Cycling Route in City of London, England, United Kingdom

Art Nouveau in London

Open this route in the Bikemap app

Open this route in Bikemap Web

Open in Bikemap app Continue on web

23 km
Distance

215 m
Ascent

221 m
Descent

1:32 h
Duration

-- km/h
Avg. Speed

38 m
Max. Elevation

Open in Bikemap Web

About This Route

Based on LCC Ride

LONDON'S ART NOUVEAU

Follow our guide Tom Bogdanowicz on a tour of the capital's hidden art treasures

UNLIKE PARIS, Brussels and Vienna, London is not famed for exuberant Art Nouveau buildings and sculptures. But that doesn't mean we have none — you just have to know where to look. And this urban ride, by London Cycling Guide author Tom Bogdanowicz, reveals some hidden masterpieces in the capital. Art Nouveau's roots are traced to the late 19th -century British Arts and Crafts movement (many examples on the Kensington section of the ride) that reflected the philosophy of south Londoner John Ruskin and Frenchman Viollet-le- Duc. It rejected the standardisation of classicism and prized gothic architecture and craftsmanship. The legacy is found in distinctive buildings and sculptures, with non-symmetrical shapes and facades, and, in the Art Nouveau incarnation, marked by whiplash, curve and sinuous floral decoration.

Nigel Jones

uploaded 2 years ago

Highlights Along The Route

Point of Interest

ALL SAINTS CHURCH, 1892 (C H Townsend) Townsend's three masterworks are all in London (the Horniman Museum in Dulwich is not on the ride) and are all iconic buildings built in what is called Free Style'. The Bishopsgate Institute has turrets decorated with intricate foliage and friezes that reflect Art Nouveau. The Whitechapel Gallery was due to have a pre-Raphaelite central frieze by artist Walter Crane but the money ran out. All Saints church is an early work with intricate Arts and Craft sgraffito inside.

Point of Interest

12-16 HANS ROAD. 1891 (Charles Voysey & Arthur MacMurdo) Macmurdo's woodcut for the cover of the first publication of the Art Workers' Guild that he founded is credited as the first known example of the Art Nouveau 'whiplash' motif. His buildings did not adopt the motif, but he introduced the early horizontal windows in the Modern style, a trope that became the trademark of fellow Arts and Crafts influencer Voysey. Voysey may be the most influential architect you've never heard of. The two (early) townhouses in Hans Road are not typical of his style, but the low mansions faced in white rough concrete became de rigueur for thousands of 1930s semis — and some argue that his minimalism was a stepping stone to modernism.

Point of Interest

HARRODS' FOOD HALL. 1903 (WJ Neatby) You have only to look at the work of master tiler WJ Neatby to recognise Art Nouveau. The vibrant colours, the curves, the whiplashes, the floral (and culinary) extravagance are all there. Neatby was not, however, an architect and the houses he decorated, like the Fox and Anchor, and Orchard House, follow more conventional Victorian forms. Harrods' food hall is a tiling tour de force and Neatby was also responsible for the decorative exterior tiles.

More highlights are available with Bikemap for iOS and Android.

Customize this cycling route with the Bikemap route planner.

Make it yours!

Did you know? You can use this route as a template in our cycling route planner if you don't wish to start from scratch. Customize it based on your needs to plan your perfect cycling tour.

Copy & edit this route Plan a new route