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Philip Downer

@philip.downer

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An all-you-can-read buffet of buildings and neighbourhoods, mostly (but far from exclusively) C19/C20 London. Weekend ephemera (books, art etc).

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In between Chaîne events on Saturday … we managed to catch the Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind exhibition at Somerset House … work from more than 70 artists tracing China’s craft heritage and contemporary design … just a few of the fascinating pieces … thanks to philip.downer for his morning Instagram post … otherwise we would have missed it … the exhibition was only on from 16-27 September … a shame it wasn’t on for longer …. so interesting …

#somersethouse #art #artphotography #chineseart #chineseartwork

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Every little detail matters.

From the blue facade and delicate windows to the sign, shadows, and smallest architectural touches, each line adds character to the Tea House Theatre. Ink captures the structure, while watercolour brings the building to life, one layer at a time.

Namaste 🙏🏻

#UrbanSketching #InkAndWatercolour #TeaHouseTheatre #WinsorAndNewton #TombowUK London

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A Victorian pub, a theatre, and now a little blue landmark in Vauxhall.

This building has lived many lives, and its story made it even more special to sketch. From its colourful facade to the history of the Pleasure Gardens nearby, every detail brought another layer to the painting.

Some places simply deserve a second look.

Namaste 🙏🏻

#urbansketching #inkandwatercolour #teahousetheatre #winsorandnewton #tombow_uk london

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I’m currently sitting in a ward @thechristienhs with tax rash which is a very unfortunate acne type rash all over my face, neck & chest which can be a side effect of Docetaxel, one of the chemo drugs I’ve had. For someone who has always looked after her skin & been rewarded with very few problems, to suddenly develop severe acne over night, literally was a shock! Anyway I’m loaded up with face washes & lotions & strong antihistamines so hopefully that will kick it into the long grass 🤞🏻
So to while away some time I thought I’d share another few images that I’ve saved this week. As always an eclectic mix of colour, pattern & architecture 👍🏻
1. @lauramnormanton
2. @akindofhome
3. @oliverthorntonhome
4. @houseandgardenuk
5. @keptlondon
6. @philip.downer
7. @themaximalistdreamer
8. @idlewild.store
9. @alice.sergeant
10. @atelier_areti
Eclectic decor, English country home, architecture, colour, pattern, wallpaper inspo

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- 136 Southwark Street SE1

Do you ever have favourite buildings in areas? Southwark Street is a hotpotch and a half these days as @philip.downer demonstrated recently with much modern blanditude. But this pair always make me smile like the inseparable best friends at school ready for mischief. Something about the height, the brickwork, the attitude reminds me more of Manhattan than London.

For me Manhattan is where you need to look up to see the city. Here that’s rewarded with that Bankside staple of the wall crane. There is such a cluster of these iron giants in the area as they were used to lift huge bags of hops. Where pilgrims once went down to Kent via Borough High Street, hops came up the same route making the area rich in trade and smell.

While any blacksmith could create simple cranes to rise or fall from top floor to cellar, the stronger more complex cranes were made by a local firm, Stannah’s of Southwark. Joseph Stannah opened his first factory just off Southwark Street in 1867. Five generations later it is a still a family firm famed for their stair lifts and architectural expertise on making heritage buildings accessible. Their original factory was bombed out in the war but they rebuilt in nearby Elephant and Castle only leaving SE1 in 1975 for plants in Hampshire and Newcastle.

London is the city where things run deep down and you aren’t meant to see the mechanisms. Southwark Street was laid out between 1862-1864 by Joseph Balzagette as the first street to be built with gas and water pipes in the centre of the road. He used techniques from Roman road building and the idea was to start linking all that new infrastructure. Water mains, sewers, gas pipes, railway stations and sidings and roads. A fiercely orderly man he wanted to avoid messy, needless rolling repairs.

I spent yesterday with @londononfootwithyvonne prepping her new Balzagette tour on April 18th on the Albert Embankment. I learned so much I’d love to see Balzagette’s reaction to the city he shaped. Bring Joseph Stannah and Henry Doulton too. Fiendishly busy men a walk would suit them better than a fantasy dinner party I suspect!

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#whyvisitlondon
There are many reasons why I’d love to go back in time—and Crystal Palace is one of them. Although we’ll never see this cast-iron beauty again, a little piece of those glorious times remain.
Built in 1865, this stunning Victorian subway once gave first-class passengers a grand entrance to the Crystal Palace. Ornate brick arches resting on eighteen columns made it a truly fitting entrance to one of London’s most iconic landmarks.
After the Palace was destroyed by fire in 1936, the subway was repurposed as a WWII air-raid shelter. The High Level Station closed in 1954 and was later demolished—but the subway remains, an extraordinary hidden relic of London’s railway and architectural history.
Today, you can visit this hidden Victorian gem by booking through @eventbriteuk
@crystal_palace_explorer

#londonguide #crystalpalacesubway #londonarchitecture

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#whyvisitlondon
Today I took myself on a walk through the streets of Pimlico.
This may not be the neighborhood of great interest if you are visiting London for the first time, not even the second. However, there are a few interesting spots, and I shall show you those.
The first thing I see outside of Victoria Station is the Victoria Palace Theatre. It´s a gorgeous building, topped by a cupola crowned with a statue of Anna Pavlova.
Our first stop is Westminster Cathedral. This stunning neo-Byzantine church is over 120 years old. Unfortunately, the structure was only half completed. It lacks half of its cladding, due to as usual, lack of funds.

I took myself out and around the building, passing by @windsor_castle_pub , the Archbishop’s diocese, and on to Upper Tachbrook Street.
The street offers a number of interesting, independently run shops, such as @mrcaduk (all things photography), Pimlico Trove (a gift shop), and Rippon Cheese Store, among others.
I stopped by @benvenuti_foodboutique , a tiny Italian café offering Italian produce alongside coffee and pastries.
My next stop was Holy Apostles Church. What a drastic change—from sumptuous mosaic décor to no décor at all. Love it.
Passing several modernist housing estates, I made my way to Tate Britain. I wanted to see “Ophelia” by John Everett Millais.
Eye-pleasing end of the day.

#londonguide

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A tour of the amazing sights and architecture of Highgate West Cemetery on a freezing but beautiful January day. A really excellent tour led by Philip Downer whom I know as a volunteer and guide at Sambourne House in Kensington and from his wonderful architectural postings here on Instagram. Highgate Cemetery is an absolute "must see" experience. 3rd January, 2026.

@highgate_cemetery @philip.downer @leightonsambournemuseums

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A GLC mock-up of how Highbury Corner would have looked with a motorway running right through it. This plan - known as Ringway 1 - would have reduced Highbury Corner to a floating roundabout above a motorway, and blighted most of the surrounding streets. It was real - parts of it were built.

This post is Inspired by @philip.downer and his post today on the expected consequences of Southern Cross Route for Brixton - many if which were built in before the plan was abandoned.

The Northern Cross Route was planned in the late 1960s, and was to have been part of the London Inner Motorway Box, only parts of which were built. It would have connected Westway in the west, and with the section of what is now the A406 down to the Blackwall Tunnel in the east, by way of Camden, Islington and Dalston. As you can see, the motorway would have more or less followed the line of the North London line (as it would have along most of its route), which is crammed in against the motorway cutting in this picture. The Georgian terraces on the north side of St Pauls Road would have been demolished.

To the left of the picture the Dixon Clark Court tower is still under construction. To the top left is the original Highbury and Islington Station - which in reality had been demolished in 1967 - and the start of Holloway Road.

To the left is Calabria Road, flanked by the line linking the North London line to the Great Northern Line via the tunnel under Highbury Fields and Drayton Park. And in the middle is Corsica Street, with what I think is the old Labour Exchange building.

This is the best resolution I can find I’m afraid.
Perhaps the GLC wasn’t keen for residents to have too good a view of the planning disaster it had in mind for our neighbourhood.

#MotorwayBox #Ringway1 #NorthernCrossRoute #HighburyCorner

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#BRUTAL5 - EPISODE 40!

……With Philip Downer aka @philip.downer who takes on the BRUTAL 5 Challenge and answers 5 architectural questions!

Philip is a London commentator and tour guide and retired bookseller. He runs tours for @c20society #SambourneHouse and Highgate Cemetery.

1: Brutalist Building - Whittington Estate, Highgate Newtown
2: Modernist Building - The Alton Estate
3: Architects - Bertold Lubetkin
4: Fav accounts - @lisa_in_leeds @brutalbasil @new.town.explorer
5: Unpopular opinion? Pomo ❤️

#BrutalistLondon #ConcreteCommunity

Sponsor: @theurbangiant

Marc is a Birmingham-based, full time architectural illustrator and artist

DM Marc for to order prints and for prices 👌

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- 68 Walcot Square

I’m not sure why I’ve never featured this area before. Choice paralysis I think. The Walcot Estate off Kennington Road toward Elephant and Castle is one of those places where everything is a post. Named for Edmund Walcot who clearly objected to the fact the surrounding lands were owned by the richest and most powerful because he left this land in perpetuity in his 1667 will to the people of the area in need

The area started to be built up in the 1830s which is why it has a distinct character that isn’t quite Georgian or Victorian but just ‘Walcot.’ The square itself is actually more of squashed rhombus and there are entries, alleys and private gardens everywhere. It’s not a neatly laid out area but that very London feel of resisting being told what to do. This is a city that customised its school uniform as much as possible without getting expelled and that’s why it’s so special.

The area was working class and now an example of what @philipdowner discussed in Barnbsury yesterday with ‘stratification’ of some London areas. This area was badly damaged in the Blitz and while the houses were being repaired up into the 60s, broke artists, musicians and authors moved in seeking cheap rooms and a big break. Today some of the biggest names in creative industries live next door to cabbies who grew up here.

@walcotstores took over the former corner shop here which had laid empty from the 90s. Once upon a time it sold ‘groceries, provisions and cooked meats’. Today it sells coffee, is more a ‘take a break from WFH’ than a laptop zone and is sibling to paperstories in Gipsy Hill so sells notebooks and runs collage and craft evenings.

Probably why I picked it. My happiness is a notebook. I hand write all my research. But if your paper joy is a bag with a @lockdownbakehouselondon item inside, then every one is happy. Unless you really wanted some sliced ham right now!

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#southlondontoday #kennington #walcotsquare #prettylittlesidestreets #prettycitylondon #explorelondon #shopfrontsofinstagram #shoplocal

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Threatening skies but rain held off for a fascinating @c20society walk around the former Surrey Docks led by @philip.downer #twentiethcenturyarchitecture #londonwalk #surreydocks #surreyquays #canadawater #docklands #lddc #southwark #pomo #eighties

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