Doors of London

From the grandeur of Belgravia to the bohemian buzz of Camden, from the Norman Tower of London to the contemporary street art of Tower Hamlets, Doors of London introduces you to every part of inner London. It whisks you through the styles: Norman, Medieval, Tudor and Stuart, Queen Anne, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. It picks out tall, thin, single, double, polished, scruffy, famous or unknown doors, each holding its own story. Arranged geographically, with an attractive locator map for every area, Doors of London is packed with colourful photographs of the entrances to homes, offices, warehouses, churches, mosques, theatres and libraries. It explains how and why these doors took shape, picking out and dwelling on some of the most interesting. Each chapter concludes with a choice of pubs selected for their history and character. Thematic essays focus on street art, doors in film and television and authors’ homes, while special features detail fanlights, letterboxes, knobs and knockers, foot scrapers and other door furniture. Feature Doors tell the stories of the writers, actors, architects, collectors, socialites, bon viveurs and other famous or idiosyncratic owners who lived behind them. Cath Harries is a freelance photographer based in London. It was during one of her commissions in the city that she started noticing front doors and taking pictures of them. What started as a pastime quickly became an obsession and she found herself actively looking for the quirky, colourful and sometimes peculiar doors you will find in this book.Her clients over the years have included Visit London, Dorling Kindersley, CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), New Holland Books, Young’s pubs, Regus and John Lewis and she can often be found photographing events at the Houses of Parliament. Cath has been the set photographer on productions filmed by Sky Arts and Plenitude Productions and has photographed a number of books including A Foodies Guide to London, London’s Best Pubs, London’s Afternoon Teas, London’s Classic Restaurants and the Haynes Whisky Enthusiast’s Manual. Since becoming an independent house historian in 2012, Melanie Backe-Hansen has completed hundreds of house histories on private commissions across the country and acted as research consultant for television and radio series, notably A House Through Time presented by David Olusoga on BBC Two. She was historical research consultant and on-screen expert on Phil Spencer’s History of Britain in 100 Homes for More4 and house historian on BBC Radio 4’s A Home of Our Own. Melanie often contributes to national newspapers and appears regularly on television, radio and online media, including BBC London News, More4, BBC Radio and a long list of podcasts. She is a regular speaker at events and festivals, universities and history groups, including The London Library, Gloucester History Festival and The National Archives. Melanie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Member of the Royal Historical Society and Associate staff member at the University of Dundee.Her previous books include A House Through Time with David Olusoga, House Histories: The Secrets behind Your Front Door and Historic Streets and Squares: The Secrets on Your Doorstep. CONTENTS IINTRODUCTION: OBSSESSED WITH DOORS / DOORS THROUGH THE AGES / CHAPTER 1: THE CITY OF LONDO ? Financial Statements, Trade and Industry, Old City Churches, City Pubs, Justice and the Law, Knobs and Handles / CHAPTER 2: WESTMINSTER ? Mayfair, Wining and Dining, Soho, Covent Garden, Theatreland, Marylebone, Door Knockers / CHAPTER 3: KENSINGTON & CHELSEA ? The Museum Quarter, Knightsbridge, Mansion Flats, Old Chelsea, Notting Hill, Doors in Film and Television / CHAPTER 4: HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM ? Thameside Georgian, Upstairs, Downstairs, Heading out West, Snuffers and Scrapers / CHAPTER 5: CAMDEN ? Holborn, Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury, Camden Town, Hampstead, Highgate, Authors’ Doors / CHAPTER 6: ISLINGTON & HACKNEY ? Clerkenwell, Around Islington Green, Shoreditch and Hoxton, The Heart of Hackney, House Numbers / CHAPTER 7: TOWER HAMLETS ? Spitalfields. Whitechapel, Mile End and Stepney, Wapping and Limehouse, Street Art / CHAPTER 8: GREENWICH & LEWISHAM ? Deptford and New Cross, Maritime Greenwich, Blackheath Village, Fanlights / CHAPTER 9: SOUTHWARK ? Borough, Bankside. Bermondsey, Peckham, Nunhead, Letterboxes / CHAPTER 10: LAMBETH & WANDSWORTH ? Roupell Street Conservation Area, Brixton and Stockwell, Clapham, Wandsworth and Putney, Stained Glass.

Cath Harries is a freelance photographer in London. During one of her commissions, she started noticing front doors and taking pictures of them. Her pastime became an obsession and then a book. Melanie Backe-Hansen began her career as the first in-house historian for a UK estate agent researching the stories behind the houses they had for sale, and so pioneered a new field in social history.