Walking tours

Before the start of the conference on Thursday 6 June, three tours are offered to the participants. Starting at 3.30/3.45 pm, the tours will cover various aspects of Bloomsbury modernism within the walking distance from the conference venue.

Stuart Tappin (20th Century Society):

The Brunswick Centre

Initially conceived of as an experiment in low rise high density housing, the Brunswick Centre (1967-72) is now recognised as one of London’s must successful examples of modernist housing and planning. This tour, led by an engineer who works and lives in the centre, will consider the background to the building, how it has evolved, and the delights and challenges of living there.

The tour will start at 3.45 at the Curzon Cinema in the Brunswick Centre.

Nic Sampson (Birkbeck):

Hidden Modernism in Bloomsbury

We commonly associate London’s Bloomsbury with ‘period’ Georgian streets and genteel squares yet a reading of the area’s twentieth century buildings and re-developments can tell a different, sometimes hidden, often overlooked story. This will be a  circular tour of some of Bloomsbury’s modernist gems, ranging from university precincts, landmark housing and tucked away one-off buildings.

The tour will start at 3.30 at 44 Gordon Square doorway.

Alistair Cartwright (Birkbeck):

Euston Twilight: Hotels, Boarding Houses and Luxury Squats in the Post-War Era 

A walking tour visiting the ghosts of grand hotels and down-at-heel boarding houses in Euston / Bloomsbury. The tour will uncover the history of residential hotels and other defunct forms of private rented accommodation, discovering along the way how some establishments were unexpectedly reclaimed, while others survived to this day.

The tour will start at 3.30 at 45 Gordon Square doorway.