London GWR Strand poster Ernest Coffin – Bird’s eye view of The Strand London
This London GWR Strand poster is the second poster in this style created by the British artist Ernest Coffin. Half-map, half-picture, posters in this style are usually classified as pictorial maps. This version captures the area of London starting at the top of The Mall and Trafalgar Square right up to St Paul’s Cathedral two miles away.
Ernest Coffin’s remarkable poster starts with a car driving on The Mall heading for Buckingham Palace, having just passed through one of the arches of the Admiralty Arch, the ceremonial entrance to The Mall from Trafalgar Square. Admiralty Arch was commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother, Queen Victoria.
From The Mall to The Strand
At the top of The Mall Coffin’s illustration shows the road layout as it appeared in 1936 with cars, London’s red buses, and an assortment of vehicles seemingly haphazardly making their way around the Equestrian Statue of King Charles I who is positioned looking straight down Whitehall. Although it may not appear so sometimes, the addition of the current roundabout has provided a less chaotic road system in the Westminster area.
The three buses crossing the roundabout are heading towards Trafalgar Square. This area was laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. The square is a major tourist attraction in no small part because of the iconic 169-foot Nelson’s Column which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. The column bears a statue of Admiral Nelson and commemorates the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The two fountains behind Nelson’s statue were added to the Square in 1841 at a cost of £11,000. Three other statues are also depicted on the map. On the north side of the square is a bronze equestrian statue of George VI. In the southeast corner is a statue of the British Army Officer Sir Charles James Napier whilst Major-General Sir Henry Havelock stands stoically in the southwest corner.
Behind Trafalgar Square is the right-hand side facade of the National Gallery. Construction started on this building in 1832 by William Wilkins. At that time the building was on the site of the old Royal Mews in Charing Cross. It wasn’t until the 1820s transformation of the southern half of the Mews that the National Gallery formed part of Trafalgar Square. Just off to the right of the gallery is the Georgian-built St Martin’s in the Field church.
The Strand to St Paul’s Cathedral
Next, Coffin leads us up The Strand along a busy bus route. After the first block of buildings on the right-hand side, the open courtyard of Charing Cross railway station comes into view. It opened in 1864, taking its name from the Charing Cross road junction. The hotel first opened shortly after on 15th May 1865 with grand public rooms, the most popular of all, with balconies overlooking the River Thames. The Eleanor Cross can be seen in the forecourt of the Charing Cross hotel. The cross was originally located on the roundabout at Trafalgar where the statue of King Charles I now stands. The cross marked the center of the city, the original heart of London, and the place from which all distances in London are still measured.
As we approach Aldwych we can see the three domed towers of the luxurious Savoy hotel. A right turn at the next junction leads to the entrance of Waterloo Bridge entrance to Waterloo Bridge. Coffin’s illustration depicts the first Waterloo Bridge that was demolished in the 1930s. Virtually opposite the entrance to Waterloo Bridge, is the semi-circular street known as Aldwych. The area is renowned for the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Novello, Duchess and Aldwych Theatres, and The Waldorf Hotel.
Continuing up The Strand we find not one, but two churches creating islands in the middle of the road. The first one is St Mary Le Strand church and the second is St Clement Danes Church which was designed by Christopher Wren. On the left-hand side, just past the church is the Victorian building that is the Royal Courts of Justice. Staying on the left-hand side of the road the church tower of St Dunstan in the West can be picked out along with the imposing Maughan Library and its courtyard. Maughan Library is the main university research library of King’s College London. It was built in 1851.
Continuing the journey into Fleet Street, another spire comes into view on the right-hand side of the road. It belongs to another Sir Christopher Wren designed building, St Bride’s Church. Beyond that, we enter Ludgate Hill and the site of the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral, churchyard, and garden.
The bridges over the River Thames
The River Thames runs parallel to The Stand and curves its way into the top right corner of the poster. Coffing has included four more of London’s bridges that straddle the River Thames. The first one, well two, are the Blackfriars Bridge which is a foot and road traffic bridge, and the Blackfriars Railway Bridge which sits alongside. Blackfriars Bridge, designed in an Italianate style, took nine years to build and opened to the public in 1769. The next bridge along the Thames is London’s quietest. The Southwark Bridge leads from Southwark to St Paul’s Cathedral. The poster includes the ‘new’ bridge which opened on 6 June 1921.
Between Southwark Bridge and Tower Bridge is the new London Bridge which was built by John Rennie and was opened in 1831. In 1896 the bridge was the busiest point in London, and one of its most congested; 8,000 pedestrians and 900 vehicles crossed every hour. Surveys at the time showed that the bridge was sinking about 2.5 cm every eight years, and by 1924 the east side had sunk some three to 9 cm lower than the west side. The fact the bridge had to be replaced led to the famous anecdote about the sale of the bridge to an American businessman who supposedly thought he was buying Tower Bridge. Which turned out to be an urban myth.
The bridge was sold to the American entrepreneur Robert McCulloch. The oil magnate, bought Rennie’s bridge in 1968, for $2,460,000. The bridge was shipped via the Panama Canal to California, then trucked from Long Beach to Arizona before being rebuilt stone by stone at Lake Havasu City in Arizona.
The final bridge that just makes it on to Ernest Coffin’s poster illustration is the world-famous Tower Bridge. The bridge is a truly iconic London landmark. The bridge crosses the River Thames, connecting the City of London on the north bank with Southwark on the south bank. Tower Bridge was built in the late 19th century, and it quickly became one of the most recognisable symbols of London. Today, the bridge is a popular tourist destination, and it provides stunning views of the river and the cityscape.
Ernest Coffin’s London GWR posters
Ernest Coffin’s London GWR poster is a remarkable vintage railway poster. It was published in 1936 by the Great Western Railway. Coffin’s pictorial map is stunning in its detail. It is one of two similarly styled posters created by Coffin for the Great Western Railway Company. In his other London GWR poster the begins at Westminster Bridge and the River Thames and covers the three-mile stretch of London to Paddington Station. The poster covers Westminster, St James’s Park, The Mall, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Hyde Park. And just like this Strand poster, is an amazing piece of art. And, together they make a great pair of posters.
