Historical Places Redeisgned

One thing that has struck me throughout this course is the way in which old nineteenth century buildings have made their way into the twenty-first century. It seems as though there is a variety of fates which can befall them. There are certainly countless buildings built or existing during the period which no longer stand. Yet for those that do, they can remain functional in their original purpose, such as Guy’s Hospital; they can fall into disrepair but be restored, such as the Crossness engines; or, I think most disturbingly, they can be reassigned a function with no trace of their past. While I’m sure that many structures have been completely remade, the example most in my mind is Colney Hatch. It seems crooked that the former insane asylum has been morphed into condos and even more so that this metamorphosis had occurred without any reference to the past. This fact made me wonder about what else around London, or any other city with a past as rich, might be more than they seem. The possibilities seem endless. What houses hid men like John Hunter, with dissecting rooms and body trafficking happening in the back half? What happened to the other sites where Bedlam was? And all the county and borough insane asylums? In London, there is a lot of pride taken by natives in the history that is on the surface—plain to see from the banks of the Thames. Yet, I would be much more interested in learning about the stories that have been hidden or covered up, whether with lies or simply with wall paper.