Blog Search Results

Can City

London loves to give its skyscrapers nicknames, and one of the newest has been christened the ‘Can of Ham’. Its actual name is 70 St Mary Axe, and even that street has an interesting derivation. The Can of Ham has been designed by Foggo Associates, whose distinctive work can also be seen above Cannon Street Station and along Queen Victoria Street. Their latest construction has been designed in response to local views and comprises 24 floors and 28,000 square metres of office space. Its unique design could be said to incorporate just 3 facades and no roof; instead, curved glass and anodised aluminium wrap around the building - almost like a tin (...

Bay of Plenty

In the mid 1600s two Frenchmen, the grandly named Médard Chouart, Sieur des Groseilliers (1618-1696) and his brother-in-law Pierre Ésprit Radisson (c. 1640-1710), were exploring the vast interior of what is now northern Canada. Working their way inland via the many rivers that flow into Hudson Bay, they came across a wealth of fur, in particular on a rodent with a large paddle-shaped tail and prominent teeth. “Ideal for coats,” they reported, and went to find a backer. Their fellow countrymen in Québec and France showed little interest but the English settlers were far more receptive.  The two intrepid trappers travelled to England and managed to ga...

Track the Vintners' plaques

The Grapes, Lime Street  As you turn right out of Mansion House Station and walk down Garlick Hill, look up to your left and you’ll see two Vintners’ plaques positioned high up on a redbrick building. The property is no longer in the Company’s possession but it reminds us that across the centuries, throughout the City, several addresses were acquired by the Vintners’ Company.  Despite a change of ownership, and indeed in most cases a complete rebuild, you can still find clear signs of our previous extensive involvement in real estate.    Just to the east of Leadenhall Market is Lime Street, a curving street that leads up to the Lloyds building...