In April, 20 members of the Explore London 1 group had a guided tour round The Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington.
It was a pleasure to roam the corridors, discover the Royal Box and appreciate the vast interior. The guide set the scene for the building of the Royal Albert Hall and gave some interesting details about the area now known as South Kensington, nicknamed in Victorian Times as Albertopolis.
After the tour, Jackie and John Wiggins led a walk around Albertopolis using a guide produced by the Royal Geographic Society, pointing out the original buildings commissioned by Prince Albert and Henry Cole following the success of the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park in 1852.
The area suffered bomb damage during WW2 and bold, modern buildings now sit alongside gracious, original Victorian architecture. Shrapnel damage to the ‘V and A’ museum is still visible.
Opposite the RAH stands the Albert Memorial in the centre of which Prince Albert presides over a frieze of famous composers, architects, poets, painters and sculptors. Statues at the four corners celebrate the industries of Victorian England – manufacture, commerce, agriculture and engineering.
Albert holds a catalogue of the Great Exhibition in his hand. At the next level, the statues represent the influence of Great Britain in the four corners of the British Empire – an elephant for Asia, a bull for Europe, a buffalo for the Americas and a camel for Africa.
Our walk round Albertopolis was rushed because the tour of the RAH was extended and after lunch, time was short as some folk needed to catch the 3-30pm 702. We enjoyed what we saw. Albertopolis remains today as a centre of learning and culture and is a very interesting area in which to wonder and admire.
Photos taken and shared by Alan Wheeler and Eileen Harris, with our thanks.