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Making The Metropolis: Creators of Victorian London
In 1801 the population of London was almost one million. A century later, on the death of Queen Victoria, it had passes six million, and the city had been transformed. Stephen Halliday's beautifully illustrated new book shows how the ramshackle collection of communities that entered the 19th century became the world's first metropolis.
The amazing story is told through the lives of eight men who created the Victorian capital.
John Nash defined themodern West End with his 'New Street' (Regent Street) between the farm at Regent's Park and the swamp at St James's Park.
Marc Brunel invented the tunnelling shield that made the underground railways possible.
Thomas Cubitt built houses for aristocrats in Belgravia and homes for the middle classes at Pimlico and Bloomsbury.
Sir Charles Barry built the New Palace of Westminster to replace the charred ruins of the old one.
Sir Joseph Paxton designed the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851, the profits of which enabled ...
Alfred Waterhouse to build the Natural History Museum, the first of the famous South Kensington museums.
Sir Joseph Bazalgette built the sewers, streets and parks that made the metropolis a safe place to live, and ...
Sir Edwin Watkin, chairman of the Metropolitan Railway, began the process that created the suburbs of Metroland and elsewhere.
Stephen Halliday's portrait of these remarkable men give a fascinating insight into their careers and achievements. They created the imperial capital from which Victoria ruled over the greatest empire the world had ever seen.
The amazing story is told through the lives of eight men who created the Victorian capital.
John Nash defined themodern West End with his 'New Street' (Regent Street) between the farm at Regent's Park and the swamp at St James's Park.
Marc Brunel invented the tunnelling shield that made the underground railways possible.
Thomas Cubitt built houses for aristocrats in Belgravia and homes for the middle classes at Pimlico and Bloomsbury.
Sir Charles Barry built the New Palace of Westminster to replace the charred ruins of the old one.
Sir Joseph Paxton designed the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851, the profits of which enabled ...
Alfred Waterhouse to build the Natural History Museum, the first of the famous South Kensington museums.
Sir Joseph Bazalgette built the sewers, streets and parks that made the metropolis a safe place to live, and ...
Sir Edwin Watkin, chairman of the Metropolitan Railway, began the process that created the suburbs of Metroland and elsewhere.
Stephen Halliday's portrait of these remarkable men give a fascinating insight into their careers and achievements. They created the imperial capital from which Victoria ruled over the greatest empire the world had ever seen.
- GenresHistory
199 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2012
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 18, 2022
A superb book with sections on eight individuals who had a marked influence on the making of the Metropolis in Victorian times. All of these men contributed significantly to making Victorian London, the world's first metropolis. The eight men concerned were James Nash, Marc Brunel, Thomas Cubitt, Sir Joseph Paxton, Sir Charles Barry, Sir Joseph Bazalgette, Sir Edward Watkin and Alfred Waterhouse.
Nash was the creator of Regent Street, originally named New Street, and although it was said that he had few claims to originality as an architect, with his innovative designs hastily prepared and then left to the builders who executed his plans, without his foresight and visionary planning the West End as it became would not have had the settled connection that it had between the farm at Regent's Park and the swamp at St James's Park.
Marc Brunel, although disappointed that his first attempt at a tunnel under the Thames did not materialise, eventually returned to the charge with a new and improved tunnelling shield that revolutionised the underground work in the capital. Indeed it was instrumental in the development of the London underground system.
Thomas Cubitt was the brains behind the building of houses for the aristocracy in Belgravia, described by Disraeli as 'as monstrous as Marylebone and so contrived as to be at the same time insipid and tawdry', before turning his hand to providing accommodation for the more middle classes in the 'lesser' areas of Pimlico and Bloomsbury. In addition he became a favourite of Queen Victoria and spent £500,000 of taxpayers' money in demolishing and embellishing Buckingham Palace, including re-siting the great Marble Arch that once stood at the Palace's entrance.
Paxton was the man behind the massive glass pavilion(s) within Hyde Park that housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, designs for which he made on a piece of blotting paper when there was doubt about the suitability of such a project. And when the exhibition was all over he organised the dismantling of the buildings and arranged the re-housing of them at Crystal Palace.
Barry was the architect for designing the New Palace of Westminster after the original building had been burnt down in 1834. His son John Wolfe-Barry followed in his father's footsteps by significantly altering the skyline of Victorian London by designing Tower Bridge.
Bazalgette was arguably the most significant of the eight men for it was he who reorganised the awful sewerage system of Victorian London. 'The Great Stink' brought the issue to the fore and Bazalgette rose to the challenge. He succeeded in cleansing Victorian London and many of his innovations are still in operation today.
Watkin was the chairman of the Metropolitan Railway and it was he who began the process that created the John Betjeman acclaimed 'Metroland' that helped expanded the suburbs of London
Waterhouse took advantage of the profits made by the Great Exhibition to build the first of the South Kensington museums, the Natural History Museum. He thus created the environment that was subsequently used to house other major museums in the area. His style was such that he was noted as being responsible for the revival of Gothic architecture, although he did receive some criticism for doing so.
These remarkable men, and there is plenty more to their stories within the book, were the main movers in creating the imperial capital from which Queen Victoria ruled over what was then the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Without them, would it have happened? We will never know!
Nash was the creator of Regent Street, originally named New Street, and although it was said that he had few claims to originality as an architect, with his innovative designs hastily prepared and then left to the builders who executed his plans, without his foresight and visionary planning the West End as it became would not have had the settled connection that it had between the farm at Regent's Park and the swamp at St James's Park.
Marc Brunel, although disappointed that his first attempt at a tunnel under the Thames did not materialise, eventually returned to the charge with a new and improved tunnelling shield that revolutionised the underground work in the capital. Indeed it was instrumental in the development of the London underground system.
Thomas Cubitt was the brains behind the building of houses for the aristocracy in Belgravia, described by Disraeli as 'as monstrous as Marylebone and so contrived as to be at the same time insipid and tawdry', before turning his hand to providing accommodation for the more middle classes in the 'lesser' areas of Pimlico and Bloomsbury. In addition he became a favourite of Queen Victoria and spent £500,000 of taxpayers' money in demolishing and embellishing Buckingham Palace, including re-siting the great Marble Arch that once stood at the Palace's entrance.
Paxton was the man behind the massive glass pavilion(s) within Hyde Park that housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, designs for which he made on a piece of blotting paper when there was doubt about the suitability of such a project. And when the exhibition was all over he organised the dismantling of the buildings and arranged the re-housing of them at Crystal Palace.
Barry was the architect for designing the New Palace of Westminster after the original building had been burnt down in 1834. His son John Wolfe-Barry followed in his father's footsteps by significantly altering the skyline of Victorian London by designing Tower Bridge.
Bazalgette was arguably the most significant of the eight men for it was he who reorganised the awful sewerage system of Victorian London. 'The Great Stink' brought the issue to the fore and Bazalgette rose to the challenge. He succeeded in cleansing Victorian London and many of his innovations are still in operation today.
Watkin was the chairman of the Metropolitan Railway and it was he who began the process that created the John Betjeman acclaimed 'Metroland' that helped expanded the suburbs of London
Waterhouse took advantage of the profits made by the Great Exhibition to build the first of the South Kensington museums, the Natural History Museum. He thus created the environment that was subsequently used to house other major museums in the area. His style was such that he was noted as being responsible for the revival of Gothic architecture, although he did receive some criticism for doing so.
These remarkable men, and there is plenty more to their stories within the book, were the main movers in creating the imperial capital from which Queen Victoria ruled over what was then the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Without them, would it have happened? We will never know!
September 18, 2022
I really struggled through this book. I was expecting something along the lines of how London grew from a Medieval city into a a massive metroplex incorporating slums and gated communities. This book is disappointing to that extent. It revolves around the biographies of 8 men who contributed to the greatness (?) of Victorian London.
John Nash, Marc and Isambard Brunel, Thomas Cubit, Joseph Paxton, Charles Barry, Joseph Bazalgette. Edward Watkin, and Alfred Waterhouse all contributed to the expansion of Victorian London. Arguably, only Bazalgette really contributed to the city proper. The rest of the group were focused on either buildings for the wealthy in the suburbs or massive civic buildings like museums or the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. Apart from the chapter on Bazalgette, and his construction of sewers and embankments, there was very little discussion on the city itself. Waterhouse's Victorian Gothic style did spread far and wide, so there is a good argument for including him.
Halliday has great enthusiasm for his subject matter. But his writing assumes that readers are already familiar with the neighborhoods, landmarks, history, and appearance, and importance of everything he discusses. It is not easy to envision the importance of Gibraltar House in the West End as a sign of urban planning by the shady developer John Nash. More can be said for the father and son Brunel team building tunnels under the Thames. But somehow, Halliday does not carry on the significance showing that the companies could not make a profit from the new tunnels. The lack of profits also plays a key role in the chapter on the irascible Edward Watkins. Oh the poor stockholders!
Victorian London and the making of a city has so much material to work with. Yet somehow this became an almost unreadable book. It did not help that the text was surrounded by call-out passages that simply repeated lines from the text. More call-out boxes offered one-paragraph biographies of other people who sort of contributed (good or bad) to the efforts of Halliday's heroes. Ultimately, this reader only took an interest in Bazalgette who appears to have accomplished Herculean endeavors. He certainly did more for London than the people designing mansions in Belgravia. Until this book, I had never heard of Belgravia or Pimlico. Their significance is lost on this reader.
Overall, this book is less about the making of Victorian London than it is about showcasing 8 architects from the era. It is almost like the book is in search of a topic. Jumping from land speculators to the Great Exhibition / Crystal Palace, to the Victoria Embankment, to something about trains, to Victorian Gothic style, the book hops around. Is it about London or these 8 architects? The result is a mishmash of topics with poor transitions and reader empathy. Tunnels, sewers, land reclamation, museums, mass transport are all important to building a metropolis; but such contributions are often lost in ramblings about Watkins fighting other tycoons [?] low returns on shares of stock, and other hardships for these architectural heroes. Perhaps the problem is that material is condensed into too few pages; although if it was much longer, I doubt I could have finished it.
John Nash, Marc and Isambard Brunel, Thomas Cubit, Joseph Paxton, Charles Barry, Joseph Bazalgette. Edward Watkin, and Alfred Waterhouse all contributed to the expansion of Victorian London. Arguably, only Bazalgette really contributed to the city proper. The rest of the group were focused on either buildings for the wealthy in the suburbs or massive civic buildings like museums or the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. Apart from the chapter on Bazalgette, and his construction of sewers and embankments, there was very little discussion on the city itself. Waterhouse's Victorian Gothic style did spread far and wide, so there is a good argument for including him.
Halliday has great enthusiasm for his subject matter. But his writing assumes that readers are already familiar with the neighborhoods, landmarks, history, and appearance, and importance of everything he discusses. It is not easy to envision the importance of Gibraltar House in the West End as a sign of urban planning by the shady developer John Nash. More can be said for the father and son Brunel team building tunnels under the Thames. But somehow, Halliday does not carry on the significance showing that the companies could not make a profit from the new tunnels. The lack of profits also plays a key role in the chapter on the irascible Edward Watkins. Oh the poor stockholders!
Victorian London and the making of a city has so much material to work with. Yet somehow this became an almost unreadable book. It did not help that the text was surrounded by call-out passages that simply repeated lines from the text. More call-out boxes offered one-paragraph biographies of other people who sort of contributed (good or bad) to the efforts of Halliday's heroes. Ultimately, this reader only took an interest in Bazalgette who appears to have accomplished Herculean endeavors. He certainly did more for London than the people designing mansions in Belgravia. Until this book, I had never heard of Belgravia or Pimlico. Their significance is lost on this reader.
Overall, this book is less about the making of Victorian London than it is about showcasing 8 architects from the era. It is almost like the book is in search of a topic. Jumping from land speculators to the Great Exhibition / Crystal Palace, to the Victoria Embankment, to something about trains, to Victorian Gothic style, the book hops around. Is it about London or these 8 architects? The result is a mishmash of topics with poor transitions and reader empathy. Tunnels, sewers, land reclamation, museums, mass transport are all important to building a metropolis; but such contributions are often lost in ramblings about Watkins fighting other tycoons [?] low returns on shares of stock, and other hardships for these architectural heroes. Perhaps the problem is that material is condensed into too few pages; although if it was much longer, I doubt I could have finished it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews