Join us in welcoming Geoff Browell and Eileen Chanin in conversation with Peter Murray, to discuss this fascinating biography and visual history of an iconic street through the ages.
The first history of one of London’s most extraordinary streets.
Running along the Thames’s northern shore and spanning three-quarters of a mile from Trafalgar Square to Temple Bar, the Strand has been a witness to London’s growth and change from the earliest years of the city's existence.
In The Strand: A biography, Geoff Browell and Eileen Chanin uncover the deep history of this remarkable street. Tracing its origins in the Roman era, they reveal how it grew in importance as authority shifted from church to aristocracy, then to commerce, media and law. Over time, everything that mattered converged on the Strand: tradition and ceremony clashed with rebellion and destitution. By 1910, the street was known as the ‘centre of the world’.
Drawing on remarkable archival discoveries, Browell and Chanin present the most complete and compelling history of the Strand ever written. Filled with surprising, untold stories, The Strand: A biography is a must-read for lovers of one of the world’s greatest cities.
Geoff Browell is a senior archivist at King's College London. He is also chair of AIM25, a charitable consortium of the archives of 150 cultural organisations in London. He leads historical tours of King's and is the editor of Strandlines, a digital community dedicated to exploring lives on the Strand.
Eileen Chanin is a Sydney-based historian and a Research Associate of the Australian National University. She is the author of nine books, including Capital Designs: Australia House and Visions of an Imperial London (2020). Her interest in the Strand and its many facets deepened as a Visiting Fellow of King's College London.
Peter Murray OBE is Co Founder of New London Architecture, Founder of the London Festival of Architecture and Chairman of the Temple Bar Trust. Temple Bar marks the eastern extremity of The Strand; the Christopher Wren-designed gateway that once stood there is now in Paternoster Square and is the hall of the Architects’ Company of which Peter is a Past Master. Peter has published a wide range of NLA reports about London including The Changing Face of London, London’s Great Estates, London - Design Capital and the annual NLA Survey of Tall Buildings. He is author of The Saga of the Sydney Opera House. He was awarded an OBE in 2021 for leadership in the arts, architecture, city planning, design and publication.