by James Balston | Oct 7, 2016 | Architecture, Churches, Cityscape, Classical, Colour, Decoration, Heritage, Instagram, Travel
My horizons have broadened a little more after our week spent in Northern Italy. It’s no surprise that those 17th, 18th & 19th century aristocrats, aesthetes, and architects were so inspired by what they found there. We based ourselves in the beautiful and... 
by James Balston | May 4, 2016 | Architecture, Brighton, Cityscape, Classical, Heritage, Seaside
I was in Brighton (& Hove) with time to kill between taking a couple of shots of someone’s garden, and meeting an old friend for lunch. The sky could not have been bluer, and was clearly not to be wasted. Back in my student days in the city, I had probably... 
by James Balston | Apr 11, 2016 | Classical, Heritage, London, Parks, Studios
There’s a particularly beautiful house on Clapham Common Northside, which was once lived in by the Architect of the Houses of Parliament, Sir Charles Barry. More recently it was part of the adjacent Trinity Hospice, a wonderful place which cares for the... 
by James Balston | Jan 22, 2016 | Artists' Homes, Decoration, Heritage
No. 575 Wandsworth Road is pretty unremarkable from the outside. Part of a modest Georgian terrace, it sits in rather scruffy surroundings, in the no man’s land between Vauxhall and Battersea. To walk through its front door however, is to stumble upon an... 
by James Balston | Jun 16, 2015 | 1960s, Architecture, Churches, Crystal Palace, Heritage, Leisure, London, The Triangle SE19
Outside the confines of South London, many people have quite likely never heard of Upper Norwood, and if they have, would struggle to place it exactly. But if I referred to my local neighbourhood by its other name, eyes will light up. Crystal Palace, as it is better... 
by James Balston | Oct 24, 2014 | Architecture, Art, Churches, Exhibitions, Heritage, Pubs, Uncategorized
England’s cathedrals are repositories for some of the country’s greatest artistic treasures. From carving in wood and stone, to the great stained glass windows, painting, embroidery and metalwork, art not only adorns these buildings, it is part of their...