Two Temple Place

The exterior of Two Temple Place, a gothic building faced in grey stone. The exterior of Two Temple Place, a gothic building faced in grey stone.
Photo by me, edited to make the sky less miserable.

Two Temple Place is owned by the charitable foundation The Bulldog Trust. It is only really open to the public for an annual exhibition between January and March, but tours are available at other times of year.

The building was built for William Waldorf Astor, a reportedly shy figure who at one time was the second richest man in America - a position now miserably occupied by Jeff Bezos. 🤢

It was partially destroyed during World War but was sensitively rebuilt under the supervision of Sir Percy Thomas, former president of RIBA and you’d be hard pressed to separate old from new as you explore.

Picture of a wood panelled landing, with a stained glass roof window. Picture of a wood panelled landing, with a stained glass roof window.
Photos by me: The top of the grand staircase.
A stained glass window in an alcove with artworks on display. A stained glass window in an alcove with artworks on display.
The stained glass windows are quite magnificent.

Current exhibition

Lives Less Ordinary

An exhibition of photography, paintings and sculptures depicting working class Britain, mostly in the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on marginalised groups.

I visited the exhibition just after it opened and can recommend it. I always worry a bit that exhibitions claiming to be about the “working class” are just going to be poverty porn but this was something many of the displayed artworks were explicitly created to object to.

They do a particularly good job of telling the stories behind the exhibits, from the Tate Modern’s snobbish refusal to exhibit the works of Beryl Cook to the objections of Jack Smith to his domestic paintings being described as “Kitchen Sink” by the art world. I just wish these stories had been placed front & centre, rather than hidden away on small cards.

Free

Until

Photography Social History