition that it was placed on the English Heritage At Risk Register in 2008. A ten-month project to repair and restore the cross was completed in August 2010. A 77-foot length of the elegant original roof structure, comprising the two end bays at the south of the station, and part of the wall collapsed at 3,45 pm on 5 December 1905. A gang of men were employed at the time in repairing, glazing and painting the section of roof which fell. Shortly after 3,30 pm, the roof emitted a loud noise, part of the roof began to sag and the western wall began to crack. It was another 12 minutes before the collapse occurred, which enabled trains and platforms to be evacuated, the roof, girders and debris fell across four passenger trains standing in platforms 3,4,5 and 6, blocking all tracks were. The part of the wall that fell had crashed through the wall and roof of the neighbouring Royal Avenue Theatre in Northumberland Avenue. At the Board Of Trade Inquiry into the accident, expert witnesses expressed doubts about the design of the roof, consequently, the South Eastern and Chatham Railway decided not to repair the roof but to replace it
Charing Cross railway station
–
Approach tracks across the River Thames
Charing Cross railway station
–
Nearing completion in 1864, showing the pre-1905 arched roof
Charing Cross railway station
–
The front entrance of Charing Cross station in a 19th-century print. The
Charing Cross is in front of the Charing Cross Hotel, now an Amba hotel.
Charing Cross railway station
–
A replica of the
Eleanor Cross in
Charing Cross station forecourt
10.
English National Opera
–
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martins Lane. It is one of the two opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. ENOs productions are sung in English, Baylis subsequently built up both the opera and the theatre companies, and later added a ballet company, these evolved into ENO, the Royal National Theatre and The Royal Ballet, respectively. Baylis acquired and rebuilt the Sadlers Wells theatre in north London, the opera company grew there into a permanent ensemble in the 1930s. During the Second World War, the theatre was closed and the company toured British towns, after the war, the company returned to its home, but it continued to expand and improve. By the 1960s, a theatre was needed. In 1968, the moved to the London Coliseum and adopted its present name in 1974. Among the conductors associated with the company have been Colin Davis, Reginald Goodall, Charles Mackerras, Mark Elder, the current music director of ENO is Martyn Brabbins. Noted directors who have staged productions at ENO have included David Pountney, Jonathan Miller, Nicholas Hytner, Phyllida Lloyd, ENOs current artistic director is Daniel Kramer. In addition to the operatic repertoire, the company has presented a wide range of works, from early operas by Monteverdi to new commissions, operetta. In 1889, Emma Cons, a Victorian philanthropist who ran the Old Vic theatre in a area of London. Although the theatre licensing laws of the day prevented full costumed performances, Cons presented condensed versions of well-known operas, among the performers were noted singers such as Charles Santley. These operatic evenings quickly became more popular than the dramas that Cons had been staging separately, in 1898, she recruited her niece Lilian Baylis to help run the theatre. At the same time she appointed Charles Corri as the Old Vics musical director, Baylis and Corri, despite many disagreements, shared a passionate belief in popularising opera, hitherto generally the preserve of the rich and fashionable. They worked on a budget, with an amateur chorus. By the early years of the 20th century, the Old Vic was able to present semi-staged versions of Wagner operas, Emma Cons died in 1912, leaving her estate, including the Old Vic, to Baylis, who dreamed of transforming the theatre into a peoples opera house. In the same year, Baylis obtained a licence to allow the Old Vic to stage performances of operas. In the 1914–1915 season, Baylis staged 16 operas and 16 plays, the opera, however, remained her first priority
English National Opera
–
The London Coliseum, home of English National Opera
English National Opera
–
Detail of the interior of the Coliseum, 2011
English National Opera
–
Emma Cons
English National Opera
–
The old Sadler's Wells, demolished to make way for Baylis's theatre
11.
Listed building
–
A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
Listed building
–
The
Forth Bridge, designed by
Sir Benjamin Baker and
Sir John Fowler, opened in 1890, and now owned by
Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by
Historic Scotland.
Listed building
–
Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British monarch, listed Grade I.
Listed building
–
Royal Festival Hall, London was the first postwar building to gain Grade I-listed status.
Listed building
–
The Grade I listed
King's College London Chapel on the Strand Campus seen today was redesigned in 1864 by
Sir George Gilbert Scott
12.
Seating capacity
–
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
Seating capacity
–
The
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has the largest seating capacity of any venue in the world.
Seating capacity
–
An aerial view of the
Melbourne Cricket Ground during the 1992
Cricket World Cup final packed with 90,000 people.
13.
Aedas
–
Aedas is an international architectural firm, which is one of the worlds largest. It is world renowned for several projects, such as the Pentominium. Aedas was established in 2002 and has grown from 550 employees in 2002 to over 1,000 in 2008 when it became the seventh largest architectural practicesin the world. In 2014, Aedas employs 1,400 staff at 13 offices in eight countries, in the beginning of 2015, Aedas acquired UK practice RHWL and Arts Team. Aedas has completed more than 100 projects totalling over 100 million square feet of space around the world
Aedas
–
Aedas
Aedas
–
Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island
Aedas
–
Mandarin Oriental Chengdu, conception
Aedas
–
Starlight Place, PRC
14.
Frank Matcham
–
Frank Matcham was an English theatrical architect and designer. He was known for his designs of many British theatres including those of the Moss Empires group and in London the Hackney Empire, the London Coliseum, the London Palladium and he completed his first solo design of the Elephant and Castle theatre which opened in June 1879. Between 1890 and 1915, Matcham helped train, Bertie Crewe, sprague, and all three were responsible for the design and construction of over 200 theatres and variety palaces in the United Kingdom. Frank Matcham was born in Newton Abbot, Devon and his father was a brewery clerk, who was raised in Torquay, where he attended Babbacombe school. In 1868, Matcham was apprenticed to a surveyor and architect. In the mid-1870s, Matcham moved to London and joined the practice of Jethro Robinson. In 1877, Matcham married Robinsons youngest daughter, Effie, and, at the age of 24, Matcham received no formal training as an architect, but learnt the practicalities on the job. His first solo commission was to complete Robinsons designs for the Elephant, Matcham and two architects he helped to train, Bertie Crewe and W. G. R. He also designed several famous London theatres, the Hackney Empire, the London Coliseum, the London Palladium, Matcham is remembered in Northern Ireland for his design of the Grand Opera House on Great Victoria Street, Belfast. In Douglas, Isle of Man he designed the Gaiety Theatre, phipps, and was subject to alterations by Matcham in 1897, followed by a complete interior rebuild by him in 1909. Both theatres still survive in Aberdeen, although the Tivoli is disused after a spell as a bingo hall, in Edinburgh, he designed the Empire Palace Theatre, opened in 1892, and he also rebuilt it after a fire in 1911. It was subsequently demolished and rebuilt in 1927/8, this time to the designs of Sunderland architects Milburn and Milburn. The theatre still stands today, having been refurbished, after a time as a hall, as the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Matcham also designed the Kings Theatre, Glasgow on Bath Street in 1904 which is still in use, in Portsmouth the Kings Theatre and the New Theatre Royal are still active. One unusual commission, built around 1900, is the three blocks in Briggate, Leeds, that are known as the Victoria Quarter. Matcham was among the pioneers in the use of steel cantilevers in his designs and this allowed balconies to be built out into the theatre without the use of pillars supporting each tier. These had characterised the work of the generation of theatre architects. Without pillars, there were improved sight lines and, popular with theatre owners, Matcham died on 18 May 1920 at 28 Westcliff Parade, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
Frank Matcham
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Matcham in Vanity Fair
Frank Matcham
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The Hackney Empire in August 2005
Frank Matcham
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Blackpool Opera House (1889)
Frank Matcham
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Grand Theatre, Blackpool (1894)
15.
Central London
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Central London is the innermost part of London, UK. Over time a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. From 2004 to 2008, the London Plan included a sub-region called Central London comprising Camden, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and it had a 2001 population of 1,525,000. The sub-region was replaced in 2008 with a new structure which amalgamated inner and outer boroughs together and this was altered in 2011 when a new Central London sub region was created, now including the City of London and excluding Wandsworth. However, districts at the edge of this subregion such as Streatham, Dulwich. During the Herbert Commission and the subsequent passage of the London Government Bill, the first two were detailed in the 1959 Memorandum of Evidence of the Greater London Group of the London School of Economics. It had an population of 350,000 and occupied 7,000 acres. The area had an population of 400,000 and occupied 8,000 acres. During the passage of the London Government Bill an amendment was put forward to create a central borough corresponding to the used at the 1961 census. The population was estimated to be 270,000
Central London
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Panorama of central London as seen from the
London Eye
Central London
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OpenStreetMap of Central London.
16.
Architect
–
An architect is someone who plans, designs, and reviews the construction of buildings. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, which derives from the Greek, practical, technical, and academic requirements for becoming an architect vary by jurisdiction. The terms architect and architecture are used in the disciplines of landscape architecture, naval architecture. In most jurisdictions, the professional and commercial uses of the terms architect, throughout ancient and medieval history, most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans—such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Until modern times, there was no distinction between architect and engineer. In Europe, the architect and engineer were primarily geographical variations that referred to the same person. It is suggested that various developments in technology and mathematics allowed the development of the gentleman architect. Paper was not used in Europe for drawing until the 15th century, pencils were used more often for drawing by 1600. The availability of both allowed pre-construction drawings to be made by professionals, until the 18th-century, buildings continued to be designed and set out by craftsmen with the exception of high-status projects. In most developed countries, only qualified people with appropriate license, certification, or registration with a relevant body, such licensure usually requires an accredited university degree, successful completion of exams, and a training period. To practice architecture implies the ability to independently of supervision. In many places, independent, non-licensed individuals may perform design services outside the professional restrictions, such design houses, in the architectural profession, technical and environmental knowledge, design and construction management, and an understanding of business are as important as design. However, design is the force throughout the project and beyond. An architect accepts a commission from a client, the commission might involve preparing feasibility reports, building audits, the design of a building or of several buildings, structures, and the spaces among them. The architect participates in developing the requirements the client wants in the building, throughout the project, the architect co-ordinates a design team. Structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers and other specialists, are hired by the client or the architect, the architect hired by a client is responsible for creating a design concept that meets the requirements of that client and provides a facility suitable to the required use. In that, the architect must meet with and question the client to ascertain all the requirements, often the full brief is not entirely clear at the beginning, entailing a degree of risk in the design undertaking. The architect may make proposals to the client which may rework the terms of the brief
Architect
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Filippo Brunelleschi is revered to be one of the most inventive and gifted architects in history.
Architect
–
An architect at work, 1893.
Architect
–
Architect
Rem Koolhaas inspecting a model of the
Seattle Central Library
17.
Oswald Stoll
–
Sir Oswald Stoll was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company. He also owned Cricklewood Studios and film production company Stoll Pictures, in 1912, he founded the Royal Variety Performance a now-annual charity show which benefits the Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund. Born in Melbourne, Australia as Oswald Gray, Stoll moved to England with his mother after the death of his father, when his mother remarried, he took his stepfathers last name. At a young age, Stoll left school to help his mother manage first the Parthenon music hall in Liverpool, the company was a success, and Stoll began to buy or build city theatres. The theatre business made Stoll a wealthy man, and in 1898 he merged his business with that of competitor Edward Moss, by 1905, almost every large town in Great Britain had an Empire or a Coliseum theatre, managed by Stoll. His film company Stoll Picture Productions was founded in April 1918, a former aeroplane factory in Cricklewood was purchased in 1920 and converted to film use as Cricklewood Studios. Particularly associated with director Maurice Elvey, Stolls company maintained a connection with the industry until 1938 when the Cricklewood studio was closed. Stoll worked with the theatre architect Frank Matcham on several theatres, including, Stoll was a philanthropist who donated the land in 1916 for the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation, a charity in Fulham, London for disabled soldiers returning from World War I and their families. The foundation provides support, IT tuition, health and well-being activities. The foundation is committed to building and sustaining communities within which people can live independently, positively and healthily. From Stoll Foundation workshops designed to help veterans suffering from post traumatic stress through performing Shakespeare, stemmed the Combat Veteran Players, since establishment they have performed with the RSC Open Stages programme, at the Old Vic Vaults, and Shakespeares Globe. In 2014 they were awarded an inaugural Owle Schreame Award for innovation in historical theatre and he married his first wife, Harriet Lewis, in Cardiff in 1892, and they had one daughter. Harriet died in 1902, and Stoll married Millicent Shaw the following year, Oswald and Millicent Stoll had three sons. Lady Stoll became President of the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation following her husbands death, Stoll was knighted by King George V in 1919. He died in 1942 at his home in Putney,33 Putney Hill, the Grand Survival, A Theory of Immortality by Natural Law, London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co.1904. More broadsheets on the National Finance, London, George Allen & Unwin,1933. For an analysis of Stolls writings see Vincent Barnett, A Creditable Performance, Sir Oswald Stoll as Business Strategist and Monetary Heretic, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, September 2009. Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation Pryors Bank Cafe Stoll Studios, Cricklewood at The StudioTour. com Arthur Lloyd Music Hall and Theatre History Website
Oswald Stoll
–
Oswald Stoll
Oswald Stoll
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Caricature of Oswald Stoll by "Ape Jr" in Vanity Fair, 4 Sep 1911
18.
Music hall
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Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era circa 1850 and lasting until 1960. It involved a mixture of songs, comedy, speciality acts. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place and these theatres were designed chiefly so people could consume food and alcohol and smoke tobacco in the auditorium while the entertainment took place. This differed somewhat from the type of theatre, which until then seated the audience in stalls with a separate bar-room. By the mid-19th century, the halls cried out for many new, as a result, professional songwriters were enlisted to provide the music for a plethora of star performers, such as Marie Lloyd, Dan Leno, Little Tich, and George Leybourne. Music hall did not adopt its own unique style, the halls had recovered by the start of the First World War and were used to stage charity events in aid of the war effort. Music hall entertainment continued after the war, but became popular due to upcoming Jazz, Swing. Licensing restrictions had also changed, and drinking was banned from the auditorium, a new type of music hall entertainment had arrived, in the form of variety, and many music hall performers failed to make the transition. Deemed old fashioned and with the closure of many halls, music hall entertainment ceased, Music hall in London had its origins in entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of public houses during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and these latter became subject to urban development and became fewer and less popular. The saloon was a room where for a fee or a greater price at the bar, singing, dancing. The most famous London saloon of the days was the Grecian Saloon, established in 1825, at The Eagle,2 Shepherdess Walk. According to John Hollingshead, proprietor of the Gaiety Theatre, London, this establishment was the father and mother, later known as the Grecian Theatre, it was here that Marie Lloyd made her début at the age of 14 in 1884. It is still famous because of an English nursery rhyme, with the somewhat mysterious lyrics, Up and down the City Road In and out The Eagle Thats the way the money goesPop goes the weasel. Another famous song and supper room of this period was Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms,43 King Street, Covent Garden and this venue was also known as Evans Late Joys – Joy being the name of the previous owner. Other song and supper rooms included the Coal Hole in The Strand, the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, the music hall as we know it developed from such establishments during the 1850s and were built in and on the grounds of public houses. In a theatre, by contrast, the audience was seated in stalls, an exception to this rule was the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton which somehow managed to evade this regulation and served drinks to its customers. Though a theatre rather than a hall, this establishment later hosted music hall variety acts
Music hall
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The Oxford Music Hall, ca. 1875
Music hall
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The Eagle Tavern in 1830
Music hall
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The interior of
Wilton's (here, being set for a wedding). The lines of tables give some idea of how early music halls were used as supper clubs.
Music hall
–
Interior of the
Canterbury Hall, opened 1852 in
Lambeth
19.
Cinerama
–
Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation and it was the first of a number of novel processes introduced during the 1950s, when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. Cinerama was presented to the public as an event, with reserved seating and printed programs. The display is accompanied by a high-quality, seven-track discrete, directional, the original system involved shooting with three synchronized cameras sharing a single shutter. This process was abandoned in favor of a system using a single camera. The latter system lost the 146° field of view of the original three-strip system, three-strip Cinerama did not use anamorphic lenses, although two of the systems used to produce the 70mm prints did employ anamorphics. Later, 35mm anamorphic reduction prints were produced for exhibition in theatres with anamorphic CinemaScope-compatible projection lenses, Cooper, produced a commercially viable demonstration of Cinerama which opened on Broadway on September 30,1952. The film, titled This is Cinerama, was received with enthusiasm and it was the outgrowth of many years of development. Waller had earlier developed an 11-projector system called Vitarama at the Petroleum Industry exhibit in the 1939 New York Worlds Fair, a five-camera version, the Waller Gunnery Trainer, was used during the Second World War. The word Cinerama combines cinema with panorama, the origin of all the -orama neologisms, the photographic system used three interlocked 35 mm cameras equipped with 27 mm lenses, approximately the focal length of the human eye. The three cameras were mounted as one unit, set at 48 degrees to each other, a single rotating shutter in front of the three lenses assured simultaneous exposure on each of the films. The image was photographed six sprocket holes high, rather than the four used in other 35 mm processes. The picture was photographed and projected at 26 frames per second rather than the usual 24 and he further comments on the unreliability of numerous websites and other resources that will tell you that Cinerama had an aspect ratio of up to 3,1. In theaters, Cinerama film was projected from three projection booths arranged in the same pattern as the cameras. This was a big-ticket, reserved-seats spectacle, and the Cinerama projectors were adjusted carefully, great care was taken to match color and brightness when producing the prints. Nevertheless, the seams between panels were usually noticeable, optical limitations with the design of the camera itself meant that if distant scenes joined perfectly, closer objects did not. A nearby object might split into two as it crossed the seams, to avoid calling attention to the seams, scenes were often composed with unimportant objects such as trees or posts at the seams, and action was blocked so as to center actors within panels. This gave a distinctly triptych-like appearance to the composition even when the seams themselves were not obvious and it was often necessary to have actors in different sections cheat where they looked in order to appear to be looking at each other in the final projected picture
Cinerama
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A Cinerama screen in the Belleview, Amsterdam
Cinerama
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the Cinerama Dome in
Los Angeles
Cinerama
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the Cinerama in
Tel Aviv
Cinerama
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The Cooper Theatre in Denver, Colorado.
20.
English National Ballet
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English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet is one of the foremost touring companies in Europe, performing in theatres throughout the UK as well as conducting international tours and performing at special events. The Company employs approximately 67 dancers and an orchestra, and there is also an associate school, English National Ballet School. The Company regularly performs seasons at the London Coliseum and has noted for specially staged performances at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2014 English National Ballet became an Associate Company of Sadlers Wells, the Patron of English National Ballet is HRH The Duke of York. English National Ballet was founded in 1950 by the British dance couple, Alicia Markova, Markova and Dolin were leading stars of the Ballets Russes, one of the most influential ballet companies of the 20th century. London Festival Ballet was founded in 1950 with the backing of the Polish impresario Julian Braunsweg. The name was inspired by the then imminent Festival of Britain, Dolin was the Companys first Artistic Director and established the Company as a touring group both nationally in the UK and Internationally, touring abroad for the first time in 1951. Dolin also introduced a number of programs in the early years. Dolin remained as Artistic Director until 1962, succeeded by John Gilpin, the Company grew in size and status, undertaking extensive national and international tours, presenting a new generation of dancers—all while repeatedly facing bankruptcy. Braunsweg left in 1965 and Donald Albery took over until 1968, evdokimova in turn became the prima ballerina of the Company under Greys leadership and continued to reign under successive directors John Field and Peter Schaufuss. The name change was implemented in 1989, ivan Nagy, Derek Deane and Matz Skoog directed the Company before Wayne Eagling, former head of Dutch National Ballet, took over in 2006. Osiel Gouneo Brooklyn Mack Michael Coleman Jane Haworth Official website Postings Strictly Gershwin at the Royal Albert Hall YouTube, English Ballet Company, Swan Lake
English National Ballet
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Elena Glurdjidze as Swanilda &
Aroniel Vargas as Franz in the English National Ballet's production of
Coppélia.
Southampton 's
Mayflower Theatre. Also in the picture (bowing) is
Michael Coleman as Dr. Coppelius.
21.
English Heritage
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English Heritage is a registered charity that manages the National Heritage Collection. This comprises over 400 of Englands historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning more than 5,000 years of history, within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrians Wall. English Heritage also manages the London Blue Plaques scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings and it was created to combine the roles of existing bodies that had emerged from a long period of state involvement in heritage protection. The British government gave the new charity an £80 million grant to establish it as an independent trust. Over the centuries, what is now called Heritage has been the responsibility of a series of state departments. There was the Kings Works after the Norman Conquest, the Office of Works, the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues and Works, and the Ministry of Works. Responsibility subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Public Building and Works then to the Department of the Environment and now the Department for Culture, Media, the states legal responsibility for the historic environment goes back to the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882. Central government subsequently developed several systems of protection for different types of assets, introducing listing for buildings after WW2. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission was formed under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983 on 1 April 1984, soon after, the commission gained the operating name of English Heritage by its first Chairman, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. A national register of parks and gardens, was set up in 1984. Registration is a consideration in the planning process. In 2010–2011 it recorded 4.3 million unique online user sessions, in 2012 the section responsible for archive collections was renamed the English Heritage Archive. As a result of the National Heritage Act 2002, English Heritage acquired administrative responsibility for historic wrecks, the administration of the listed building system was transferred from DCMS to English Heritage in 2006. It was retained on grounds of performing a function which should remain independent from Government. However the department also suffered from budget cuts during the recession of the 2010s resulting in a deficit of £100 million. In June 2013 the British Government announced plans to provide an £80 million grant to enable English Heritage to become a self-financing charity, the national portfolio of historic properties remain in public ownership, but the new English Heritage will be licensed to manage them. The change occurred on 1 April 2015 with the planning and heritage protection functions remaining an independent, non-departmental public body. The new trust has a licence to operate the properties until 2023, English Heritage is the guardian of over 400 sites and monuments, the most famous of which include Stonehenge, Iron Bridge and Dover Castle
English Heritage
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English Heritage commemorative plaques conference, 2010. English Heritage began administering the London Blue Plaques in 1986.
English Heritage
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English Heritage's logo
English Heritage
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Stonehenge, one of English Heritage's most famous sites
English Heritage
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Stonehenge visitors' centre. Opened in December 2013, over 2 km west of the monument, just off the A360 road in Wiltshire.
22.
W. S. Gilbert
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Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. The most famous of these include H. M. S, Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that they founded. Eleven of the Savoy operas continue to be performed in the English-speaking world and beyond by opera companies, repertory companies, schools. Lines from these works have become part of the English language, such as short, sharp shock, What, and Let the punishment fit the crime. Gilberts creative output included over 75 plays and libretti, and numerous stories, poems and lyrics. He also began to write burlesques and his first comic plays, developing a unique absurdist and he also developed a realistic method of stage direction and a reputation as a strict theatre director. M. S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, in the 1880s, Gilbert focused on the Savoy operas, including Patience, Iolanthe, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard and The Gondoliers. Gilbert won the lawsuit, but the argument caused hurt feelings among the partnership. Although Gilbert and Sullivan were persuaded to collaborate on two last operas, they were not as successful as the previous ones, in later years, Gilbert wrote several plays, and a few operas with other collaborators. He retired, with his wife and ward, Nancy McIntosh, to a country estate, Gilbert died of a heart attack while attempting to rescue a young woman to whom he was giving a swimming lesson in the lake at his home. Gilbert was born at 17 Southampton Street, Strand, London and his father, also named William, was briefly a naval surgeon, who later became a writer of novels and short stories, some of which were illustrated by his son. Gilberts mother was the former Anne Mary Bye Morris, the daughter of Thomas Morris, Gilberts parents were distant and stern, and he did not have a particularly close relationship with either of them. They quarrelled increasingly, and following the break-up of their marriage in 1876, his relationships with them, especially his mother, Gilbert was nicknamed Bab as a baby, and then Schwenck, after his fathers godparents. As a child, Gilbert travelled to Italy in 1838 and then France for two years with his parents, who returned to settle in London in 1847. He then attended Kings College London, graduating in 1856, instead he joined the Civil Service, he was an assistant clerk in the Privy Council Office for four years and hated it. In 1859 he joined the Militia, a volunteer force formed for the defence of Britain, with which he served until 1878. In 1863 he received a bequest of £300 that he used to leave the service and take up a brief career as a barrister
W. S. Gilbert
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W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
–
One of Gilbert's illustrations for his
Bab Ballad "Gentle Alice Brown"
W. S. Gilbert
–
Sir Arthur Sullivan
W. S. Gilbert
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Engaged (1877) was Gilbert's most successful non-musical play
23.
The Hooligan
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The Hooligan, A Character Study is a one-act play by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Coliseum Theatre in London on 27 February 1911 and ran for a month, the Hooligan was Gilberts last play, produced just over three months before his death. It is a study of a condemned murderer in a prison cell awaiting execution. Gilberts three-dimensional portrait of the prisoner, and the ending plot twist, surprised audiences. Nat Solly, a young cockney hooligan, the son of a thief and he wakes up on the morning of his execution hysterical, self-pitying, angry at the judge and self-justifying. However, Solly is not wholly unsympathetic, as his predicament is intolerable and he pleads for leniency on account of his weak heart, and because he didnt mean to kill the girl, only to cut her to teach her a lesson. His warders try to hearten him, a step is heard outside the door. Solly, unable to bear the shock of this news, dies of a heart attack, Gilbert was inspired by the celebrated Crippen murder trial of 1910. As usual, Gilbert was thorough in his research, touring the Pentonville Prison and questioning its governor about procedures, the piece was so grim and powerful that, according to Mrs. Alec Tweedie, women had gone out fainting. The main character, Solly, dies of a heart attack, Gilbert himself died of a heart attack only a few months after producing the play. Into the 20th century, the Theatre Managers Association had prohibited dramas from being presented in music halls. Oswald Stoll, manager of the Coliseum, challenged this ban, with The Hooligan, Gilbert was the first important dramatist to write for a music hall. Gilbert, who directed his own plays, almost cancelled the production when the actor, James Welch, took liberties with the script. Gilbert paints a portrait of the prisoner with all his flaws. In the play, Gilbert shows obvious sympathy for his protagonist, ian Bradley notes that the playwright displays his conviction that nurture rather than nature often accounted for criminal behaviour. The play is being produced by the Lantern Theatre in Brighton in 2017 together with Gilberts Sweethearts, nat Solly 1st Warder 2nd Warder Chief Warder 1st New Warder Mathers 2nd New Warder Governor Chaplain Doctor Two Under-sheriffs The play received generally good reviews. Will confront us with that grimmest of all scenes of human misery, the condemned murderer being prepared for his fate on the very morning of his execution. So ends a drama that is absolutely sincere, unflinchingly realistic and it bears the very stamp of truth, as it should do, for it is the work of a magistrate, and its whole pathos
The Hooligan
–
1911 photograph of the play's dénouement
The Hooligan
–
Pentonville Prison in 1842
24.
White Horse Inn
–
Sometimes classified as an operetta, the show enjoyed huge successes both on Broadway and in the West End and was filmed several times. Today, Im weißen Rößl is mainly remembered for its songs, in the last decade of the 19th century, Oscar Blumenthal, a theatre director from Berlin, Germany, was vacationing in Lauffen, a small town in the vicinity of St. Wolfgang. There, at the inn where he was staying, Blumenthal happened to witness the head waiters painful wooing of his boss, amused, Blumenthal used the story as the basis of a comedy—without music—which he co-authored with actor Gustav Kadelburg. However, Blumenthal and Kadelburg relocated the action from Lauffen to the more prominent St. Wolfgang. Having thus chanced upon a title, the authors went to work. The play was an immediate success, Wolfgang and now, on holiday, cannot help displaying many of the characteristics of the nouveaux-riches. At the same time the play promoted tourism in Austria, especially in, the White Horse Inn was even awarded a Baedeker star. During a visit to the Salzkammergut, the actor Emil Jannings told Berlin theatre manager Erik Charell about the comedy, Charell was interested and commissioned a group of prominent authors and composers to come up with a musical show based on Blumenthal and Kadelburgs libretto. They were Ralph Benatzky, Robert Stolz and Bruno Granichstaedten, Robert Gilbert, Hans Müller-Einigen, the show premiered in Berlin on November 8,1930. Immediately afterwards it became a success around the world, with runs in cities like London, Paris, Vienna, Munich. During the Third Reich the comedy was marginalized and not performed, whereas people in the 1950s, keen on harmony and shallow pleasures, german-language films based on the musical comedy were made in 1935,1952 and 1960. It is summertime at the Wolfgangsee, Josepha Vogelhuber, the young, attractive but resolute owner of the White Horse Inn, has been courted for some time by her head waiter, Leopold Brandmeyer. This year, Josepha hopes, Siedler might eventually propose to her, when Siedler arrives, he finds himself in the very same place with Wilhelm Giesecke, his client Sülzheimers business rival, and immediately falls in love with Gieseckes beautiful daughter Ottilie. As it happens, Sülzheimers son Sigismund, a would-be beau, seeing all this, Leopold Brandmeyer decides that he has had enough and quits his job. Josepha has also done a lot of thinking in the meantime, reconsiders her head waiters proposal of marriage, love gets its way with the other two couples as well, and the play ends with the prospect of a triple marriage. A Danish film of 1964 by Erik Balling, Sommer i Tyrol, starred Dirch Passer, as a matter of fact, a number of hotels in St. Wolfgang do use similar names. Most recently, a new film adaptation of Im Weissen Rössl came out in November 2013 with the German title Im Weißen Rössl - Wehe du singst. Unlike its predecessors, however, the movie was not filmed on location at the Hotel Im Weissen Rössl in St. Wolfgang, Austria
White Horse Inn
–
The White Horse Inn in 2004
25.
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
–
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a version of the life of Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bills Wild West. The 1946 Broadway production was a hit, and the musical had runs in both New York and London, spawning revivals, a 1950 film version and television versions. Songs that became hits include Theres No Business Like Show Business, Doin What Comes Naturlly, You Cant Get a Man with a Gun, They Say Its Wonderful, Dorothy Fields had the idea for a musical about Annie Oakley, to star her friend, Ethel Merman. Producer Mike Todd turned the project down, so Fields approached a new producing team, Richard Rodgers, after the success of their first musical collaboration, Oklahoma. Rodgers and Hammerstein had decided to become producers of both their own ventures and those by other authors. They agreed to produce the musical and asked Jerome Kern to compose the music, Fields would write the lyrics, Kern was hospitalized, and he died on November 11,1945. The producers and Fields then asked Irving Berlin to write the score, Fields agreed to step down as lyricist. Berlin initially declined to write the score, worrying that he would be unable to write songs to fit specific scenes in a situation show, Berlins songs suited the story and Ethel Mermans abilities, and he readily composed the rest of the score to Annie Get Your Gun. The shows eventual hit song, Theres No Business Like Show Business, was almost left out of the show because Berlin mistakenly got the impression that Richard Rodgers did not like it, in imitation of the structure of Oklahoma. A secondary romance between two of the members of the Wild West Show was added to the musical during its development. For the 1999 revival, Peter Stone revised the libretto, eliminating what were considered insensitive references to American Indians, including the songs Colonel Buffalo Bill and Im An Indian Too. Stone said, The big challenge is taking a book that was crafted for its time. But it had to be dealt with in a way that was heartfelt, in this case, it was with the permission of the heirs. Stone also altered the structure of the musical, beginning it with Theres No Business Like Show Business, when the traveling Buffalo Bills Wild West show visits Cincinnati, Ohio, Frank Butler, the shows handsome, womanizing star, challenges anyone in town to a shooting match. Foster Wilson, a hotel owner, doesnt appreciate the Wild West show taking over his hotel. Annie Oakley enters and shoots a bird off Dolly Tates hat, when Wilson learns shes a brilliant shot, he enters her in the shooting match against Frank Butler. While waiting for the match to start, Annie meets Frank Butler and is smitten with him
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
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Broadway 1946 Original Cast Album
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
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1880s poster
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
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1999 revival
Playbill
26.
Kiss Me, Kate
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Kiss Me, Kate is a musical written by Samuel and Bella Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. A secondary romance concerns Lois Lane, the actress playing Bianca, and her boyfriend, Bill. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang, kiss Me, Kate was Porters response to Rodgers and Hammersteins Oklahoma. In 1949, it won the first Tony Award presented for Best Musical, in 1947 he asked the Spewacks to write the script, Bella Spewack in turn enlisted Cole Porter to write the music and lyrics. Directed by John C. Wilson with choreography by Hanya Holm, the original West End production opened on March 8,1951 at the Coliseum Theatre, and ran for 400 performances. Directed by Sam Spewack with choreography again by Holm, this production starred Patricia Morison, Bill Johnson, Adelaide Hall, a London revival opened in December 1970 at the London Coliseum, in a production by the Sadlers Wells Opera. The cast featured Emile Belcourt, Judith Bruce, Eric Shilling, Ann Howard, Francis Egerton, Robert Lloyd, with direction by Peter Coe, Coe did a translation for British audiences, including having a tea wagon, and included traditional English music hall jokes. This revival had a run, according to the Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. The Royal Shakespeare Company staged a production at Londons Old Vic Theatre, the gangsters were played by Emil Wolk and John Bardon. The cast recorded a CD album which is available on First Night Records in their Cast Masters range, a Broadway revival opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on November 18,1999 and closed on December 30,2001 after 881 performances and 28 previews. A West End revival opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre on October 30,2001, as with the 1999 Broadway revival, Michael Blakemore was the director with choreography by Kathleen Marshall. Brent Barrett and Marin Mazzie co-starred, chichester Festival Theatres 2012 revival of the show transferred to the Old Vic Theatre on Londons South Bank in November 2012, with an official opening in December. It starred Hannah Waddingham as Lili/Kate and Alex Bourne as Fred Graham, the production was directed by Trevor Nunn. The show received positive reviews critics and audiences. Hannah Waddingham and Alex Bourne were both nominated for the 2013 Olivier Awards as Best Actress/Actor in a Musical for their performances, Opera North presented a revival directed by Jo Davies, choreographed by Will Tuckett and designed by Colin Richmond. The production opened at the Leeds Grand Theatre in September 2015 before touring to Theatre Royal Newcastle, The Lowry Salford, the production was co-produced with the Welsh National Opera where it opened as part of the Shakespeare400 season in September 2016 at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Both productions starred Jeni Bern as Lili/Kate and Quirijn de Lang as Petruchio/Fred, Act I The cast of a musical version of William Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew is rehearsing for the opening of the show that evening. Egotistical Fred Graham is the director and producer and is starring as Petruchio, the two seem to be constantly arguing, and Lilli is particularly angry that Fred is pursuing the sexy young actress Lois Lane, who is playing Bianca
Kiss Me, Kate
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Kiss Me, Kate
27.
Guys And Dolls
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Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. The premiere on Broadway was in 1950 and it ran for 1200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Guys and Dolls was selected as the winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Guys and Dolls was conceived by producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin as an adaptation of Damon Runyons short stories and these stories, written in the 1920s and 1930s, concerned gangsters, gamblers, and other characters of the New York underworld. Runyon was known for the dialect he employed in his stories, mixing highly formal language. Frank Loesser, who had spent most of his career as a lyricist for movie musicals, was hired as composer, George S. Kaufman was hired as director. When the first version of the book, or dialogue, written by Jo Swerling was deemed unusable, Feuer. Loesser had already much of the score to correspond with the first version of the book. Burrows would recall as follows, Frank Loessers fourteen songs were all great, later on, the critics spoke of the show as integrated. The word integration usually means that the composer has written songs that follow the story line gracefully, well, we accomplished that but we did it in reverse. The character of Miss Adelaide was created specifically to fit Vivian Blaine into the musical, when Loesser suggested reprising some songs in the second act, Kaufman warned, If you reprise the songs, we’ll reprise the jokes. A pantomime of never-ceasing activities depicts the hustle and bustle of New York City, three small-time gamblers, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Benny Southstreet, and Rusty Charlie, argue over which horse will win a big race. The band members of the Save-a-Soul Mission, led by the pious and beautiful Sergeant Sarah Brown, call for sinners to Follow the Fold, Nicely and Bennys employer, Nathan Detroit, runs an illegal floating crap game. Due to local policeman Lt. Brannigans strong-armed police activity, he has only one likely spot to hold the game. However, the owner, Joey Biltmore, requires a $1,000 security deposit, Nathan hopes to get $1,000 by winning a bet against Sky Masterson, a gambler willing to bet on virtually anything. Nathan proposes a bet which he believes he cannot lose, Sky must take a doll of Nathans choice to dinner in Havana, Sky agrees, and Nathan chooses Sarah Brown. At the mission, Sky claims he wants to be saved and he offers Sarah a deal, He will bring the mission one dozen genuine sinners if she will accompany him to Havana the next night. Sarah rebuffs him, telling him that she plans to fall in love with an upright, Sky replies that he plans on being surprised when he falls in love
Guys And Dolls
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Original Cast Recording
Guys And Dolls
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Libretto and vocal book, Music Theatre International (1978), rented out to actors.
Guys And Dolls
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DVD cover of the 1992 cast-album recording
documentary, Guys and Dolls: Off the Record, starring
Peter Gallagher,
Josie de Guzman,
Nathan Lane, and
Faith Prince
28.
Pajama Game
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The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell, the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler, the story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where workers demands for a seven-and-a-half cent raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13,1954, at the St. James Theatre and it was revived in 1973, and again in 2006 by The Roundabout Theatre Company. The original production, produced by Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The musical is a choice for community and school group productions. The original West End production opened at the London Coliseum on October 13,1955 where it ran for 588 performances, Sid Sorokin, the handsome new factory superintendent who falls in love with Babe, despite their being on opposite sides of the labor dispute central to the plot. Katherine Babe Williams, the leader of the Union Grievance Committee, who falls in love with Sid. Myron Old Man Hasler, Gladys Hotchkiss, Haslers attractive, quick-witted secretary, who dates Hines and is chased by Prez. Vernon Hines, the timekeeper, who thinks Gladys flirts too much and. Prez, the head of the union and a skirt chaser, Mabel, the mother hen of the factory and Sids secretary. Mae, a member of the Grievance Committee, who accepts Prezs advances. Pop, Babes kind and agreeable father, charley, a worker in the factory and the handyman. Joe, a worker and Prezs right-hand man. Brenda, A member of the Grievance Committee, virginia, a factory girl and union activist. Poopsie, a girl and union activist. Gus, an unhappy factory helper who Sid shoves, act I A strike is imminent at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory, where the workers churn out pajamas at a backbreaking pace. In the middle of this, a new superintendent, Sid Sorokin, has come out of town to work in the factory. The union, led by Prez, is seeking a wage raise of seven-and-a-half cents an hour, Sid and Babe are in opposite camps, yet romantic interest is sparked at their first encounter
Pajama Game
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Original Broadway Windowcard, illustrated by
Peter Arno
Pajama Game
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Harry on Broadway, Act I (2006)
29.
Damn Yankees
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Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington. It is based on Wallops novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, the show ran for 1,019 performances in its original 1955 Broadway production. Adler and Rosss success with it and The Pajama Game seemed to point to a future for them. The producers Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith and Harold S, prince had decided that the lead actress for the part of Lola had to be a dancer. They offered the role to both the movie actress Mitzi Gaynor and ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire, each of whom turned down the role, although Gwen Verdon had sung just one song in her previous show, the producers were willing to take a chance on her. She initially refused, preferring to assist another choreographer, but finally agreed, choreographer Bob Fosse insisted on meeting her before working with her, and after meeting and working for a brief time, they each agreed to the arrangement. The show opened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on May 5,1955, transferred to the Adelphi Theatre on May 17,1957, a West End production played at the London Coliseum beginning on March 28,1957, where it played for 258 performances. It starred Olympic skater Belita as Lola, but the Fosse choreography was alien to her style and it also starred Bill Kerr as Applegate, and Ivor Emmanuel as Joe Hardy. In the mid-1970s, Vincent Price starred as Applegate in summer stock productions of the show, in the late 1970s and early 1980s film actor Van Johnson did so in productions throughout the U. S. A. In July,1981, a production was performed at the Jones Beach Marine Theater in Wantagh and it was notable due to former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath being cast in the role of Joe Boyd. A Broadway revival opened at the Marquis Theatre on March 3,1994, featured were Bebe Neuwirth as Lola and Victor Garber as Applegate. Garber was succeeded by Jerry Lewis, making his Broadway debut, on March 12,1995, jack OBrien directed, with choreography by Rob Marshall, assisted by his sister, Kathleen. OBrien is also credited with revisions to the book, the 1994 revival production opened in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre on June 4,1997 and closed on August 9,1997. Jerry Lewis reprised his role as Applegate, a revival was produced by the City Center Encores. Summer Stars series from July 5 to July 27,2008 and it starred Jane Krakowski as Lola, Sean Hayes as Applegate, Randy Graff as Meg, Megan Lawrence as Gloria Thorpe, PJ Benjamin as Joe Boyd, and Cheyenne Jackson as Joe Hardy. John Rando directed and the original Fosse choreography was reproduced by Mary MacLeod, given the substantial changes in the 1994 revival, this is considered by some the first authentic revival of the original production. Note, This is the plot of the 1994 Broadway revival of the show, for the film version, see Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
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1955 Original Cast Recording
30.
Royal Variety Performance
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The Royal Variety Performance is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity It is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family. The Royal Variety Performance traditionally begins with the entrance of the members of the British Royal Family followed by singing of the national anthem, the first performance, on 1 July 1912, was called the Royal Command Performance, and this name has persisted informally for the event. This was held in the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary. It was planned to be in the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, part of the vast Moss Empires group, after the death of Moss, Sir Alfred Butt was chosen as the impresario and it was staged in 1912. This was an occasion, and his London Palace Theatre was lavishly decorated. Top performers included Vesta Tilley, Sir George Robey, David Devant, Anna Pavlova, Harry Lauder, the organisers did not invite Marie Lloyd, because of a professional dispute. Her act was deemed too risqué and her three public, unsuccessful marriages were thought to make her unfit to perform in front of royalty and she held a rival performance in a nearby theatre, which she advertised was by command of the British public. The name of the event was changed to prevent possible royal embarrassment, the Royal Variety became an annual event at the suggestion of King George V from 1921 and the British Broadcasting Corporation began to broadcast it on radio. From 1928 through to 1938, the impresario-producer and manager of the London Palladium, George Black and he would also facilitate as compere at the shows. His first production was held on 1 March 1928 at the London Coliseum and his 1938 show returned to the London Coliseum. Throughout World War II from 1939 to 1944 no shows were presented, the show resumed in 1945 after the war ended. In both 1976 and 1978, the BBC broadcast the show live, the BBC usually staged the show in a West End theatre, and ITV in regional theatres outside London. From 2011, ITV have exclusive rights to televise the show, a wide range of acts has performed at the Royal Command Performance, including Laurel and Hardy in 1947, the Beatles in 1963, the Supremes in 1968 and the Blue Man Group in 2005. The orchestra was conducted by Edward Elgar, in 1921 it moved to the Hippodrome, and was held in November. It was the first time that the Royal Variety Performance became an annual event, in 1923 it moved to the Coliseum Theatre. Then after a gap in 1924, moved to the Alhambra Theatre in February 1925 and it was the first Royal Variety Performance to be broadcast, with the BBC providing live radio coverage. In 1927 there was another move, this time to the Victoria Palace Theatre, the 1928 show, on 13 December, was held at the Coliseum Theatre. The next show, on 22 May 1930, moved to the London Palladium with George Black and it was the start of seven successive years at the venue
Royal Variety Performance
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The
London Palladium, where the performance has most often been held.
Charing Cross; Leicester Square
Charing Cross
