The annual festival of buildings opening to the public, London Open House returns next month, letting Londoners inside normally private or difficult to visit buildings for free.
It’s running over a fortnight, and although most venues are open at weekends, the double weekend of open days does spread the load out a bit to make it easier to see more buildings.
Most of the venues that need tickets to visit are sold out, but there are loads of places to visit that you can just turn up on the day. Some will be a case of wandering around as you want, while others will have architect tours throughout the day.
There are several hundred places to visit, this is my personal selection:
In date/time order:
Friday 8th September
The Prince Henry Room
Fleet Street
9am to 5pm
A very rare chance to see inside this Tudor building on Fleet Street and one of the few buildings in the city that survived the 1666 London Great Fire. The room, on the first floor contains one of the best-preserved Jacobian-enriched plaster ceilings in London.
Saturday 9th September
Chartered Accountants’ Hall
City of London
9am to 2pm
Classic grand Victorian building for a grand organisation with richly decorated interiors and halls. Also a modern 1960s extension at the rear.
International Maritime Organization
Lambeth
10am to 4pm
A chance to see inside this UN organisation with a large riverside roof terrace overlooking Parliament and a large UN-style conference chamber.
(also open Sun 10th Sept)
Painters’ Hall
City of London
10am to 4pm
A modern post-war rebuilt city livery hall recently restored to its 1960s appearance.
The LSE’s Marshall Building
Aldwych
10am to 4pm
Regular guided tours around a modern university building showing off the lecture halls and the communal spaces, plus the roof terrace views.
(also open Sun 10th Sept)
London Scottish House (London Scottish Regimental Headquarters)
Victoria
10am to 5pm
A large Victorian glass roofed hall in the heart of Victoria that has a large collection of military memorabilia around the walls and
(also open Sun 10th Sept)
Founders’ Hall
Barbican
10am to 6pm
A modern livery hall from an ancient organisation with a mix of ancient decorations in a modern building.
(also open Sun 10th Sept)
Zoroastrian Centre For Europe (formerly Grosvenor Cinema)
Harrow
11am to 3pm
Former art-deco cinema that’s now a Zoroastrian centre but still retains a lot of original features.
Senate House
Bloomsbury
11am to 4pm
Tours of either the library or the architecture of this famous Charles Holden designed skyscraper building for UCL.
Sunday 10th September
New West End Synagogue
Bayswater
10am to 1pm
The New West End Synagogue is among the most beautiful and historic buildings of Jewish interest in England and visitors are most welcome to view the magnificence of our Grade 1 Listed Building.
International Maritime Organization
Lambeth
10am to 4pm
A chance to see inside this UN organisation with a large riverside roof terrace overlooking Parliament and large UN-style conference chamber.
(also open Sun 10th Sept)
The LSE’s Marshall Building
Aldwych
10am to 4pm
Regular guided tours around a modern university building showing off the lecture halls and the communal spaces, plus the roof terrace views.
(also open Sat 9th Sept)
The Banqueting House
Whitehall
10am to 4:30pm
The grand Inigo Jones building on Whitehall with a magnificent painted ceiling – used to be regularly open to the public, but currently only open for special occasions.
(also open on Sun 17th Sept)
London Scottish House (London Scottish Regimental Headquarters)
Victoria
10am to 5pm
A large Victorian glass roofed hall in the heart of Victoria that has a large collection of military memorabilia around the walls and
(also open Sun 10th Sept)
Founders’ Hall
Barbican
10am to 6pm
A modern livery hall from an ancient organisation with a mix of ancient decorations in a modern building.
(also open Sat 9th Sept)
St Anne’s Church
Limehouse
12:30pm to 4pm
There will be tours of the tall tower in front of the church Not for the faint hearted. The church will also be open on other days, but tower tours only take place today.
Saturday 16th September
Haberdashers’ Hall
Barbican
9am to 4pm
A modern livery hall for an ancient organisation with a strikingly impressive wooden hall.
Southwark Integrated Waste Management Facility
South Bermondsey
10am to 4pm
A grand name for a household rubbish recycling centre. Tours of the building to see how rubbish is sorted, plus display and local community fair.
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
Whitechapel
10am to 4pm
Architect guided tours of the former London Hospital which has been given a modern extension and restoration of the historic building.
(also open on Sun 17th Sept)
The Rowe
Whitechapel
10am to 4pm
Regular architects led guided tours of the former London Metropolitan School of Art building which was (controversially) modernised and enlarged.
Coopers’ Hall
Liverpool Street
10am to 4pm
Coopers’ Hall is a late 17th-century, timber-framed merchant’s house with a Georgian frontage. A Livery Hall since 1957, it features a fine Courtoom, dining room and an impressive staircase spiralling up the entire height of the building.
8-10 Moorgate
City of London
10am to 5pm
Office tenants, ING will be opening the 7th Floor client reception and meeting rooms at 8-10 Moorgate for Open House, including two terraces with views of the City of London.
Isokon Building
Belsize Park
11am to 4pm
Famous 1930s block of flats built as a community and now restored as social housing. A museum shows off the history of the building, and (apparently) some of the flats will be open to visit.
(also open on Sun 17th Sept)
Thames River Police
Wapping
11am to 5pm
A unique ex-carpenters’ workshop (1910), contained within a working police station. The workshop space now displays a history of Thames River Police.
(also open on Sun 17th Sept)
Sunday 17th September
Buzz Bingo Hall (former Granada Cinema)
Tooting
9am to Noon
Remarkable interior of a former cinema and now bingo hall with richly decorated stage area and former organ.
Shoreditch Town Hall
Old Street
10am to 3:30pm
Guided tours around the 1866 civic town hall that was originally known as he grandest Vestry Hall in London.
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
Whitechapel
10am to 4pm
Architect guided tours of the former London Hospital which has been given a modern extension and restoration of the historic building.
(also open on Sun 17th Sept)
The Banqueting House
Whitehall
10am to 4:30pm
The grand Inigo Jones building on Whitehall with a magnificent painted ceiling – used to be regularly open to the public, but currently only open for special occasions.
(also open on Sun 10th Sept)
Thames River Police
Wapping
11am to 5pm
A unique ex-carpenters’ workshop (1910), contained within a working police station. The workshop space now displays a history of Thames River Police.
(also open on Sat 16th Sept)
Drapers Hall
City of London
11am to 4pm
One of the grandest of the City’s Livery Halls – don’t let the narrow entrance fool you as it leads to some huge richly decorated rooms.
Isokon Building
Belsize Park
11am to 4pm
Famous 1930s block of flats built as a community and now restored as social housing. A museum shows off the history of the building, and (apparently) some of the flats will be open to visit.
(also open on Sat 16th Sept)
It’s a shame that the pandemic did for LOH, though its own repeated mismanagement under various regimes and incarnations didn’t help when it came to the infamous booking window. It has now retracted to what it was when it started – a handful of buildings that are always open. It’s good if they attract some newcomers but for old hands…