Victorian And Edwardian London: Constructing A World City
15 January 2026 - 5 March 2026
10.45 – 12.45 Thursdays
£83.00 – £552.00
Description
London of the Victorian and Edwardian period is all around us, so much so that we scarcely register the scale of building, and the ambition and inventiveness of the architecture of the period. The shops and pubs we use, great swathes of housing, as well as a number of new suburbs were developed during this time. The course will be thematically based, but seek to highlight not only the social forces, economic, religious and political, which drove the building of the city, but also to show how architects sought new (and old) forms to express the status and excitement of the world’s greatest city.
“A lively and engaging series which ranged widely over the built environment. It took me a while “to get” Richard, initially finding him incousciant – almost boasting of his casual preparation for the talks. Gradually, it became apparent that this was self-deprecating which hides astonishing knowledge and scholarship. I’m now a firm fan!”
Course Outline
15 Jan 2026 – The Shape of The City In 1837
What did the Victorians inherit? The London of the late 18th and early 19th century was, in parts, a handsome city, its squares still much admired, but in many ways, it was unprepared for the industrial and imperial status it was acquiring.
22 Jan 2026 – Infrastructure
Victorian engineering still underpins the way London works; bridges, the sewers, the beginnings of the underground and the railways and their stations, often of grandiose appearance. The building of these facilities, however, often came at some social cost.
29 Jan 2026 – The City of Industry and Trade
Already ‘market of many nations’, according to the Venerable Bede in the 8th century, London’s status as great port, industrial city and financial centre grew dramatically through the 19th century, transforming its appearance from docks to banking houses.
05 Feb 2026 – London and Its Religion
Victorian religion is most readily associated with its muscular Gothic revival churches. This architectural revolution was, in part, a response to crisis in the church, and places of worship also were needed for dissenting and Catholic congregations as well as to accommodate a growing Jewish population.
12 Feb 2026 – Power
While the Palace of Westminster and Buckingham Palace are the most conspicuous representative buildings of London’s Imperial status, in some ways the government buildings, such as the Foreign Office, and displays of power like the Victoria monument and Trafalgar Square tell a more interesting story.
19 Feb 2026 – The City of Pleasure
The Victorian and Edwardian eras were a golden age of building for leisure. Hotels, theatres, shops and pubs flourished, housed in formally inventive new buildings.
26 Feb 2026 – Architecture of the Expanding City
The expanding population called for new solutions. Following the development of areas now regarded as central, such as Pimlico, came the airy delights of Muswell Hill and Bedford Park and charitable housing for the poor.
05 Mar 2026 – The City at the end of the Edwardian Era
On the eve of the Great War, what special characteristics did London – the ‘Unique City’ in Steen Eiler Rasmussen’s phrase – bring to the new century?