Remembering Scars Of War
Last week, Tower Hamlets Council gave permission for the demolition of part of the Chamber St railway arches for a hotel extension, ignoring the fact that the best preserved wall of World War II shrapnel damage in the East End is part of the site.
An appeal has been made to the developers, Marldon, to consider integrating the wall into their new hotel. Meanwhile, I am including the link to apply for listing, in case any of my readers have the wherewithal to pursue this at Historicengland.org.uk
Next year is the eightieth anniversary of the Blitz and below I publish my photos of the few remaining examples of shrapnel damage still visible in Central London.
This wall of shrapnel damage at the junction of Mansell St & Chamber St from World War II is threatened by a hotel extension
Shrapnel pock-marks upon Southwark Cathedral from February 1941
Damage at St Bartholomew’s Hospital from zeppelin raids on 8th September 1915 and on 7th July 1917
Damage at St Bartholomew’s Hospital from zeppelin raids on 8th September 1915 and on 7th July 1917
Damage at Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, from a bomb dropped on Wednesday 18th December 1917 at 8pm
Damage at Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, from a bomb dropped on Wednesday 18th December 1917 at 8pm
Repair of shrapnel damage from September 194o at University College London, Zoology Museum, Gower St
Damage at St Clement Dane’s in the Strand from 10th May 1941 when the church was gutted
Damage at St Clement Dane’s in the Strand from 10th May 1941 when the church was gutted
Sphinx on the Embankment with damage from the first raid by German aeroplanes Tuesday 4th September 1917
Cleopatra’s Needle with damage from the first raid by German aeroplanes Tuesday 4th September 1917
Damage at Victoria & Albert Museum from two bombs in Exhibition Rd during World War II
Damage at Victoria & Albert Museum from two bombs in Exhibition Rd during World War II
Damage at Tate Britain from September 16th 1940
The hotel extension in Chamber St that will replace the wall of shrapnel damage with the location of the existing wall marked
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Fascinating reminders of the times when London was in real peril.
The Mansell Street / Chamber Street wall is by far the most dramatic example and should definitely be preserved!
Come on Historic England – do your bit for a change and get it listed.
(And I would have thought the hotel would welcome the inclusion of at least one point of interest to improve yet another incredibly bland bit of architectural design…how depressing that final image is.)
These we should Remember for Ever.???
By the way, the hotel looks horrendous…
I hope the hotel can keep this wall as it is far more interesting than the hotel building. The wall is part of our history. It should be kept as a reminder of how damaging war is to buildings and life.
Shrapnel and bombs damaged not only the walls but left scars on the lives of East Enders. My dear sister Ros has her earliest childhood memory that is never forgotten My father was on leave from the army . The air raid siren went but the V1 rocket was overhead, and he heard the motor cut out. Fortunately they were both in the kitchen The ear shattering blast took a few seconds ,
giving just enough time to roughly grab her and dive under the heavy wooden table. Her memory is of looking up from under the table and seeing the ceiling come down in slow motion. Neither of them were hurt but the house was so badly damaged they had to move. They don’t make kitchen tables like that any more .
It would be a much-needed focal point on an otherwise all-out-boring building. AND a draw for tourist ‘walks.’
Thank you for drawing attention to the shrapnel damage we walk by without noticing. The photo of the fellow on his cellphone, oblivious to what is so near him–fantastic!
Has there been consideration of some kind of markers on some of the buildings–directing us to ‘see and ponder’?
The patches on University College serve as markers–imagine if they were colours? like art-history in one spot.
The Tower Hamlets local government should be put in receivership. What next, plowing up the cemetary for a car park?
A really clever architect would incorporate the war damaged wall into their hotel plans. Sadly, many architects nowadays lack such creativity in this “stack ‘em high and sell ‘em expensive” world.
Dare I say that what you are proposing could be seen as a sort of facadeism – although it wouldn’t be ghastly at all.
I could be wrong (and am quite ready to be corrected) but some of the damage at Barts from the Zep raid looks like it was caused by strafing with bullets…?
My grandmother, from whom I absorbed terms like “Zep raid”, hated all airships as they reminded her of the WW1 air attacks and would go indoors if the Dunlop blimp went over as it made her so uncomfortable. Her birthday fell on 08/09/1915 (she was 20 that day)