On being received by the Master and getting brownie points for CPD

The Master's Reception was held in McMorran and Whitby's celebrated 1963-66 Wood Street Police Station in the City of London and was attended by over 40 members of the Company and guests. The 'modernist' building with distinct stylistic references to the work of Louis Khan was not, it is understood, much loved in the City when it was completed but found itself listed in relatively short time. It was a strange visit taking the form of a talk on police firearms and body protection, a visit to the Police Museum (a facility in need of some expansion space) and an inspection of the stable block from which most of the horses were absent - presumably on active service or rehearsing their roles in the forthcoming Lord Mayor's Show. There was also a talk on the interesting if ever so sordid exploits of Jack the Ripper.

The cultural content took a turn for the better with a couple of short talks from Mark Whitby - the engineer son of one of the original architects and Edward Dennison - an architectural historian McMorran grandson and author of a recent book on the practice. These gave an interesting insight into the relations between client (The City Corporation) and the architects - particularly in respect of the later addition of the tower block.

On completion of the visit the group repaired to the nearby City Pipe wine bar for drinks, food and further chat. The Master expressed his gratitude to Mark Whitby and Edward Dennison for their contributions. He also thanked stdent member Alex Scott-Whitby (son of Mark) for arranging for them both to be present.

Hyderabad revisited

Those members of the Company who joined the study trip to South India in 2008 wll remember being shown around what had been the British Residency. This splendid Palladian composition had been built for - and substantially to the designs of - the colourful James Achilles Kirkpatrick, who was the Resident for a few years either side of 1800.

Post 1947, the buildings had suffered a number of different occupancies, each seemingly determined to do less to safeguard the architectural quality. Many of the components of the complex had simply collapsed and the principal building itself was in an advanced state of decay. At the time of our visit the building was functioning as the Osmania Women’s College. The main reception room was littered with desks, all strategically placed so as to avoid the possibility of their occupants being eliminated by falling pressed metal ceiling tiles. Their support system, having lasted from the early days of the eighteen hundreds, was no longer up to the task. The adjoining room that had, if my memory serves me right, originally been a ballroom, was equally dispiriting in that a selection of trestle tables were groaning under the weight of a vast collection of nineteenth century books - many first editions - that had once been the Residency's library collection.

Things did not get better from there. Access for visitors to the upper floor was not a possibility; the stairs were unsafe; only students were permitted access. Never let it be said that women’s education is not valued!

The good news - and, indeed, the cue of this post - is that rescue is at hand. The Spring 2010 edition of Monumentum, the quarterly journal of the World Monuments Fund, reports that a Conservation Management Plan has been adopted and, when funding is available, the Residency building will be restored to its former glory. Many of the unsatisfactory constructions which have sprung up in the extensive gardens will be removed when the renewed space is finally available again.

25th anniversary of the founding of the WCCA, 1984 - 2009

click on the pictures for larger versions

Temple Bar photo archive - November 2008

This photo archive of the relocated Temple Bar offers uncopyrighted images of the 17th century gateway built to designs of Sir Christopher Wren. Formerly a gate to 'the square mile' of the City of London and located on the junction of today's Fleet Street and The Strand, Temple Bar has been re-located to be part of the development of Paternoster Square, to the immediate north of Sir Chris' great cathedral.

A plaque marks the connection of the Worshipful Company with the relocation process.

Pictured right is an image of the plaque sited in the Upper Chamber
of Temple Bar which commemorates the Company's support for
the relocation of the monument and its contribution to the costs
of fitting out the Chamber.


The image files are of about 1200 pixels square-ish, in jpg format, processed for easy web distribution. They are each about 250k in size.

If you click on an image, it will open a new browser page at the larger size, big enough to seem impressive on most computer screens. From there you may down-load any individual image to your own machine.

The former Temple Bar

The former TEMPLE BAR by Christopher Wren reloacted....
The Company of Chartered Architects uses the Temple Bar as its logo and the centrepiece of its coat of arms. The monument was the last surviving gateway into the City of London until it was removed in 1878 to improve traffic flow. The Company has helped to secure its return and has worked with other Companies to ensure that the small room above the arch was made useable for occasional purposes. A generous financial contribution has helped meet the cost of the commissioned furniture in the Chamber.