Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings

Lifting the lid on London, and richly illustrated with more than 150 new, specially commissioned photographs, the book reveals the stories behind London's strangest and most enigmatic buildings. Some are open to the public, if you know who to ask. Others remain strictly off-limits, thus heightening the sense of mystery surrounding them. But many are so familiar that that few of us ever stop to consider just how curious they are. In the heart of Kensington, for example, a 300ft tower attracts few glances because even the locals don’t know it’s there. South of the river the city’s widest building at nearly 1,000ft has been favourably compared to the Winter Palace at St Petersburg. And in Chelsea a medieval hall, once home to a king and moved brick by brick from the City to escape demolition, has been extensively remodelled as London’s largest private house. Elsewhere one finds an arts centre built of old shipping containers, a Victorian explorer lying dead in a tent, literally acres of secret underground government offices, even a privately-owned tunnel running beneath the Thames and large enough to drive a car through.

Book Author

David-long Well received by reviewers and readers alike, David Long's books on London include Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings, a sequel Tunnels, Towers & Temples: London's 100 Strangest Places, and the popular Little Book of London. The trio reflects the author's longstanding interest in the quirkier, lesser known aspects of the city, its long history, streetscape and architecture, and since 2006 he has published a number of other books on related subjects together with two more volumes in the Little Book series. A writer and journalist since graduating in the 198...
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Book Reviews

  • Robert Elms, BBC Radio London
    "It’s a book I think everyone should have."
  • The London Magazine
    "The photographs are enigmatically stark, the text rich in anecdotes. Long brings a genuine pleasure to his subject..and encourages his readers to look at London with an unceasing curiosity."
  • Maxwell Hutchinson, past-President RIBA
    "This admirably structured and coherent book draws attention to the uncontrived diversity in London’s architecture."
  • Evening Standard
    "Even the most eager historians will find their knowledge challenged by this new book about the capital."