Sunday 8 February 2015


It's that time of year when Two Temple Place opens its doors again. Downton fans might recognise the stunning staircase from Lady Rose's wedding. I always feel under-dressed as if I should be sweeping downstairs wearing something like this.
This is the fourth year that this astonishing Victorian mansion has put on an exhibition drawn from public collections outside of London - but to be honest, it's the magnificent building that has drawn me every year. (And it's free to get in, which is always good. On the other hand, £4 for an Eccles cake ... as a northerner, I made do with a cup of tea.)
This year's exhibition is appropriately drawn from the collections of Victorian industrial entrepreneurs from Blackburn Museum, Towneley Hall and Haworth Art Gallery (no connection with the Brontes!) Who would have guessed - not me -  that Blackburn has the largest collection of Japanese prints outside of London, or that Haworth has the largest collection of Tiffany glassware in Europe? I do wish they'd brought down more of the Tiffany, because that's much more to my taste than a Victorian industrialist's collection of dead beetles. On the other hand, I nearly skipped the cases full of coins, then found myself quite charmed by the run of coins from every English monarch ... must have been a bit like collecting Match Attax or cigarette cards and getting very excited when you nabbed a George III or a Henry II.
But what I most enjoyed was a quiet moment in the Great Hall, catching the late afternoon sun as it lit up a magnificent stained glass window and all the glowing reds and golds were reflected across the wood panelling. There's some lovely pictures here from the gentle author of Spitalfields Life, straying off his usual territory, although he's talking about the exhibition from a couple of years ago.

8 comments:

Katharine A said...

I've never been before. Last year, I missed the boat. Very excited to be going on Tuesday. Will be blogging about it & hoping that photography is allowed. My birthday trip, so might treat myself to cake.

mary said...

It seems a treat because it's not often open, Katharine. Happy birthday for Tuesday. I didn't think the cake looked as tempting as in previous years - although I'm all in favour of anything that isn't same old Benugo/Peyton&Byrne.

Lucille said...

Once again you have come up trumps with a timely recommendation. I was meeting a friend in town today with no particular agenda so off we went to Two Temple Place. As always it was the stained glass that stopped me in my tracks. The rather wanton collections less so. Also coincidentally I have just read Because of the Lockwoods set at the time of the decline of the cotton mills.

mary said...

The exhibition was a bit of a hotchpotch, wasn't it, Lucille? I was expecting paintings - not stuff! Not as successful as other years, but it's worth a trip just for that glass. Wouldn't you just love to have it on a staircase at home!

Cosy Books said...

Will they be closing the doors to visitors once this exhibit has ended, Mary? If yes, then I say 'Rats!'...I'm dying to get a peek inside but keep missing my chance. The paintings at the Watts Gallery would be lovely; my pupils dilated a bit when I followed your link.

mary said...

It only opens for a few weeks every year, Darlene. Don't know what would happen if you rang the doorbell and switched on the charm - it's worked for me before now!
The Watts Gallery is lovely, though I've never tried getting there on public transport.

The London Artphile said...

Those stained glass windows at Two Temple Place are amazing, aren't they? One depicts sunrise (at the east end of the great hall) and the other sunset (at the west end) I was there on a sunny late afternoon and the sunset end was absolutely stunning.
What did you think about the Peruvian mummy on show?
I wrote about the exhibition on my blog too -
http://londonartfile.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/cotton-to-gold-at-two-temple-place.html
It's open until 19th April so still time to go. Or go again in my case!

mary said...

Hello, London Artphile. Yes, that window is gorgeous in the afternoon. I wonder what the other one is like in early morning? I felt rather sorry for the mummy. It seems an undignified for any human being.