Marking the bicentenary of John Ruskin's birth, the Spring 2019 edition of the London Metropolitan Archives online Newsletter published a short account of the great critic's relationship with London - or more specifically a survey of the places and buildings in which he lived or worked. This gallery brings together the images that supported the article. Read the article here: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/the-collections/Pages/john-ruskin.aspx
1 The Bank Junction in 1852. Ruskin's publisher (Smith Elder) had offices in Cornhill, just to the right of Royal Exchange, and his father's sherry importing business, which (albeit indirectly) supported his life of travel, writing and collecting, was very close by.
2 Red Lion Square near Holborn. Ruskin came here for meetings and to deliver lectures at the Working Mens College. His friends William Morris and Dante Rossetti lived accross the square for a time.
3 Beresford Chapel in Southwark.
4 The Ruskin family home at 163 Denmark Hill.
5 Grove Lane in Camberwell where Ruskin attended school classes.
6 His childhood home in Hunter Street Bloomsbury
7 One of many London suburban streets that freely adapted some of Ruskin's architectural tenets to ordinary domestic housing.
8 Croxted Lane, a favourite for walks and one of the last surviving rural lanes of South London.
9 Portrait of John Ruskin in about 1880.
10 The National Gallery, London where Ruskin spent many months during the middle 1850s. sorting drawings in the Turner Bequest.
11 The Crystal Palace at Sydenham. Ruskin did not share in the general enthusiasm, either for the building or its exhibits.
12 Map showing Herne Hill, Denmark Hill and the fields of South London, 1830. Much of Ruskin's life was spent here.