#MyStrand: Justin Sherin, playwright and screenwriter
I often scour Instagram for gorgeous, strange, or mysterious looking photographs of the Strand, historical and contemporary. @WychStreet, an account run by Justin Sherin, is an account I return to again and again, as the photographs – and generous evocative captions – instantly transport me into the past. Justin was kind enough to share some…
Read MorePeople of the Strand: Alice and Kimberley at Two Temple Place
Like many people, I have been enjoying the virtual offerings of museums and galleries during lockdown. For this post, I’m grateful to Two Temple Place for letting Strandlines share excerpts from their blog ‘Voices from Two Temple Place’. I can’t recommend the blog enough, and applaud the blog’s mission to be an ‘inclusive online platform…
Read MoreThe Strand’s Foggy Past in Conan Doyle’s Work
In the late 19th century, the Strand Magazine propelled Arthur Conan Doyle’s writings to new heights. This meteoric rise brought wider public attention to some of the issues that plagued London in the 1890s. In the Strand Magazine pieces, complex connections between writing by Doyle and the concerns of the Smoke Abatement Society are apparent.…
Read MorePeople of the Strand: Fortunatus (died 1601)
‘If one could choose a single location in which the encounter with cultural complexity became routine, it would be that unique gathering of peoples along the Thames.’ So says John Cramsie, author of a book about such encounters in the early modern period, though mostly ones away from London (British Travellers and the Encounter with…
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter. Monday 25th May 2020 marked another instance of police brutality against a member of the Black community in the United States. George Floyd, a Black 46-year-old father, son, and brother, was murdered by white police officer, Derek Chauvin, in broad daylight – a disproportionate reaction to Floyd supposedly passing a counterfeit $20…
Read MoreCelebrating Volunteers’ Week 2020
Strandlines couldn’t exist without the generous contributions of a fabulous group of volunteer researchers and creative writers. 1-7 June is Volunteers Week in the UK: a chance for organisations across the country to celebrate the amazing contributions that people make in their spare time around so many other committments. By way of a thank you…
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter protest, Trafalgar Square 31 May 2020
Black Lives Matter. Below, we’ve archived a selection of photographed geotagged at Trafalgar Square on 31 May 2020. The protests in May and June 2020 were a response to the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. But, as organisers and participants write in their photo captions and in television interviews, the reality is…
Read MoreArundel Great Court: between redevelopment and conservation
180 Strand, the remaining part of the former Arundel Great Court, is located between Somerset House and the Inner Temple. Constructed between 1971 and 1976 the building stands as a brutalist landmark in the heart of the Strand. Once a multi-use office space, now an art and fashion hub, the site will soon be redeveloped…
Read More#MyStrand: Brian, Platform Staff at Charing Cross
During lockdown, I’ve been finding myself searching the ‘Strand’ geolocation tag on Instagram. This is what led me to come across Brian’s posts. Brian is a keyworker, and as Platford Staff at Charing Cross he hasn’t stopped going to the Strand every day. His photos have documented how much the Strand has changed during lockdown,…
Read MoreRepost from Courtauld Digital Media: Pictures of London in the Age of Social Media
Editors’ note: The Strandlines editors are always scouring for news and research about the Strand area. Below we’re delighted to be sharing a short extract from ‘The Strand Statues’, a piece by Ruby Gaffney, a Courtauld Connects Digitisation Placement student. Thank you to the Courtauld Digitisation team for allowing us to share. The Courtauld Connects…
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