These Sweet View prints by artist Jack Noel are really resonating with me this morning. Over the last couple of years I’ve been gently researching my family tree on my father’s side and it seems I’m a Londoner as far back as I can trace – at least seven generations to silkweavers in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green; chairmakers and cabinetmakers in Brentford and bookbinders and stationers near the Strand.
This series of prints shows London as it’s lived by Londoner - not the hackneyed tourist images but ‘views of the crossroads, markets and hidden squares that provide the true backdrop to a life in London”. So far he’s done six of the inner London boroughs, with another six to come later this year.
Hackney The view shows St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch (the famous ‘Oranges & Lemons’ church) – generations of my family were christened and married here.
Tower Hamlets (Columbia Road Market)
Westminster (I love how this is a corner of Trafalgar Square without a view of Nelson’s Column)
Southwark (Borough Market)
Wandsworth
Lambeth
Really hoping he does a view of Notting Hill for Kensington & Chelsea.
OH! These are so, so gorgeous. Love.
These are great. Thank you so much for sharing. I live up the road from Shoreditch Church & Colombia Road and have spend many an hour in Borough Market.
Also, if you have family connections with St Leonard’s, do you know about Rev? The BBC series. They filmed it in St Leonard’s BBC page here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sz26s and a review of it here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7855091/Rev-a-realistic-and-very-funny-new-comedy-from-BBC-Two.html.
Starred Tom Hollander and was very good. They’ve commissioned a second series. No idea whether it came to the States or whether you can view it somehow but so worth it if you can.
You must be so homesick sometimes. I have always wanted to visit London. I would love to have a real Londoner show me around.
Oh yes Cal, I agree, Rev is wonderful. At first I thought it was filmed in that church down the street from Spitalfields Mkt, but then hubby looked it up.