Barbican Living
About the author
I have two connections with the Barbican. I have lived in the Barbican for about 20 years, and my firm, Barretts Solicitors, have bought or sold a lot of Barbican flats for clients over the years - in the hundreds, at the last reckoning.
My 2001 Christmas plans got derailed and I found myself sitting at home with time on my hands. I decided to look up the Barbican on the internet. "The Barbican" does have a site - only it's a bed and breakfast in Wisconsin. "Barbican estate" took me to a former sugar factory in Jamaica. The Barbican Arts Centre has its own site and the Corporation of London's site has a page or so on the Barbican. But to my surprise there was nothing for us residents.
So I decided that it wouldn't take long to put something together which would give residents a bit of information about their home, and let anyone thinking of moving here find out what sort of place it is. These things have a tendency to get out of control. Soon I was poring over manuscripts at the City Corporation Records Office, badgering Barbican staff on the intricacies of the Garchey system and getting lists of trees in the gardens. In short, it became a labour of love. I hope you will find the results useful.
We would be very happy to act for anyone buying or selling a flat. I don't think many people could claim to know more about it than we do. You can see our site at www.BarrettsSolicitors.co.uk.
MICHAEL BARRETT
