The London Ambler

The London Ambler Architectural walking tours bringing to life the many episodes, sagas and adventures of built and un I hope to join another walk soon.’ – Caro Stanleyl, London

Weaving unexpected and alternative routes through the city and tackling big architectural stories in an authoritative, yet accessible way, the London Ambler brings to life the many episodes, sagas and adventures of built and unbuilt London. With all walks devised and led by Mike Althorpe, an architectural historian, researcher and urban explorer with a passion for the greatest city on earth, The L

ondon Ambler is about mixing it up and exploring architecture with fresh eyes, new perspectives and sound footwear! FOLLOW ME

To find out about walks happening in 2016 check out the links below, follow me online or talk to me direct via email – all tours are repeated at regular intervals and available for private or group booking. Twitter
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Email [email protected]

TESTIMONIALS

‘The Marylebone and Mayfair walk was thoroughly captivating. Having lived and worked in the area for many years, I was interested to see if Mike could offer any new insights – and boy, did he! His expertise ranges across history, architecture, culture and social history, and his easy way with storytelling makes him an entertaining walking companion.’ – Katie Puckrik, London

‘I learnt a lot and saw many places I’ve never seen before, which is all I ask of a London walk.

10/07/2026

THIS MONTH!….Saturday 18 July, 10.30am - 12.30pm

‘Urban Lavish’ - a walk exploring architecture, taste and extravagance through Knightsbridge and Belgravia.

☀️ BOOK BOW VIA LINK IN BIO! ☀️

Lost FuturesFrom the archive, this is the long lost modernism of Drapers Gardens, a spectacularly sharp finned tower cre...
06/07/2026

Lost Futures

From the archive, this is the long lost modernism of Drapers Gardens, a spectacularly sharp finned tower created 1963-67 by R.Seifert & Partners with developer Harry Hyams for the National Provincial Bank and erased from The City’s skyline forever in 2007.

Said to be Seifert’s proudest achievement upon completion the tower was regarded throughout its lifetime as second only to Centre Point in terms of its structural daring and architectural flair.

The 336ft tower - a minnow by 21st century standards! - was covered in mosaic tiles and gymnastically cantilevered from a narrow core with each of its 28 floors dramatically curving outwards and tapered in at its edges high above a pedestrian accessed podium that included an almost Baroque sequence of steps, courts and landings that extended upwards as part of The City’s (abandoned) postwar ambitions to create a continuous upper level ‘pedway.’

Despite vigorous campaigning by many including the Twentieth Century Society and the possibility that it could be adequately retrofitted, the tower was wilfully brought down for the current anonymous glass block that history will not remember. In its bid for demolition, developers cited that Drapers was not only outdated, but also that it was a bit too close to St Paul’s Cathedral on the skyline from certain views, a position that in the past 15 years has been pushed to its limits by subsequent development.

Images taken in 2005.

02/07/2026

NEXT WEEK! … Saturday 11 July, 10.30am - 12.30pm.

‘THE BEAU CITY’ - a walking tour exploring the architecture of Piccadilly and St James.

👉 BOOK NOW VIA LINK IN BIO! 👈

25/06/2026

THIS WEEKEND!….Saturday 27 June, 10.30am - 12.30pm

‘ALONG THE NORTH SHORE’ a walking tour exploring architecture and landscape of London’s ‘Middle City’ between Charing Cross and Fleet Street.

☀️👉 BOOK NOW VIA LINK IN BIO! 👈☀️

16/06/2026

LATER THIS MONTH!… Saturday 27 June, 10.30am - 12.30pm.

ALONG THE NORTH SHORE - a walking tour exploring the architecture of London’s middle city between Charing Cross and Fleet Street!

👉 Tickets available now via link in bio! 👈

12/06/2026

LATER THIS MONTH!….Saturday 20 June, 10.30am - 12.30pm.

‘RAILWAY LANDS’ - a walking tour exploring architecture and reinvention through Kings Cross St Pancras!

BOOK NOW via link in bio - a few tickets still available!

Chemical ClassicThe Portland stone Neoclassical massiveness of Thames House on Millbank. Created 1929–30 and designed by...
11/06/2026

Chemical Classic

The Portland stone Neoclassical massiveness of Thames House on Millbank. Created 1929–30 and designed by architect Frank Baines it opened as the largest office block in Europe and was conceived in grand manner in tandem with Imperial Chemical House, a sibling block just to its north built at the same time.

Together the two create a hefty and serious urban set piece that uses Lambeth Bridge - then newly rebuilt - as its axis, setting up a triumphal gateway (of sorts) to Victoria behind that - in architectural terms - falls away almost instantly.

Writing in ‘Interwar’ (2024) historian Gavin Stamp described the enormous steel framed structures as ‘an awful warning’ due to their overbearing scale and weak articulation. Thankfully though, there is some relief in the form of a triumphal archway - sadly partly infilled in 1990 - that breaks the unrelentless riverside elevation with fantastic modern sculptures by Charles Jagger depicting St George and Britannia and Father Thames(?) at the keystone.

The building’s first anchor tenants were the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) - a major industrial conglomerate that created everything from explosives to household paints and pharmaceuticals - and later the Department of Energy. Since 1994 it has been the HQ of the Security Service (MI5), who first had a brief stint here between 1934-39.

Oculus PrimeThe fantastic circular concrete openings of the piazza landscape at the heart of the Golden Square Estate at...
10/06/2026

Oculus Prime

The fantastic circular concrete openings of the piazza landscape at the heart of the Golden Square Estate at the edge of The City of London.

Created 1952-62 by architects Chamberlin Powell and Bon, the modernist estate project was launched early in the postwar years and the competition for its design attracted many young and ambitious architects with radical ideas for London’s urban future.

Formerly commercial warehousing, the bombed out 4.7 acre site was acquired by the City from old Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury specifically for working class housing and its 559 studio, flat and maisonette homes are organised in blocks on an orthogonal plan with a shifting sequence of amenity rich raised and sunken landscapes between.

The six geometrically aligned circular forms at the heart of the estate provide sculptural articulation to a large public square and - perhaps more practically - serve as skylights to the neighbourhood’s own underground car park, a facility that - like other on the estate including nearby tennis courts and swimming pool - utilises the site’s ready-excavated below street level spaces, formerly Victorian basements.

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