A Crowning Dome.

I'm not a fan of the modern mall. On the whole I would use Prince Charles' infamous description, a monstrous carbuncle, to describe these purpose-built alters to consumerism. But just occasionally, when saving an historical building from demolition and retaining existing craftsmanship, I have a softer approach. In the 1980's Whiteleys department store, in West London, was due to go the way so many other beautifully designed Edwardian stores had gone, either bulldozed or converted to office space. Built and added to between 1863 and 1911 it was the height of luxury including both a theatre and a golf course on the roof. (It seems to have been a fashionable selling point at the turn of the century to have all manner of roof top extravaganzas. Derry and Toms, just a short stroll from Whiteleys, had a garden covering one and a half acres, with a flowing stream which was home to a flock of pink flamingos!)
Here is one of many photographs taken this morning during a walk though these elegant halls and under their crowning domes.