The Barbican

The area is named after the barbican (meaning fortified outpost or gateway) which would have been part of the north-western section of the walls of the old Roman city of Londinium. This original tower was pulled down by Henry III in 1267 but a thoroughfare of the same name continued to exist in its place. Records from the 14^th century document it as ‘Barbycanstret’ and it was part of the parish of Cripplegate. The local industry was brewing - records show there were over 70 breweries in the area.

In Anglo-Saxon times, the gate in the medieval wall here (the Roman wall having by this time been almost completely replaced) became known as ‘Crepelgate’, meaning ‘low gate’ or ‘a gate for creeping through’. The Normans then later corrupted this to ‘Cripple Gate’ and so the parish of Cripplegate came into being.  

From the 14^th century onwards, the ‘Barbican’ developed from just a thoroughfare into a defined and populated locality within this parish. In 1336, Edward III is known to have rewarded one of his favourites, Robert Brandon, the earl of Suffolk, with the gift of 'the manor of Base Court, in the parish of St Giles without Cripplegate of London, commonly called Barbican'.

St Giles Cripplegate
 

In the early years of the 17th century, the Barbican is known to have attracted theatrical types - William Shakespeare lodged for several years with a Huguenot family here, and Ben Jonson also had a house in the parish.  During Cromwellian times, the area became popular with religious non-conformists. John Milton lived here in the mid- 17^th century. By the 18th century, Barbican was a maze of slums and red light areas. By the end of the 19th century these had been replaced by warehouses and train yards.

In December 1940, an area covering 35 acres around the original Barbican site, including every street between Moorgate and Aldersgate Street, was destroyed by incendiary bombs. St Giles Church, though heavily damaged, was left standing. The area was so badly devastated that it was said you could walk half a mile without seeing a single intact building.

In 1954, architects were commissioned to plan what was to be a self-contained community, “a genuine residential neighbourhood, incorporating schools, shops, open spaces and amenities”.  The new development was intended not just to replace buildings lost in the war, but to stem the flow of residents out of London’s historic Square Mile. (From a population of 14,000 in the mid-19th century, by the end of the war there were just 48 people living in the parish of Cripplegate).

The residential part of the project was constructed between 1969 and 1980. The new

estate comprised 2,104 flats, accommodating 6,500 people in a mix of three tall towers (at the time they were the tallest residential buildings in Europe) and seven long terrace blocks of up to 11 storeys. These were arranged around large, round courts or piazzas connected by elevated walkways. Built entirely of concrete, the style used throughout the structure was much influenced by Le Corbusier and, as one critic has said “still has a hint of the fortress”.

As well as accommodation, the site today also includes the Barbican Arts Centre (most of which is below ground level), the City of London School for Girls, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 12 acres of landscaped garden and an ornamental lake. The Arts Centre, conceived from the outset as the heart of the whole development, was fraught with planning problems and, though signed off in 1960, was not begun until 1971, and then only officially opened in March 1982, having cost 153 million pounds (instead of the 17 million originally quoted) to construct. Many critics felt that the Arts Centre was less successful than the residential elements with one even suggesting that working on the project for so many years had driven the architects insane!

Although the Barbican scheme was originally intended to provide a democratic mix of accommodation, with rents to suit all pockets, that all changed with the arrival of the 1980s property boom. These days most of the homes are privately owned and command sky-high prices. The project still has its critics – many hate the Barbican’s brutalist concrete exterior, its disorienting maze of walkways, landings and stairs – but most admit that the facilities inside the buildings are top-class and millions come each year to enjoy its two art galleries, three cinemas, 2,000-seater concert hall, two theatres, seven conference suites and two trade exhibition halls.

In 2001, the Barbican Estate received Grade II listing as a “site of special architectural interest”.

 

References:

The London Encyclopedia ed. Ben Weinreb et al. (2008)

111 Places in London That You Shouldn’t Miss John Sykes (2016)

A History of London in 100 Places David Long (2014)

Website: http://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/barbican-story/history-of-the-barbican-area/

The Roundhouse

Known originally as the Great Circular Engine House, or the Luggage Engine House, what we now know as the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm Road is still a distinctive landmark. Now Grade II listed, it has been described as one of the city’s great industrial monuments.

When Parliament approved a plan for a London & Birmingham Railway in 1833, Robert Stephenson (of ‘Rocket’ fame) was appointed to oversee what was to become the country’s largest civil engineering project. London’s first rail terminal, Euston station, opened in 1837, and when the first direct train left Euston for Birmingham the journey time was cut from 12 to just five hours.

But there was a problem. Euston was at the bottom of a shallow incline, and engines heading north did not yet have the power to make the climb to Camden. For the next six years, huge winding gear had to be used to haul trains up the hill on cables. The area just north of Euston, including Camden Town and Chalk Farm, consequently became vitally important. It was here that Stephenson built his rail yards and commissioned the construction of a ‘round house’ for maintaining this equipment, and for storing goods engines.

Construction began in 1846. The interior space was divided into 24 bays, with a
massive turntable in the centre that locomotives could be rolled onto, before being spun around and rolled to a bay for servicing or storage. 160 feet in diameter, it had a huge conical slate roof supported on 24 cast-iron columns. When completed, the Roundhouse was hailed as an outstanding feat of Victorian engineering.

But already by 1869 the building was no longer needed for its original purpose (technology had moved on and engines had now become too long for the turntable) and it became a warehouse and a factory. Its longest continuous period of use, the 50 years beginning in 1871, was as a bonded warehouse for gin distillers W & A Gilbey Ltd. In 1964 the structure was listed as a building of architectural and historic interest.

 After standing disused for many years, in 1960 the playwright Arnold Wesker decided

it would make a good centre for the arts and founded Centre 42. Later in the 60s it became a leading rock venue, with appearances by bands such as Pink Floyd, the Stones and even the Doors, who played their only UK gig here. It enjoyed popularity again in the late 70s with the arrival of punk, but by 1983 it had closed its doors again.
That same year Camden Council and the GLC bought the Roundhouse. For 12 years it lay empty, but in 1996 it was bought by a local businessman who wanted to turn it into an arts centre for young people. A ‘Rebuild the Roundhouse’ campaign was launched to raise the 28 million pounds needed for the project. It was completed in 2006, and the centre boasts a 1,700-seat performance space, as well as a variety of other performing arts studios, workshops etc.

References:

The London Encyclopedia ed. Christopher Hibbert et al (2008)

The London Nobody Knows Geoffrey Fletcher (1962)

Spectacular Vernacular David Long (2006)