Home at last

A new home for British photography opens to the public in London on 26 January and promises to be a hub for connecting photography and photographers across the nation. Peter Dench finds out more

A short walk from Buckingham Palace, near the Ritz Carlton Hotel and running parallel to the border of Mayfair and St James's is Jermyn Street, created around 1664 by and named after Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans. It has developed to become known primarily as a street for gentlemen's clothing retailers. Today you could drift into number 55, Davidoff of London, and pick up a box of rare and vintage cigars or pop into number 71-72 for a shirt from royal makers, Turnbull & Asser. At number 74 you can get a haircut among luxury grooming products at Taylor of Old Bond Street. At number 45, the Fortnum & Mason restaurant, you could lunch on a £62.50 plate of Dover Sole a la Meunière; or you could check-in at The Cavendish Hotel at number 81 for afternoon tea. There is no pub on Jermyn Street but plenty of shoe makers, including Tricker’s and two Crockett and Jones. The most renowned is arguably John Lobb at number 88 who began making bespoke footwear over 150 years ago. For the bespoke service, at the first of several appointments, the Master Last Maker takes detailed measurements from the client’s foot. Using these precise measurements, the contour of the foot is sculpted by hand in hornbeam wood, upon which the leather upper of the client’s bespoke pair of boots or shoes will take shape. The finished crafted wooden foot remains with Lobb so the client can dial in an order for a new pair.