Great London Walks: The Barbican, before and after 

I was born not far from here in Goswell Road, and remember all the ruin's.

I’ve always felt an intense pull to this part of London. Never sure why, as I have no direct family link there. Hearing about the ancient cemetery (which I wasn’t aware of before) puts so many pieces together that it now makes complete sense!

Thank you for the context regarding ruins; I feel like we still don't get a proper understanding these days on how badly London was bombed during WWII.

It's a wonderful place, but not the same without the Museum of London. I was there on the penultimate day. It was very crowded and had an unusual atmosphere. Kind of celebratory and sad at the same time. Apparently it stayed open throughout the night and into the next day before closing its doors for the final time.

Ever changing. The area between St Alphage and Moogate no longer follows the original walkway and podium. I supervised the renovation works and adaptation of St . Alphage House as part of the Stock Exchange back in the 1980s , my office was in the underground basement a floor above the Stock Exchange Pistol Shooting Club adjacent to Fore St . St. Alphage House and its sister building along with the old podium and walkway has been demolished and replaced with the edifice you now see here . A regular visitor to the London Museum and the Barbican centre just a short walk away from the site . Good to see the Globe pub still standing on the corner where many a lunchtime was spent supping and playing pool upstairs. The place where you should have finished your walk .

Excellent.

The large Barbican Estate with its arts centre and also including two schools ensconced within its brutalist landscape was designed by Chamberlain, Powell and Bon architects. From the scheme's earliest iterations it was planned to have three high rise blocks on its north side. While the remainder of the buildings being long mid rise blocks which would form to "squares". One a private residents' garden while the other would be a public space. The arts centre was a later thought and hence a degree of underground construction was required to create enough space available. The northern portion runs on a different street pattern to the southern bigger part and to avoid the two halves being truncated by Beech Street this was built over linking the two. The estate's apparent predominance of elevated main pedestrian walkways well above street level are not just a product of their time as many post war schemes were planned to segregate pedestrians from motor traffic. A common theme in post war urban planning with the envisaged rise of motor car ownership. It was also envisaged that the City would be transversed by a network of elevated walkways and hence the Barbican complex was built that way and anyone entering it usually does above street level giving the impression that ground level is subterranean!

So interesting about Jewin Crescent. William de Montfort was also a massive antisemite and supporter of Simon de Montfort's pogrom against English Jews in Leicester, Lincoln, Derby, Worcester, Winchester, and London

Thank you so much for your videos I am researching Barbican at the moment and found this brilliantly informative ❤

Nice informative video. That early 1900's aerial plan of the area around what's now called Barbican, was much more dense than I imagined - certainly far more so than now. It would have literally been lots of 'slum dwellings' and therefore a very poor (not to mention, dangerous) area. Even if WW2 had never happened, it's highly likely that that area would have seen substantial redevelopment in the 50's and 60's anyway - with most of the slum buildings demolished. So a new Arts Centre with a Concert Hall would have probably been built anyway! Albeit not in exactly the same location - but in that area. As the north side of the river (City of London) wanted to have a rival Arts Centre to the South Bank Arts Complex.

It might be very walkable but not very accessible with all those steps unless there are lifts ? Be interesting to know if any of the architects / planners lived in this maze.

Where do all those families get their shopping from? There doesn't seem to be a supermarket anywhere near by, they'd have a long way to walk to get a bottel of milk. It looks like a lovely place to live apart from the fact that it's so far from the shops. 😀 I really enjoyed this video, thanks.

Another great informative walk

Yeah right so wheres the neerest sainsburys 😢

Are all these walkways open to the public? The ones you used.

Love the vids

at @8:40 what is the computer game/simulation taken from please?