With Spring just around the corner, there's never been a better time to step out into this great city and discover some incredible public art gems!
Start off at Mansion House with Europe’s longest mosaic at Queen Hithe Docks. Take a walk along the river, stop off for a cocktail or a coffee on the quirky Tamesis Dock boat at Vauxhall, and then head down to see the incredible mosaics at Westminster Cathedral just behind Victoria Station. You'll feel truly inspired and appreciative of what a great city London is.
Start off at Mansion House with Europe’s longest mosaic at Queen Hithe Docks. Take a walk along the river, stop off for a cocktail or a coffee on the quirky Tamesis Dock boat at Vauxhall, and then head down to see the incredible mosaics at Westminster Cathedral just behind Victoria Station. You'll feel truly inspired and appreciative of what a great city London is.
Queenhithe Dock Heritage timeline mosaic Queenhithe
Nearest tube – Mansion House
This impressive mosaic has more than 1 million cut tiles laid into a 30 metre long mosaic, making it Europe's longest mosaic public art piece.
Queenhithe is the only remaining Anglo Saxon dock in the world. This mosaic celebrates the history of the dock and the importance it played in the development of medieval London. More than 300 volunteers, with the help of archaeologists, historians and professional mosaic artists, collaborated to create this incredible piece of mosaic public art, overseen by Southbank Mosaics based in Waterloo.
Westminster Cathedral – The mystery of the unfinished mosaics ...
42 Francis Street SW1P
When the Cathedral architect, John Bentley, died in early March 1902, he left his mosaics unfinished with little guidance on how to complete them. Despite this, the quality and richness of the mosaics is stunning.
In 2012 Lucio Orsoni, arguably the Italian ‘God’ of mosaic, visited Archbishop Vincent Nichols to discuss the cost of completing the mosaic sections. To finish the mosaic in the Byzantine-style (using smalti, small hand-cut pieces of opaque coloured glass) would cost £12million to finish approximately 10,000 square metres. The mosaics remain incomplete, however some feel their unfinished state lends the pieces a certain charm.
For more information on these mosaics, visit:
www.southbankmosaics.com.
www.tdock.co.uk
www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/tour_mosaics.php
Elinor Seath
Nearest tube – Mansion House
This impressive mosaic has more than 1 million cut tiles laid into a 30 metre long mosaic, making it Europe's longest mosaic public art piece.
Queenhithe is the only remaining Anglo Saxon dock in the world. This mosaic celebrates the history of the dock and the importance it played in the development of medieval London. More than 300 volunteers, with the help of archaeologists, historians and professional mosaic artists, collaborated to create this incredible piece of mosaic public art, overseen by Southbank Mosaics based in Waterloo.
Westminster Cathedral – The mystery of the unfinished mosaics ...
42 Francis Street SW1P
When the Cathedral architect, John Bentley, died in early March 1902, he left his mosaics unfinished with little guidance on how to complete them. Despite this, the quality and richness of the mosaics is stunning.
In 2012 Lucio Orsoni, arguably the Italian ‘God’ of mosaic, visited Archbishop Vincent Nichols to discuss the cost of completing the mosaic sections. To finish the mosaic in the Byzantine-style (using smalti, small hand-cut pieces of opaque coloured glass) would cost £12million to finish approximately 10,000 square metres. The mosaics remain incomplete, however some feel their unfinished state lends the pieces a certain charm.
For more information on these mosaics, visit:
www.southbankmosaics.com.
www.tdock.co.uk
www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/tour_mosaics.php
Elinor Seath
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