Trevor McClintock's musings on architecture in London through the ages

London is filled with culture and more importantly some fantastic architecture. Dotted all-round the city it is near on impossible not to set eyes upon some, where ever you are. The first piece that I would like to draw attention to would be the Tower of London definitely one of the more well-known buildings in London. It was built in 1100 by William the Conqueror and is famous for being a prison and was home to numerous tortures including Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes and Reggie Kray. It is now currently home to the crown jewels.

Moving on to another famous piece of architecture is Shakespeare's Globe which was where many of his plays were performed. Unfortunately the original globe was burnt to the ground, however was successfully rebuilt by Sam Wanamaker. The new globe does a great job of transporting people back to the old London. Another building that follows this pattern is St. Paul's cathedral which was constructed back in 1710. This is known as one of our most impressive architecturally structures and shows that we have an answer to great cultural buildings.

Looking at more recently assembled structures we cannot look further than the Shard. Built by Renzo Piano it seems to be a message to the rest of the world saying that Britain can keep up with the rest of the world modernising their architecture. The building itself stands at 310 metres making it the EU's largest structure. Inside the Shard there is offices, apartments, a hotel and even a four storey observation deck making it quite the multi-purpose building. Another building that was recently built is the Tate Modern which in fact is a museum. It was opened in 2000 and has become the fifth most visited museum in the world. It looks completely stunning on the outside keeping its trademark chimney, it also retained its interior the similar as well.

When mentioning London's architecture you cannot look beyond our most famous piece which has to be the Houses of Parliament. It was assembled by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin in 1870 and is recognised as gothic revival. Its complex sweep of towers, crenellations and steeples are a symbol not just of English architectural inventiveness, but also of the very foundations of parliamentary democracy.

More thoughts from Trevor McClintock soon guys!