Painted Hall Greenwich | Restoration

I visited the Painted Hall in Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) this afternoon to see the restoration of its west wall.  The ORNC has been restoring the Painted Hall since December last year and today was the last open scaffolding session where you could be close to the restoration work.  It really was something being about 10 feet from some of the gold leaf decoration around the top of the hall.
The Painted Hall is the work of architects Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor about three hundred years ago and its wall and ceiling decorations are by James Thornhill. Our scaffolding session leader Maggie, though, showed us some painted flowers which were thought to have been painted by Thornhill’s assistant Dietrich André. Given the task of painting the hall took 19 years, it’s not surprising Thornhill had some help.  The west wall shows George I surrounded by his family and Thornhill in the bottom right-hand corner with his paintbrushes and palette.

This is the eleventh time conservation work has been done on the Painted Hall, the last time being 70 years ago. This restoration has mostly been done with small sponges and water to lift off dirt and cigarette smoke.

Our group of nine and two guides started by putting on hard hats and high visibility vests.

Hard hats and high visibility vests for the Painted Hall scaffolding tour in Greenwich

We passed a man restoring a door edging, after vacuuming it.

A conservation worker replaces a door surround at the rear of Greenwich's Painted HallWe were very much surrounded by a scaffolding web as we climbed to the first level.

A scaffolding grid for the Painted Hall's West Wall restoration workAn Open Scaffolding tour of the Painted Hall's west wall restoration work - April 2013

As we went up another level, we could see the ceiling details through scaffolding gaps.

Heritage Lottery Fund London Committee chairman Wesley Kerr joined the tour to see how the fund’s money was being spent.

Heritage Lottery London Committee chairman Wesley Kerr inspects the Painted Hall restoration work.

And after what seemed like too short a time, we were back at ground level.

Traditional tools for restoration work.

It was gorgeous weather after earlier rain, so I took some photographs of the Painted Hall’s exterior.

 

Greenwich photographic exhibitions

It’s a fabulous month when two fellow photographers have Greenwich photographic exhibitions on at the same time.
The first is Jo Tennant, exhibiting her work as part of The Body, Movement and Dance at Made in Greenwich gallery opposite Cutty Sark station on Creek Road. Greenwich is lucky in having Jo’s work as part of the exhibition. She created a stunning panel of 20 images of dancers to gain her  Fellowship with the British Institute of Professional Photography, inspired by a childhood of dance training.

Jo has an established business as a wedding and portrait photographer and her dance fine art prints were taken and printed in her spare time as a challenge. She has framed and mounted prints for sale in the exhibition.

The second photographer is Mike Curry, who has his landscapes at The Greenwich Gallery on the corner of Royal Hill and Peyton Place until March 31. The exhibition Mike describes as “an eclectic mix of work from sweeping panoramas to more abstract studies.” Mike will be at the gallery every Saturday and Sunday to answer questions about his work.

 

 

Newborn portraits | Rory

I had the pleasure of photographing Lynsey and Craig’s wedding last year – and was excited to meet their baby Rory for his newborn portraits, aged 12 days. Guarding the new arrival was Angel Cakes the German Shepherd.
london newborn portrait at home

And given that she pre-dated Rory as the first member of Lynsey and Craig’s family – her own portrait.

london pet portrait - german shepherd or alsation

There were lots of signs of a baby:  cards, balloons, new toys … and a tired dad.

London portrait of dad of newbornLondon newborn portrait photographer - baby cards And here he is – on his own, with mum, dad and together. The second one was especially taken for Lynsey, as she described his hand movements while sleeping as ‘casting spells’.

London newborn portrait - baby boy with dadLondon newborn portrait - baby boy with dadLondon newborn portrait - baby boy with dadLondon newborn portrait - baby and parentsLondon newborn portrait - baby and parentsLondon newborn portrait - baby and parents London newborn portrait - baby and motherLondon newborn portrait - baby asleepLondon newborn portrait - mother and babyLondon newborn portrait - sleeping babyLondon newborn portrait - son and father And finally, Rory visits his local so landlady Judi can have a cuddle (note dad Craig and Judi’s husband propping up the bar behind) and his parents can have a meal without cooking.

London newborn photo

 

Star of the Sea Church wedding | Louise + Charlie

When Louise and Charlie planned their Star of the Sea Church wedding in Greenwich, they chose a red and white Christmas theme, but could not have imagined how much snow would fall, in keeping with the ‘white’ part of the theme.

Devonport House

Louise started her day getting ready with her family and bridesmaids at Devonport House, just a short distance from the church. Louise’s red rose bouquet was by Rachel Morgan Wedding Flowers. And her fascinator was by talented milliner and similarly named Rachel Trevor-Morgan.

Devonport House wedding preparations: wedding shoes ready for the big day by Star of the Sea Church wedding photographer Rebecca Portsmouth
Devonport House wedding preparations: a bridal gown waits ready for the bride to step into it
Devonport House wedding preparations: a bridal bouquet of red roses awaits a snowy wedding day
Devonport House wedding preparations - the finishing touches of shoes during the getting ready
Devonport House wedding preparations: the bride in her customised towelling dressing gown has her make-up done
Devonport House wedding preparations - a bride has the finishing touches done to her make-up
Devonport House wedding preparations - a bridesmaid finishes getting ready
Devonport House wedding preparations - a bride has her headpiece with net attached as a finishing touch

Star of the Sea Church

A 15-minute snowstorm (OK, a blizzard, in Greenwich terms) had Charlie sheltering under an umbrella outside Our Ladye Star of the Sea Church so he didn’t get too wet or cold and ushers busy with brooms, clearing snow from the steps.

Star of the Sea Church wedding in the snow on Crooms Hill
Star of the Sea Church wedding where the groom Charlie shelters under a golfing umbrella from the snow
Star of the Sea Church in the snow - ushers welcome wedding guests with golfing umbrellas
The bride and her bridesmaids arrive for her Star of the Sea Church wedding in a red London Routemaster bus.
Ushers help the bride navigate Crooms Hill in the snow before her Star of the Sea Church wedding
Bride and her father in the doorway before her Star of the Sea Church wedding
A bride and her father enter her Star of the Sea Church wedding, flanked by ushers
Star of the Sea Church wedding ceremony - Crooms Hill Greenwich, otherwise known as Our Ladye Star of the Sea by Greenwich photographer Rebecca Portsmouth
The Our Ladye Star of the Sea wedding ceremony of Louise and Charlie by Greenwich photographer Rebecca Portsmouth
Star of the Sea Church wedding photographer Rebecca Portsmouth: a photo of Louise and Charlie leaving their winter wedding ceremony .

Louise and Charlie had arranged for a dog walker to bring along their boxer Lily for some photographs outside the church – very carefully, so Lily didn’t jump up on Louise’s dress.

The Routemaster vintage bus that Louise and Charlie had arranged to transport guests to their Trafalgar Tavern wedding reception backed down Crooms Hill beautifully without slipping in the snow and made its way carefully through Maritime Greenwich and past the Old Naval College.

Our Ladye Star of the Sea wedding photographer Rebecca Portsmouth shows photos of the ceremony of Louise and Charlie - outside with their dog and guests throwing confetti in Greenwich

While we had such crisp snow and clear skies, Louise, Charlie and I went for a walk along the river for some wedding portraits. We also sneaked a few couple portraits inside while guests were filing through to the Christmas-themed reception, complete with presents for the children.

The Trafalgar Tavern and Nelson in the snow
Bride and groom Louise + Charlie outside the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich on their snowy winter wedding day
Bride and groom Louise + Charlie walking along the Thames near the Trafalgar Tavern with the O2 of North Greenwich in the background, during their wedding portraits.
Bride and groom Louise + Charlie framed by the Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) Water Gate in the snow during their winter wedding portraits
Greenwich Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) winter wedding in the snow - Louise + Charlie with their red and white themed wedding (by Greenwich wedding photographer Rebecca Portsmouth)
Winter bride Louise on the stairs at the Trafalgar Tavern, with a white winter fur keeping her warm
Winter wedding celebrations with a Christmas Theme inside the Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich
Winter wedding portraits of Louise + Charlie at the Trafalgar Tavern
The Trafalgar Tavern wedding venue in Greenwich lit up at night in winter, with snow on the ground.

Louise + Charlie | Greenwich wedding | A single

When Louise was getting ready in Greenwich yesterday morning, there was a snowstorm that only seemed to be getting thicker. I walked through it for 10 minutes to get up Croom’s Hill to Our Lady Star of the Sea Church and the ushers got busy with shovels and brooms to clear the church path for guests. By the time Louise arrived, the storm had cleared and all that was left was a fairytale setting for her to arrive on an old Routemaster bus.
Greenwich wedding in snow with routemaster bus