Last week I was admiring the wonderful images in David Hoffman’s recently published book Endurance & Joy in the East End 1971-1987 (you can order your own copy here from Spitalfield Life Books). All the images are in black and white and some of you may remember that I tried this approach some years ago regarding my exploration of City Alleys.
There is definitely something, isn’t there, about black and white images – atmosphere, the means to play with geometric shapes, seeing a new perspective of a familiar image and so on.
So I’ve been looking at some candidates for taking this approach and these are the results. I hope you like them.
The view from The Grapes pub, Limehouse. Entitled Another Time, it is a life size figure by the sculptor Anthony Gormley …
Below are five images from the viewing gallery at 22 Bishopsgate, Horizon 22.
Looking down on Tower 52. It was originally the NatWest Tower, hence, seen from above, it’s shaped like the NatWest logo …
The viewing gallery …
I like the shadows …
Back on the streets, Blackfriars tower refelection …
Roman Wall and offices at Tower Hill …
Merchant Navy War Memorial, also at Tower Hill …
The Firefighters Memorial at St Paul’s …
Temple Bar viewed from the St Paul’s Cathedral crypt …
Crypt memorial …
Battersea Power Station …
Flypast!
The Stockwell Bus Garage roof. In 1952, the time of its construction, it was Europe’s largest unsupported roof span – it’s still impressive now …
The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao …
Maman (1999), by Louise Bourgeois …
The demolition of an old building opened up a temporary new view of the Guildhall and the Shard …
Panorama looking east with little St Giles church tucked away on the right …
The poor Gherkin, and even Tower 52, becoming dwarfed and enclosed by new developments …
City skyline with The Tower in the foreground …
Bunhill Burial Ground …
St Stephen Walbrook …
St Dunstan-in-the-East …
Various architectural images I liked …
The Gherkin and the church tower of St Andrew Undershaft reflected in the glass of The Scalpel building …
London Wall…
Lloyd’s of London meets Leadenhall Market …
St Pancras Station with Sir John Betjeman’s statue in the foreground …
Tower 52 looking up …
Finally, a few from the Barbican (as you might expect!) …
Where archers can be deployed if necessary …
In colour for comparison …
I hope you enjoyed that little excursion into black and white. Clearly, I think, some images work better than others.
Normal service will be resumed next week.
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Last Friday I was watching a fascinating programme about Jack the Ripper, hosted by the historian Lucy Worsley, and noticed that she made occasional reference to this interesting publication.
Those of you who have read my book, Courage, Crime & Charity in the City of London, will know that I used illustrations from this journal in some of my stories. I hope, therefore, that you would like to know more about it …
The Illustrated Police News (1864 – 1938) was a weekly illustrated newspaper that printed accounts of the week’s most sensational crimes, tragedies, and scandals, in addition to regular updates from the police courts. Priced at a penny for the majority of its 74 years of publication, The Illustrated Police News (hereafter known as the IPN) had a large circulation across the country. It was particularly popular in the later decades of the nineteenth century, and according to an advertisers’ handbook, by 1888 the circulation had reached an impressive 300,000, eclipsing the News of the World (100,000) and Pictorial News (95,000). The newspaper continued to be printed up until 1938, long after other newspapers containing similar content ceased publication.
The first edition of the IPN, 20 February 1864 – The Great Murder and Piracy Case …
Despite its commercial success, it received regular criticism and opposition, which was particularly caustic during its early years. Such criticisms regarded the content and style of the IPN’s illustrations, reports, and advertisements as unsuitable for the reading masses and responsible for the degeneration of society. This will become more clear as you look at the examples of content I have included in this blog.
I’m writing this on 5th January 2025. If I were reading the IPN on this day in 1895, for example, what stories would I have been treated to? Well, here are some of them.
As well as high drama, ‘Extraordinary Murder by Women’, ‘Mysterious Death in Long Acre’ and a man who seems to mistake a Trafalgar Square fountain for a swimming pool …
… there is also some factual news. For example, progress on the excavation of the Blackwall Tunnel and some intriguing snippets about the population of America …
Plus some corny jokes and stories (which I rather liked) …
On another page in the same edition …
Apart from the dramatic illustrations, on the same page you can read about Christmas Burglaries, a Fire at the Royal Exchange, Jealousy and Spiritalism and the Most Powerful Ship Afloat. I’d happily tuck in to stories like these over breakfast.
I am indebted to Will Noble, writing in The Londonist, for these further excerpts.
An ice skating tragedy in Regent’s Park …
Around 200 skaters plunged into the icy waters of a lake in Regent’s Park in January 1867, prompting the horrific scene above — and the death of some 40 people. The image is so vivid, you can almost hear the melee. The tragedy prompted new safety measures, which ensured that when another similar accident happened a few years later, everyone survived.
A policeman gets a kicking in a bizarre attack …
Students from Paddington’s Civil Service Training College don’t take kindly to being arrested for throwing snowballs.
A horrific carriage accident at Hackney Marshes …
Before there were car accidents, there were horse and carriage accidents, and a tragic one occurred at Hackney Marshes in August 1867, when a horse pulling a phaeton containing a young family got spooked and tipped them into the Hertford Union Canal (then the Duckett’s Canal). The article reports that one of the young girls drowned, while another was not in a good way. “The carriage was completely destroyed, and the horse so much injured that it had to be killed,” ends the piece. Brutal.
Suicide at the Crystal Palace …
“He shouted loyally ‘Good bye, chaps.’ He was standing on the rail that surrounds the gallery at the base of the great tank, and was waving his cap. Instantly he threw his cap up into the air, and sprang from the gallery.” Thus 43-year-old workman Thomas Jennings ended his life from high up on the North Water Tower of the Crystal Palace. Suicides were regularly covered in the news (the more shocking the better), and although in today’s tabloids depicting such a thing would be considered beyond the pale, it was par for the course on the front page of the IPN.
The boundaries of taste were most severely tested when to came to reporting the 1888 ‘Jack the Ripper’ murders …
Few women have had the moment of their deaths returned to more often, and with as much relish, as Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.
In each case their throats were cut, and four of them had their entrails removed. Kelly, the only one of “the canonical five”, as Jack the Ripper’s known victims are called, to die in her bed, was completely mutilated. Forests have been felled in the interests of unmasking the murderer, but until now no one has bothered to discover the identity of his victims. A superb recent book, The Five, is ‘an angry and important work of historical detection, calling time on the misogyny that has fed the Ripper myth’. It’s written by Hallie Rubenhold who Lucy Worsley interviews in her programme – do try and watch it on catch-up. There are further interviews and comments here and a detailed review of the book here.
Only one location of a ‘Ripper’ murder still exists. It is Mitre Square, near Aldgate, where poor Catherine Eddowes was killed on 3oth September 1888 …
To be fair to the IPN, it played a part in drawing attention to the terrible poverty, crime and deprivation that was literally only a few hundred yards from the the City of London, the thriving heart of the Empire.
The Punch engraving of The Nemesis of Neglect …
On 18 September 1888, in the wake of the murders of Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman, The Times published a letter by philanthropist Lord Sidney Godolphin Osborne (1808–1889) that deplored the great social and economic divide that separated the West End from the East End. To Osborne, the murders were a consequence of the great poverty of the East End, and this poverty in turn a result of the people of the West End living lives of luxury. Inspired by this letter, Alice in Wonderland illustrator John Tenniel (1820–1914) drew “The Nemesis of Neglect” for Punch Magazine. The image, published 29 September, shows a semi-transparent spectre with a gaping maw, bulging eyes and a large knife in its hand. The illustration was accompanied by a poem, the last line of which gave it its name.
I also feel I should point out that the IPN not only covered stories that featured female victims. Some of the women written about were responsible for truly heroic acts that confounded the female stereotypes of the times.
For example, it reported in great detail the heroism of the brave Alice Ayres …
The IPN ceased publication in 1938 when it transformed into The Sporting Record. Before its transformation, the editorial of the IPN would proudly state: ‘The Police News made its first appearance in 1864 and at once became a rare favourite. It created a sensation with its reports of the week’s most interesting court cases and by being the first newspaper to publish illustrations. Throughout the years the Police News has been in great demand, but…time marches on…now the topic of the day is sport, and then more sport’.
The last edition, 3 March 1938 …
If you would like to immerse yourself more fully in the history of the IPN and its times I strongly recommend Alice Smalley’s brilliant PhD Thesis Representations of Crime, Justice, and Punishment in the Popular Press: A Study of the Illustrated Police News, 1864-1938. It was the source for much of today’s blog. You can find it here.
I ended the old year with a visit to this extraordinary exhibition which I highly recommend although, sadly, there are only a few days left.
It’s described in the introduction material as follows: Featuring artwork by over 30 Indian artists, this major exhibition is bookended by two transformative events in India’s history: Indira Gandhi’s declaration of a state of emergency in 1975 and the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998. The fraught period between these years was marked by social upheaval, economic collapse, and rapid urbanisation.
Within this turbulence, ordinary life continued, and artists made work that distilled historically significant episodes as well as intimate moments and shared experiences. Across a range of media, the vivid, urgent works on show – about friendship, love, desire, family, religion, violence, caste, community, protest – are deeply personal documents from a period of tremendous change.
This is the first institutional exhibition to cover these definitive years, with many works never before seen in the UK.
You can buy timed tickets and watch a short video here.
A Christmas present I would have liked as a child (in fact, I’d probably enjoy getting it now) …
Illustration from the Transport Ticket Society newsletter (yes, I confess to being a member!).
The St Mary Woolnoth 1810 ‘price list’ …
Note the fees for ‘Churching a Woman’ …
Childbirth was seen as dangerous for both mother and child so the churching ceremony was viewed as a way to give thanks for a successful delivery. It was performed even when the child was stillborn or had died unbaptised.
Concert Hall delivery, I think I can guess what’s in them …
What could those wriggly white things possibly be?
It’s an art work by UrbanSolid. The premises were once an art gallery but are now a nail bar.
Morning visitor to my office …
At Liverpool Street Station …
A joyful doorway in Kensington …
Sweet meeting place idea at London Bridge Station ..
Pretty door and heart combined at 65 Banner Street – surely the same artist …
One of my favourite paintings at the Guildhall Art Gallery, The Carlyle Hotel, Bayswater …
It’s by the wonderfully talented Doreen Fletcher. As is this print, Hot Dogs, Mile End Park, which I’m delighted to own …
Disgruntled ULEZ objector …
Memento Mori – a lady dances with Death in St Stephen Walbrook. Like the lady, Death also wears a skirt …
Stunning stained glass at Two Temple Place, commissioned by and built for William Waldorf Astor in the 1890s …
An owl casts a worried glance at a woodsman doing some drastic pruning …
I almost can’t believe that this is my eighth Christmas quiz. When I started my blog way back in 2017 I wasn’t sure I could maintain a weekly publication, but here I am now writing blog number 379!
Happy Christmas and thank you so much for subscribing.
Here are the questions. They are all based on blogs published during 2024 and the answers are at the end of today’s edition.
1. What animals are waddling around Fleet Street this Christmas?
2. Where can you find this friar carrying a pig in a wheelbarrow …
3. What was in this box on display at the Ashmolean Museum and mysteriously marked NOT TO BE OPENED EXCEPT IN THE PRESENCE OF TWO SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE ROYAL MINT …
4. Where am I ‘driving’ the train …
5. Where is the origin of the mysterious green glow …
6. This exotic Indian Bean Tree can be found on what 19th century estate …
7. What’s wrong with this signage in Gresham Street …
8. What famous store at the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Poultry did this clock once adorn …
9. This is Wesley’s Chapel on City Road, home of Methodism …
A very famous lady got married here, had her children baptised here, and donated these altar rails …
Who was she?
10. In St Botolph without Aldersgate is this memorial window commemorating the life of Matthew Webb. What was he famous for?
11. Is the symbol of the City of London a dragon or a gryphon …
12. On Watling Street, what ancient trade is this man practising …
13. At the Guildhall Art Gallery, who is the subject of this terrific sculpture of a thoughtful, gentle man, created by someone who knew him very well personally …
14. This font cover in All Hallows by the Tower is by one of the most famous sculptors and wood carvers of all time. Who was he (a clue, his initials were GG) …
15. This memorial on the Embankment commemorates a famous Brigade consisting of four regiments, a mixture of British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers. What was the Brigade commonly known as …
16. In this church you will find Wren’s finest dome based on his original design for St Paul’s …
There’s also an old fashioned telephone …
What’s the name of the church and what’s the significance of the telephone?
17. This is one of the Guildhall Art Gallery’s most famous paintings. It’s called La Ghirlandata, who is it by …
18. There are six churches in the City that include the name Mary in their title but only one of them contains a fabulous plaster fan-vaulted ceiling that is more reminiscent of a cathedral. It’s is the only parish church in England known to have one, which ‘Mary’ is it ?
This is the nave …
This is the south side aisle …
19. This man is Percivall Pott (1714-1788) as painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds …
And here’s his tombstone outside St Mary Aldermary …
Why is his name familiar to most medical professionals?
20. An easy one to finish. He was often known as ‘The Bastard’ and he started the construction of this building in 1066 ….
7. The Apostrophe is in the wrong place – surely it should be before the ‘S’?
8. Mappin & Webb. The old building in 1994 just before demolition …
It’s replacement …
I make no comment!
9. Baroness Margaret Thatcher. You can see more of the chapel and the surrounding area here.
10. He was the first man to successfully swim the English Channel. His first attempt was on 12 August 1875 but poor weather and sea conditions forced him to abandon his attempt. Twelve days later, he set off again and, despite several jellyfish stings and strong currents, he completed the swim, which was calculated at 40 miles, in 21 hours and 40 minutes …
Tragically, he drowned in 1883 while attempting to cross the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls. A memorial in his home town of Daley, Shropshire, reads: “Nothing great is easy.”
12. He is a Cordwainer. Here on Watling Street you are in the Ward of Cordwainer which in medieval times was the centre of shoe-making in the City of London. The finest leather from Cordoba in Spain was used which gave rise to the name of the Ward’s craftsmen.
13. It’s a sculpture of Terry Thomas, a major star in the 1950s and 60s best known for playing disreputable members of the upper classes especially ‘cads’, ‘toffs’ and ‘bounders’ …
19. Today, over 300 years since his birth, he is known as one of the founders of orthopaedics and occupational health. His name lives on in a number of conditions that he identified, such as Pott’s disease of the spine and Pott’s Puffy Tumour. The one that initially intrigued me, however, was Pott’s Fracture and how it came to get its name. It was literally by accident! Read all about it and this very likeable man here.
20. William the the Conqueror. Read more about him and other famous monarchs with City connections here.
Happy New Year! Thank you again for subscribing.
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Wandering around the streets at this time of year can be rather atmospheric and gets me into quite a Christmassy mood.
My first images are from 5 Aldermanbury Square, which is the first office I pass as I head into the City. I was taking pictures from the outside to start with …
Then I got into a conversation with the building manager who was outside having a vape. I congratulated him on this year’s display (which they are very proud of) and he invited me in so I could get a fuller picture. Here it is …
Writing this blog can be such fun!
More office trees. Somehow they make these reception areas look more cosy …
A few reindeer on the loose …
I don’t know about you, but I think that wall in the background is rather creepy.
I popped into the lovely St Lawrence Jewry church, where the tree has a slightly wonky star …
The church contains some of the best stained glass in the City and I particularly love the two angels. One is holding the shell of the destroyed church, roof and windows gone and what is left of the building filled with rubble. St Paul’s in the background is silhouetted by fire and the buildings on the right are ablaze as searchlights pierce the sky, the Blitz in all its horror …
The second angel is holding the church after restoration …
Last Monday I had the pleasure of visiting this super exhibition and I hope you will enjoy my report even though I have travelled once more outside my usual beat of the City.
The exhibition is described as follows: ‘Art and money have much in common. Both influence who and what we think of as valuable. It can be surprising to think of money, so functional in form, starting its life as drawing or sculpture. The current Money Talks exhibition at the Ashmolean explores the place of money in our world through art, highlighting a multitude of global perspectives across time. Works on show range from rare monetary portraits and historic depictions of wealth to contemporary activist Money Art, alongside more unusual examples from some of the best-known artists including Rembrandt and Warhol. Together, they expose the tension between the power of money and the playfulness of art’.
Here are some of my favourite exhibits.
The exhibition entrance, with a dollar sign by Andy Warhol …
There is the fascinating story of the design for the coinage of Edward VIII who chose to abdicate before any came into circulation. I like the ‘warning’ on this box: NOT TO BE OPENED EXCEPT IN THE PRESENCE OF TWO SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE ROYAL MINT …
What it contained …
Edward proved rather difficult because he wanted the coins to incorporate his ‘best’ profile …
‘Cubist’ designs submitted for the reverse of Edward’s coinage. They were rejected, with the Mint Advisory Committe declaring that they ‘could not be taken seriously’ …
They probably had a point.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II …
The slightly disconcerting hologram …
An enormous tapestry ‘Comfort Blanket’ by Sir Grayson Perry is based on the design of a very familiar monetary object – the £10 banknote. In Sir Grayson’s own words, it is ‘a portrait of Britain to wrap yourself up in, a giant banknote; things we love, and love to hate’
The two defining artistic movements of Art Nouveau and Art Deco left their imprint in monetary art, much as architecture, jewellery and furniture. ‘Jugendstil’ or German Art Nouveau in money can be best exemplified through the works of the Viennese ‘Avant Garde’ artists like Gustav Klimt, Franz Matsch and Koloman Moser. This is Moser’s draft artwork for 50-crown note for the Austro-Hungarian Bank …
The Inflation Display – some crazy high value notes …
Artists have always highlighted and reflected on wealth, power and money. But the contrasting way in which money is depicted and treated in Eastern and Western traditions of art is interesting in itself. Perhaps owing to the bad press money gets in the Bible and the Christian world view, money is often depicted in negative ways in Western Art.
Greedy usurers and tax collectors, miserly men, conniving and hoarding women are often the subjects associated with money. The ‘crookedness’ of money is also physiognomic: these subjects are often shown with grotesque features, unkempt appearances and unsavoury expressions.
Two Tax Gathererers, 1540s, Workshop of Marius van Reymerseale, an artist known for his satirical paintings of greed and corruption …
Tax collectors were paid percentages of the revenues they collected and would extort every last penny from taxpayers.
The Miser, 1780s, by Thomas Barker of Bath …
His unwillingness to part with money is underlined by the poor quality of his clothing and a generally unkempt look.
The man with the moneybag and his flatterers, Johnnnes Wierix, around 1620 …
This crude composition based on a Flemish proverb uses toilet humour to allude to the power of wealth. A defecating rich man scatters coins from a sack and ‘ass-kissers’ and ‘brownnosers’ scuttle up his humongous behind.
On the contrary, in the Eastern traditions, money is celebrated as an agent of fulfilment, plenitude and fertility.
This shift in attitude prompts Eastern artistic engagement with money to be far more positive and fun. It celebrates money’s agency in bringing prosperity, wealth and happiness. Here we see representations of gods and goddesses, symbolisms and happy cultural associations with money …
A seated figure of Kubera, Buddhist god of wealth, Tibet, 18th–19th century.
Lakshmi, Hindu goddess of wealth …
Humour, satire, irony and wit are often deployed as critical tools by artists to playfully poke fun or shine a light on different social and political topics. These include many of the enduring questions and issues facing society, from the pressures of inflation to the intersections between gender, celebrity and status.
James Gillray lampoons a belching and farting prime minister …
Pitt the Younger, depicted as Midas, Transmuting All into Paper, 1797.
Another Gillray. Political Ravishment, or the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in Danger, 1797 …
Prime Minister Wlliam Pitt, the young man, is shown trying to woo an old lady, the Bank of England, as he slips his hand into her pocket.
Bringing us up to date, a rather careworn looking King Charles III …
The final exhibit, Susan Stockwell’s sculpture ‘Money Dress’ is an excellent example of a ‘feminist’ intervention using money as medium. Shaped like an impressive Victorian gown, it is dedicated to the early 20th-century explorer and anthropologist Mary Kingsley (1862-1900) …
The exhibition is open until 5th January 2025 – highly recommended.
Finally, some images from the streets.
Last Saturday I was feeling a bit grumpy as I went to buy a paper when I met this lovely man pushing his beautiful Christmas dust cart …
We shook hands, wished one another a Happy Christmas, and I didn’t stop smiling for ages!
Obviously many people cycle to Oxford Station to catch the train. How do they get to their bike if it’s in the middle of this lot …
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London’s historic Smithfield meat market is to close for good after the City of London Corporation voted on Tuesday this week to pull out of plans to relocate it to Dagenham.
Smithfield became London’s livestock market in the Middle Ages and animals reared as far away as the Midlands were brought here for sale. In 1174, William Fitzstephen described it as ‘A smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold… [pigs] with deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk.’ Animals were kept at Smithfield to be rested and fattened up. Once sold, they headed inside the City walls to the Newgate Shambles – the city’s main slaughterhouses – or to Eastcheap, a market in the east of the city.
There follows a brief history of both the market and the area itself and includes an extraordinary Pathé News film that I have discovered about the terrible fire that seriously damaged the market in 1958.
Smithfield was ofen used for public execution and this slate triptych was unveiled by Ken Loach in 2015 and commemorates the Great Rising of 1381 (more commonly known as the Peasants’ Revolt) …
The Revolt was led by Wat Tyler and on June 15th 1381 he had the opportunity to speak directly to the 14-year-old king, Richard II. Accompanying the King was the Lord Mayor of London William Walworth and, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Walworth ran Tyler through with his sword. Badly wounded, Tyler was carried into nearby St Bartholomew’s Hospital but, rather unsportingly, Walworth had him dragged out and decapitated. It was certainly a very dangerous time to be a poll tax protester.
Of the 288 people estimated to have been burnt for heresy during the five year reign of Mary Tudor, forty eight were killed in Smithfield. ‘Bloody Mary’ was the daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon and the burnings were part of her campaign to reverse the English Reformation.
The ‘Marian Martyrs’ are commemorated with this plaque erected by the Protestant Alliance in 1870 …
The gilding is a little faded in this picture. It reads …
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. The noble army of martyrs praise Thee! Within a few feet of this spot,John Rogers,John Bradford,John Philpot,and other servants of God, suffered death by fire for the faith of Christ, in the years 1555, 1556, 1557
One terrible occasion was on 16 July 1546 when Anne Askew was burnt at the stake along with John Lascelles (a lawyer and Gentleman of the King’s Privy Chamber), John Hadlam (a tailor from Essex) and John Hemsley (a former Franciscan friar). A great stage was built at Smithfield for the convenience of Chancellor Wriothesley, other members of the Privy Council and City dignitaries, to watch the burning in comfort …
The execution of Anne Askew and her companions – 1563 woodcut from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
Anne herself, having been illegally broken on the rack, was unable to stand, and was chained to the stake in a sitting position. You can read more about this fascinating, brave lady here.
Every burning was different; if the fire ‘caught’, it could be over relatively quickly, but on damp days, or when the wind persisted in blowing the flames away from the body, it could take up to an hour for the condemned person to die, an hour of excruciating agony.
Another famous person who suffered here was William Wallace, ‘Braveheart’ in the movie of that name. This memorial is on West Smithfield, its railings often adorned with flowers and Scottish flags …
Translations from the Latin: I tell you the truth. Freedom is what is best.Sons, never live life like slaves. And the Gaelic: Death and Victory, an old Scottish battle cry.
Smithfield wasn’t all about executions, it also hosted the famous Bartholomew Fair. This annual summer gathering ran for over 700 years. Starting in 1133 as a trade show for buyers and sellers of cloth, the food, drink and sideshows eventually became the main attraction. By the 1600s, London’s most famous fair was pure entertainment – two weeks where crowds gathered for food, drink, puppet shows, wrestlers, a ferris wheel, dancing bears and contortionists …
Many Londoners loved it but the chaos disturbed those who wanted a civilised city and Bartholomew Fair was shut down in 1855.
The market grew throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, as did the noisy procession of animals which made their way there. In Oliver Twist, published 1837–1839, Charles Dickens captured the disorder: ‘It was market morning. The ground was covered, nearly ankle-deep, with filth and mire… the bleating of sheep, the grunting and squeaking of pigs… the shouts, oaths and quarrelling on all sides… rendered it a stunning and bewildering scene.’
The livestock market was closed in the 1850s and construction of a covered market at Smithfield began in 1866. Horace Jones was chosen as the architect of the grand new market and you can read more about him in my blog of 8th August.
His imposing and elegant complex of buildings included the Central Meat Market, General Market and Poultry Market. All were innovatively designed to help business run smoothly in the face of mountains and mountains of meat …
The market flourished but was not lucky enough to escape the traumas of two World Wars. Several hundred Smithfield employees were killed in the 1914-18 war and civilians were caught up in a terrible event towards the end of World War II.
At 11:30 in the morning on 8th March 1945 the market was extremely busy, with long queues formed to buy from a consignment of rabbits that had just been delivered. Many in the queue were women and children. With an explosion that was heard all over London, a V2 rocket landed in a direct hit which also cast victims into railway tunnels beneath – 110 people died and many more were seriously injured …
In the Grand Avenue is a memorial …
The original commemoration of names (above the red granite plinth) is by G Hawkings & Son and was unveiled on 22 July 1921. 212 people are listed.
Between Fame and Victory holding laurel wreaths, the cartouche at the top reads …
1914-1918 Remember with thanksgiving the true and faithful men who in these years of war went forth from this place for God and the right. The names of those who returned not again are here inscribed to be honoured evermore.
The monument was refurbished in 2004/5 and unveiled on 15 June 2005 by the Princess Royal and Lord Mayor Savory. The red granite plinth had been added and refers to lives lost in ‘conflict since the Great War’. On it mention is made of the women and children although the V2 event is not specifically referred to.
‘The latin inscription on the coat of arms translates as ‘Thou hast put all things under his feet, all Sheep and Oxen’ – the motto of the Worshipful Company of Butchers.
Tragedy struck again when two firefighters lost their lives in a terrible blaze at the Union Cold Storage Company which broke out on 23 January in 1958. The fire burned for three days in the centuries-old labyrinth, which ultimately collapsed. According to news reports at the time, when the first fire engines arrived, thick acrid smoke was pouring out of the market’s maze of underground tunnels leading to cold storage rooms.
Trying to reach the source of the fire …
The Pathé News film about the fire is one of the most gripping and frightening I have ever seen. You can watch it here – take particular note of the unsatisfactory breathing apparatus the men had to wear: https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/186863/
Jack Fourt-Wells and Richard Stocking, a Station Officer and a firefighter, headed down into the dense smoke, never to be seen alive again. Once inside the pitch black labyrinth of basement rooms and small passages they searched in vain for the source of the fire but with their breathing apparatus rapidly expiring, were overcome by the thick smoke. Their colleagues found them amongst the frozen meat packets and carcasses, and immediately got them out of the tunnels. Many attempts were made to resuscitate both men but tragically they were pronounced dead at the scene.
After the fire …
Fire Brigade processes and equipment were radically revised as a result of the catastrophe. This article gives much more information – it makes fascinating, and horrifying, reading: Sixty years on from the Smithfield fire.
The report of the V2 rocket attack above mentions railway tunnels.
The market’s most revolutionary feature took advantage of London’s growing railway network. Smithfield was connected to the north, south, east and west. Metropolitan Railway freight trains passed right underneath the market. So Jones designed a massive basement of brick arches and iron girders to receive them. From there, the meat was lifted to the surface by hydraulic lift, or taken up the spiral ramp in the nearby rotunda.
A sketch from the Illustrated London News 1870 showing the arrival of an early meat train …
Anyone standing in the market basement now can watch the trains whizz past …
Smithfield was almost a city within a city – and one with its own hours.
To give customers time to buy and prepare their meat for sale the same day, the market opened at night and workers finished their shifts in the early morning. Many headed to ‘early houses’ – pubs within the market or nearby which opened early for workers.
The market was mostly filled with men. Their work might have seemed grisly to outsiders but it was a tight-knit community, full of tradition, with generations of the same families working in the same place. Until 1996, the market was heavily unionised and there were strict job divisions. You might be a puller-back, a pitcher, a shunter, shopman or bummaree.
By the 1880s, Smithfield was receiving enormous quantities of frozen meat from Argentina, New Zealand and Australia. It was a symbol of Britain’s global influence, with London at the centre. But from 1945, Smithfield gradually became less busy as meat stopped arriving through London’s docks. Britain’s trading relationships changed and supermarkets began placing orders directly with suppliers, cutting out Smithfield’s traders.
Other London Markets, like Billingsgate, Spitalfields and Covent Garden, moved out of central London. Follow this link for some fascinating photographs. Smithfield stayed, but reduced in size.
Here are some images I took last Monday.
The arrival of the Elizabeth Line has revitalised the area with new shops and restaurants popping up all the time …
The entrance to Grand Avenue …
Which remains truly grand …
Apparently, these are the most frequently photographed telephone boxes in London …
But something is clearly going on at the west end of the market …
This is the site chosen for the relocated London Museum.
If you would like to see what the site looked like before the development began here is a link to the London Inheritance blog which is, as usual, full of fascinating facts and images.
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I saw a giant colourful penguin outside the Blackfriar pub last week and had a quick Google last Sunday when I went for a walk. Here’s the publicity blurb: This Christmas, the Fleet Street Quarter is transforming into a winter wonderland with a magical FREE penguin parade sculpture trail in support of WWF. From Thursday 14th November, families and visitors are invited to embark on a fabulous festive adventure to discover 12 adorable penguin sculptures throughout the Quarter. Each penguin, decked out in unique festive finery designed by talented artists, will be perched in iconic spots adding a splash of Antarctic charm to the City. And each one has a QR code with lots of fun penguin facts. There’s a helpful map here.
But Dr Johnson’s cat Hodge is happy to share a space with Snowy in Gough Square …
Tiffany here can be found down a little alley off Carter Lane called New Bell Yard …
There were lots of families following the trail when I took these images.
The Steve McQueen film Blitz has just been released and you can see an interesting display of clothes from the film at the Barbican Centre …
If you want to understand and explore the true, fullstory of Londoners and the Blitz I strongly recommend Jerry White’s book The Battle of London 1939-45.
Whilst on the subject of the Blitz, I recently walked past The National Firefighters Memorial on Peter’s Hill opposite the Tower of London where I often pause. It’s interesting to note the special plaque commemorating the 23 women members of the Auxiliary Fire Service who gave their lives protecting London and its inhabitants during the bombing …
The lady on the left is an incident recorder and the one on the right a despatch rider.
On the wall of the Leonardo Royal Hotel that fronts Carter Lane is this rather unusual plaque …
The Bell was demolished at the end of the 19th century to make way for the Post Office Savings Bank building referenced in the plaque by the mention of the Postmaster General. The Post Office building itself was demolished in the 1990s to make way for the hotel but the original late 19th century door surround to the Post Office building has been retained in New Bell Yard (right beside Tiffany, see above) …
A statue commemorating the poet John Keats has appeared just south of the entrance to Moorgate Station. It was sculpted by Martin Jennings and depicts a larger than life-size copy of a life mask of Keats taken aged 21. Keats was the son of an ostler at a nearby inn called The Swan and Hoop …
The bronze is mounted on a plinth above a slate base inscribed with words from Keats’ Ode on Indolence.
Thought I’d grab an image of this classic view from Fleet Street whilst the sun was out. Looking from the left you see 22 Bishopsgate, the Cheesegrater, the spires of St Mary-le-Bow and St Martin Ludgate and the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral …
Christmas light installations are beginning to appear …
Press the ‘buttons’ and the lights change colour as music plays …
Not surprisingly, children seem to love it!
City Point offices get in on the act …
Sadly, I couldn’t resist photographing my Yuzu Grand Macaron dessert at Côte Barbican …
An image from outside the City I’d like to share with you. This is on Finchley Road, about 10 minutes walk from the Underground station …
Definitely worth seeking out if you find yourself in that part of the world. I must have stared at it for a full 15 minutes. Read its story here in the excellent Londonist website.
A couple of super sunsets. I haven’t edited these images in any way so the colours are authentic …
And finally, the wonderful City gardeners are replanting the bed on Silk Street and I shall be tracking its progress over the coming months …
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Last Saturday I visited what is, in my opinion, the most extraordinary pub in the City, the Blackfriar …
It’s a tall, narrow, wedge shaped treat of a building squeezed in between two roads and a railway bridge.
A jolly, corpulent friar embodies the name of the place …
He harks back to the Dominican monastery that once stood on the site before the Dissolution of the 16th century saw it sold off or leased to weathy merchants.
You get a sense of how extraordinary this pub is before you even enter. Here the cellarer carries wine along with the keys to his domain …
Inspecting the day’s catch whilst either side friars tuck in to pie and cheese…
More carvings to make you smile …
Intricate brass signage …
And all this before you even go in the door.
And when you do, what a sight awaits.
Friars going about their daily lives. Harvesting on Saturday afternoon …
Above the bar, a bronze bas-relief entitled Tomorrow will be Friday depicts them catching trout and eels …
Singing carols …
You can dine in the cosy Grotto which was excavated from the railway vault. There are various sayings and mottos to amuse and enlighten you. HASTE IS SLOW, FINERY IS FOOLERY …
And my two favourites, A GOOD THING IS SOON SNATCHED UP with a grinning friar pushing a pig in a wheelbarrow …
I also like DON’T ADVERTISE TELL A GOSSIP …
Note the two devils. There are four in each corner of the room amusing themselves with an entertaining pastime – these two are play-acting and painting.
Admire the mosaic ceiling and observe the friar on the left …
He’s stuffing his face with food thereby representing one of the seven deadly sins – gluttony …
Five more sins are represented but for some reason ‘lust’ has been omitted.
More monks work hard supporting lamp shades …
There’s a lovely stained glass window depicting a friar working at dawn in a sunlit garden. Many people comment on his pointy, Mr Spock-type ears …
You will find a very informative and interesting history of the pub and the craftsmen who helped create its unique environment here in the excellent Victorian Web blog. I also strongly recommend this article by Jane Peyton which points out other aspects of the decoration that I have not mentioned. Read more about the City monasteries and in particular the Blackfriars in my blog on the subject which you can find here.
I’ve eaten here in the Grotto many times over the years and the food (especially the fish and chips) has always been good. If you visit, raise a glass to Sir John Betjeman and others who campaigned to save this building from demolition in the 1960s. It is now Grade II* listed and so should be safe from future vandals.
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Regular readers will know that when I find it a bit difficult to source new stories about the City I head east and this is a report on one of my sorties.
I travelled on the Docklands Light Railway to Canning Town, making sure, of course, that I got a front seat so I could pretend to drive the train …
London City Island is described in its advertising as ‘a new Island neighbourhood on one of the best-connected sites in the capital. Bridging the business might of neighbouring Canary Wharf and the cultural energy of east London, London City Island is one of the most important waterside projects London has seen in recent years – an award-winning place that has received accolades from multiple prestigious awards bodies’. It was very pleasant to walk through.
The English National Ballet is here …
The sculpture is called After The Dance by Colin Spofforth (2023) …
I love a good ghost sign …
A strange fact associated with this place. In 1877 Togo Heihachiro, later a prominent Japanese Admiral, came for work experience with the Samuda Brothers after completing his training at the Naval Preparatory School in Portsmouth and the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. After returning to Japan, he led the Imperial Japanese Navy navy to victory in the Russo-Japanese War, establishing Japan as a Great Power. How ironic is that.
To say that Mr Mare of the above company had a colourful career would be an understatement. Once an MP, and apparently a millionaire, he was unseated for bribery in 1853 and declared bankrupt for the first of four times in 1855. He eventually died in Stepney in 1898 totally destitute. His story is told in fascinating detail in this Victorian Commons blog. Highly recommended.
I loved the texture and colours of this old brick wall nearby …
Some more artwork and sculpture along the way …
My final destination …
You know you are somewhere special when you see a London taxi with a tree growing out of its roof plonked on top of the local cafe …
The tree is an artificial sculptural construction made of metal. It was made by the artist Andrew Baldwin, who spent many years training as a master blacksmith and welder. I found images of the work before it was placed on the roof and of the lifting exercise itself …
The taxi/tree sculpture is a good example of Baldwin’s witty approach to artworks and there are some more of his unusual and original metal sculptures to be seen around the wharf …
I often build up a bank of images that don’t fit any particular theme but that I rather like. I feel it’s a shame not to share them so that’s the purpose of today’s blog. Apologies if you have seen some of these already on Instagram.
My friend recently had a surgical procedure at University College Hospital and was given a room to herself in order to recover. That room was on the 14th floor and this was the view …
One of the best London panoramas I have ever seen.
The nursing care was great too.
Funnily enough I had a great view when I was resident in St Thomas’ Hospital for few days last year …
I should have charged tourists an admission fee.
I can occasionally get what I think are good pictures without wandering too far.
An interesting sunset …
The moon moving slowly past the Shard …
Tower 52 framed by newer buildings turned pink by the sunset light …
The continual colour changes fascinate me …
The eerie glow of the Barbican Conservatory in the early evening …
Incidentally, here we also get a good view of flypasts heading for Buckingham Palace. This one was for the King’s Birthday on 15th June …
Just around the corner, a red glow slices through an office block on Fore Street …
Whilst on the theme of sunsets and moons, please excuse a couple of holiday snaps from Dubrovnik …
Lovely place, highly recommended.
Some images from a recent visit to the Houses of Parliament starting with Westminster Hall and its 14th century hammerbeam roof ..
Various plaques indicate where the bodies of eminent people lay in State before their funeral …
This one prompted me to learn more about the Earl of Strafford who was subsequently beheaded on Tower Hill in 1641 …
His trial along with a list of key attendees …
Guy Fawkes was also tried here but I suppose it’s not surprising that no plaque commemorates the event considering what he had set out to do!
Guy and his fellow conspirators …
Fawkes’s signature before and after he was tortured on the rack has a gruesome fascination …
View from the House of Commons Terrace …
I recently had a very enjoyable lunch at Larry’s Restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery. It has a wacky lobster theme throughout …
Nice cocktails too.
On one of my walks I came across the rather splendid Law Society building on Chancery Lane …
I liked the ‘lions’. They are formally known in heraldry as Lions Sejant …
The sculptor, Alfred Stevens, always referred to them as his cats since, apparently, he used his neighbour’s pet animal as a model for the pose.
I do wander around outside the City occasionally and find delightful surprises such as this memorial dispensary in Cambridge Avenue, Kilburn …
Horses and donkeys were the most commonly used animals in wartime – mainly for transport and haulage, but camels, elephants, pigeons, bullocks, dogs and goats were all pressed into service. Many suffered from exposure, lack of food and disease, dying alongside their human companions …
In 1931 a competition was held for the design of a memorial for the main facade of the building. Frederick Brook Hitch of Hertford was the winner and his wonderful bronze plaque is above the main door …
Read all about the pigeon that was awarded the Croix de Guerre in my blog of January 2021.
I love the sight of dozing ducks …
The Heritage Gallery at the Guildhall Art Gallery is hosting three small exhibitions at the moment. I have already written about two of them and you can find them here: one about Robert Hooke and another about Blackfriars Bridge.
The third is about a gentleman called Charles Pearson – a name I didn’t recognise but should have.
He was a great campaigner who supported universal suffrage, electoral reform and opposed capital punishment. He also had a vision for an underground railway, describing a ‘Spacious Railway station in Farringdon Street by which means … the overcrowding of the streets by carriages and foot-passengers van be diminished’.
The exhibition contains a street plan along with a booklet setting out his case using speeches he gave on the subject …
There is also a link between Pearson and The Monument.
An inscription on the north side originally held Catholics responsible for the Great Fire: The Latin words Sed Furor Papisticus Qui Tamdiu Patravit Nondum Restingvitur translates as ‘but Popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched’. Pearson campaigned to have the words removed and you can see where they once existed at the base of the panel before being scored out …
The deletion in close up …
Another great reason to visit the Guildhall Art Gallery is that their prestigious bookshop is now stocking my book …
Over 100 pages in full colour with a fold-out map at the back. A bargain stocking filler for only £10!
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The first Blackfriars Bridge was designed by Robert Mylne and openened in 1769. It was constructed from Portland Stone which, although attractive, was quickly weakened by damage from barges, ice and pollution …
Gradually its foundations started to become undermined and by the 1850s it was apparent that continual repair was not feasible and the bridge had to be replaced. The new bridge was designed by Joseph Cubitt (1811-1872) who also designed the adjacent railway bridge …
The foundation stone was laid by the Lord Mayor on 25 July 1865 – here’s an invitation to the event …
Under construction in 1868 …
Divers wearing what was then modern gear invented in the 1830s …
The formal opening by Queen Victoria in 1869 …
The bridge in 1896 with the station under development …
Image from (probably) 1914 …
Here are a few things to look out for as you cross the bridge today.
There are a series of columns rising out of the river …
These are the remains of the original railway bridge, which was removed in 1985 as it was deemed too weak for modern trains.
Note the pulpit-shaped tops of the bridge pillars. They reference the original monastery of the Black Friars or Dominican monks, evicted by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538. I have written about the Medieval monasteries in an earlier blog which you can find here …
On the south side is the beautifully painted coat of arms of the London Chatham & Dover Railway …
Note the white horse rampant, symbol of Kent, and the county motto ‘Invicta’ meaning ‘undefeated’ or ‘unconquered’.
And now some features not everyone notices. Peer over the parapet and on either side you will see some birds on the capitals of the bridge supports, meticulously carved in Portland stone by J.B.Philip.
The birds on the west side are fresh water birds and plants to be found on the upper reaches of the river …
And on the east side, sea birds and seaweeds to be found at the mouth of the Thames …
On the north side of the bridge is one of my favourite water fountains, recently liberated from behind hoardings and nicely restored …
The pretty lady represents ‘Temperance’ and she originally stood outside the Royal Exchange. You can see an image of her in that position here.
The fountain was inaugurated by Samuel Gurney, MP, the Chairman of the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountains Association, on 27 July 1861 and you can read more about him, and the Association, in my earlier blog Philanthropic Fountains.
In the middle of the road, Her Majesty gazes imperiously towards the City …
If you get the chance, pop in to the spanking new Blackfriars Station.
Nowadays, if you want to travel by rail to Continental Europe, you head for St Pancras International and Eurostar. Once upon a time though, your gateway to the Continent was Blackfriars Station.
The station was badly damaged during the Second World War but the wall displaying a selection of the locations you could catch a train to survived and you can see it today in the ticket hall. It was part of the original façade of the 1886 station (originally known as St Paul’s) and features the names of 54 destinations – each painstakingly carved into separate sandstone blocks …
The destinations are gilded in 24 carat gold leaf …
‘Where shallwe buy a ticket to today? Crystal Palace or Marseilles? Westgate-on-Sea or St Petersburg? Tough choices!’
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One of the great joys of London is that you can walk over the same area again and again and still find something new or, alternatively, more detail about a place you knew already.
Last week I decided to start by visiting the pretty, quiet space in Banner Street known as Quaker Gardens (EC1Y 8QQ). All the other locations I write about today are about five minutes walk away from there …
There are three venerable London Plane trees providing shade …
This land, purchased in 1661 for a burial ground, was the earliest freehold property of the Quakers (also known as The Society of Friends) in London. Over a thousand victims of the Great Plague were buried here in 1665.
Here it is on John Rocque’s map of 1746 …
The Burial Acts of the 1850s forced the closure of all central London burial grounds. Having expanded considerably, by the time that the Bunhill site was closed in 1855 there were nearly 12,000 recorded burials.
I found these burial records from 1787 online …
Quaker burials are very simple and Quakers have not traditionally placed headstones on burial sites, being thought too showy or worldly. There is, however, a plain memorial to George Fox, Quakerism’s founder, who was buried here in 1691 …
There is also a stone plaque recording the history of the site and buildings …
The wording is not very clear now but I have found an earlier image …
Persecution of Quakers was common in 17th century England, one of the most serious punishments being transportation. Among the ‘martyr Friends’ buried here are included twenty-seven who died of plague awaiting transportation on the ship ominously named The Black Eagle. The war with the Dutch, along with the plague, made it difficult to find a ship’s master willing to brave the seas but in May 1665 the Sheriffs of London found someone willing to do so. The sea captain, called Fudge, boasted that he would happily transport even his nearest relations. About 40 men and women were bundled aboard his ship which was lying at Greenwich. Then Fudge was arrested for debt, with soldiers sent from the Tower to guard the human cargo as most of the crew had deserted. As well as the plague deaths, many more prisoners had perished before the ship eventually sailed.
The burial ground lay unused until 1880 when the Metropolitan Board of Works took part of the site for road widening and the compensation money paid for the building of a Memorial Hall, which included a coffee tavern and lodging rooms …
The Hall was destroyed by bombs in 1944. A small surviving fragment, known as the cottage, which had been the manager’s house, was restored to serve as a small meeting house (as it still does to this day) …
An old plaque dated 1793 …
‘This wall and Seven Houses on the grounds on the north side are the Property of the Society of Friends 1793’.
I haven’t been able to find out more about the very sadly missed Marna Shapiro …
I like the kisses.
A very appropriate place for quiet contemplation …
For a brief history of the Quakers I recommend this site – Quakers around Shoreditch. For a more detailed history, I have enjoyed reading Portrait in Grey by John Punshon (September 2006, Quaker Books). It’s where I found the story of the wonderfully named Captain Fudge and the Black Eagle.
Leave the garden by the Chequer Street entrance, turn left, and you will encounter something unusual – wooden block road paving …
Designed to be durable, but far less noisy than cobbles, experiments with wood block paving started in 1873 and initially proved successful. Eventually replaced by tar from the 1920s onwards, this section is one of few remaining in London. You can just make out some tree growth rings …
I must have walked past this typical industrial building in Banner Street dozens of times …
Last week I paused at the rather imposing entrance …
… and looked up …
A classical broken pediment, the date 1911 and the company name Chater Lea Ltd. This was a British bicycle, car and motorcycle maker and the Banner Street premises were purpose built for them in 1911. Eventually needing to expand production, they moved to Letchworth, Hertfordshire in 1928.
The company was founded by William Chater Lea in 1890 to make bicycle frames and components. It made cars between 1907 and 1922 and motorcycles from 1903 to 1935. William died in 1927 and the business was taken over by his sons John and Bernard …
You can read more about the company history here and it looks like they are currently working on a major relaunch. Here’s their website which also contains some great historical background and images.
It is nice to see that this extraordinary piece of work has found a place on Roscoe Street where everyone can see it. It needs to be viewed from a distance for maximum effect …
Nearby on Roscoe Street, the mysterious headless man – also created at the Party …
Tyger Tyger on Baird Street …
A Chequer Street EC1 celebration …
… and a mosaic on the same building …
Pretty door and heart combined at 65 Banner Street …
In a nearby car park …
I love the honey coloured bricks of the Peabody Estate …
In the foreground, another piece left over from the Party …
And finally, consider this tree at the west end of Chequer Street …
My scientist friend Emma reliably informs me that it’s an Indian Bean Tree, Catalpa Bignonioides …
The view from Whitecross Street …
These trees are described online as ‘principally grown for their broad headed attractive foliage, exquisite bell shaped summer flowers and in autumn they develop bean-like hanging fruit which persist through winter’.
Here’s an example of the fruit on the Chequer Street tree …
In my view, this tree is evidence of the considerable thought that went into the planning of the Peabody Estate environment as well as the buildings themselves.
Incidentally, the estate also boasts a man-eating Agavi plant …
Mr Peabody features strongly in my book Courage, Crime and Charity in the City of London which you can buy using the link on this site – only £10. Or just pop in to the Daunt Bookshop in Cheapside or Marylebone High Street.
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I was off to the Guildhall Gallery again last weekend looking for blog inspiration and, as usual, was not disappointed.
Robert Hooke (1635-1703) was a typical ‘Renaissance Man’ of 17th century England but is not anything like as well known as his contemporaries such as Sir Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys and Sir Christopher Wren (a lifelong friend).
In the course of his career at the Royal Society and as Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, he carried out the earliest research with the microscope, described and named the cell, was a founder of the science of geology, and discovered the law of springs/elasticity, the achievement for which he is most remembered today. He was also a City Surveyor, organising the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666. Overshadowed by Newton and Wren, he faded into relative obscurity and now there is not even a portrait of him.
The Guildhall Gallery has gone some way to bringing him out of the shadows with a new exhibition in The Heritage Gallery, Robert Hooke and the Monument …
Hooke worked with Wren on the design of the Monument, built to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666. It remains a striking feature of the City and a major tourist attraction to this day …
It was originally intended to have a scientific function as a zenith telescope – instrumants that can be used for determining the precise measurement of star positions. Unfortunately, movement caused by the wind and nearby traffic made it unsuitable for this purpose.
Hooke’s diary (which is dated 1672-83) was a memorandum book he kept to remind him of the many places he had been and people he had met. It records his visits to sites in the City that he was working on including the Monument …
Indicated is an entry from 5th April 1676. He records going to see ‘the pillar’, i.e. the Monumant, in construction. He describes examining the balcony and the setting for the golden urn on top of it. He visited the construction work frequently and must have been very fit with a good head for heights!
The urn at the top …
Hooke was a true polymath. A diagram for a proposed design for a thermomenter is also on display …
…amongst other papers he collected …
You can also see a daguerreotype of the Monument from circa 1845 taken from Gracechurch Street, with the church of St Magnus the Martyr in the background …
Incredibly fragile, this is the oldest photograph of the City of London in the London Archives.
I’ve always been fascinated by Hooke and particularly love Micrographia. The Royal Society blog states: ‘This great book of explorations of the very small, the very far and the very elusive, needs little introduction. Written and illustrated with 38 lavish copperplate engravings, Micrographia or, some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses, with Observations and Inquiries thereupon, to spell out its full title, remains a landmark in the history of microscopy’.
The accuracy of his famous drawing of a flea is even more striking when we compare it with an image produced using the latest microscope technology …
Look at an online copy of Hooke’s beautiful book here.
Since he was a contemporary of Pepys, the famous flea is included on a paving stone in the Pepys garden in Seething Lane …
You can find a complete guide to the garden and its carvings in my blogs here and here.
If you visit the Hooke exhibition, make sure you also pop in to the upstairs gallery where a really enjoyable treat awaits …
The Giant Dolls House Project invited schools and community groups to create minature rooms in shoe boxes to show their perspectives on the City of London’s buildings, homes, streets and environment.
I was absolutely fascinated …
My favourite. I could imagine myself sitting in that chair, relaxing and reading a book from the little library …
Do visit if you can – my images don’t really do it justice.
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An important date for your diary! This Saturday, 5th October, at 11:30 a.m. I will be interviewed by Robert Elms on his BBC Radio London show. We’ll be chatting about my book Courage, Crime and Charity in the City of London and I hope you will be able to join us.
On a sunny day last week I took a walk towards Holborn and picked out a few buildings and memorials that I really liked.
First up is the Wax Chandlers Hall …
Wax Chandlers’ Hall is on Gresham Street on a site that the Company has owned since 1501. It has a long and fascinating history stretching all the way back to 1371 when they applied to the City’s governing body, the Mayor and Court of Aldermen, to have officials appointed from among their number (masters) to ‘overse all the defaults in theyre saide crafte’, and see that offenders were prosecuted. Their history is really well documented on their website.
Surely the bluest door in the City with the finest unicorns …
On the next corner is the building with the rogue apostrophe and the happy smiling sun…
Surely that should be St Martin’s House?
So many fine buildings date from the late 19th and very early 20th century …
The General Post Office in St. Martin’s Le Grand was the main post office for London between 1829 and 1910, the headquarters of the General Post Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and England’s first purpose-built post office …
Poor Henry Cecil Raikes, who laid this stone, died in August the following year aged only 52. Here he is in a Vanity Fair caricature when he was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons …
Parallel is King Edward Street where the man himself laid this stone on 16th October 1905 …
The great British Empire is duly acknowledged along with the King’s connection to an earlier Edward and the foundation of Christ’s Hospital.
It’s commemorated again nearby with this sculpture, the ragamuffins on the right being carefully coaxed towards a better life …
To me they look like they are having a fine time just as they are, perhaps letting it all hang out at a concert …
On Newgate Street another building connected to the Post Office …
This imposing building is at 16/17 Old Bailey. The London Picture Archive tells us: The seven-storey building was designed for the Chatham and Dover Railway Company by Arthur Usher of Yetts, Sturdy and Usher of London in 1912. The building is in the Edwardian baroque style with elements of french architectural styles such as the mansard roof … …
Above the entrance is a broken pediment with statues either side depicting travel. The statue of the woman on the left holds a wheel depicting rail travel and the woman on the right leans on an anchor depicting sea travel. At the bottom of brackets on the two piers either side of the entrance are small carved lion heads …
Across the road, outside the church of St Sepulchre Newgate, is this modest little drinking fountain which has an intriguing history …
Look up towards the roof of the church and you’ll see a late 17th Century sundial …
The dial is on the parapet above south wall of the nave and is believed to date from 1681. It is made of stone painted blue and white with noon marked by an engraved ‘X’ and dots marking the half hours. It shows Winter time from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm in 15 minute marks. I thought it was curious that the 4:00 pm mark is represented as IIII rather than IV – I have no idea why
There is demolition going on in the approach to Holborn Viaduct and I couldn’t resist taking this image of what looks like a building that has been sliced away revealing the vestiges of decoration left on each floor …
I find it reminiscent of the ruined houses on bomb sites that used to be a common feature of London right up to the early 1970s.
Holborn Viaduct dragons and a knight in armour …
As Prince Albert doffs his hat towards the City of London, a terracotta masterpiece looms in the background …
Before walking towards it I made a quick detour to St Andrew Holborn to admire the Charity Boy and Girl …
Pausing at the junction with Grays Inn Road, and looking back east, you will see that you are at one of the entrances to the City guarded by a dragon …
In the background is the Royal Fusiliers War Memorial, a work by Albert Toft. Unveiled by the Lord Mayor in 1922, the inscriptions read …
To the glorious memory of the 22,000 Royal Fusiliers who fell in the Great War 1914-1919 (and added later) To the Royal Fusiliers who fell in the World war 1939-1945 and those fusiliers killed in subsequent campaigns.
Toft’s soldier stands confidently as he surveys the terrain, his foot resting on a rock, his rifle bayoneted, his left hand clenched in determination. At the boundary of the City, he looks defiantly towards Westminster. The general consensus on the internet is that the model for the sculpture was a Sergeant Cox, who served throughout the First World War.
Behind him is the magnificent, red terracotta, Gothic-style building by J.W. Waterhouse, which once housed the headquarters of the Prudential Insurance Company.
As is often the case, I am indebted to the London Inheritance blogger for some of the detail about this extraordinary building . The Prudential moved into their new office in 1879, which was quite an achievement given that the company had only been founded 31 years earlier in 1848. The building exudes Victorian commercial power and was a statement building for the company that was at the time the country’s largest insurance company …
The lower part of the building uses polished granite, with red brick and red terracotta across all upper floors. If you stare at the building long enough the use of polished granite gives the impression that there has been a large flood along Holborn, which has left a tide mark on the building after washing out the red colour from the lower floors.
In the centre of the façade is a tower, with a large arch leading through into inner courtyards around which are further wings of the building …
It incorporates a sculpture of Prudence carrying one of the attributes of this Virtue, a hand mirror …
When built, the Prudential building was very advanced for its time. There was hot and cold running water, electric lighting, and to speed the delivery of paperwork across the site, a pnematic tube system was installed, where documents were put into canisters, which were then blown through the tube system to their destination. Ladies were provided with their own restaurant and library, and had a separate entrance, and were also allowed to leave 15 minutes early to “avoid consorting with men”.
The building’s brickwork is very attractive …
In the courtyard you will see the work of a sculptor who has chosen to illustrate war in a very different fashion to Toft.
The memorial carries the names of the 786 Prudential employees who lost their lives in the First World War …
The sculptor was F.V. Blundstone and the work was inaugurated on 2 March 1922. All Prudential employees had been offered ‘the opportunity of taking a personal share in the tribute by subscribing to the cost of the memorial’ (suggested donations were between one and five shillings).
The main group represents a soldier sustained in his death agony by two angels. He is lying amidst war detritus with his right arm resting on the wheel of some wrecked artillery piece. His careworn face contrasts with that of the sombre, beautiful girls with their uplifted wings. I find it incredibly moving.
I have written about angels in the City before and they are usually asexual, but these are clearly female.
At the four corners of the pedestal stand four more female figures.
One holds a field gun and represents the army …
One holds a boat representing the navy …
At the back is a figure holding a shell representing National Service …
The fourth lady holds a bi-plane representing the air force …
There are also two memorial plaques to employes who died in the Second World War. The north panel lists names A-K, the second K-Z. Each is topped with a broken pediment set around a wreath, with a figure of St George on top …
All those lost lives from just one employer.
I shall probably continue my walk westwards next week.
I do like a good clock story and the City has quite a few of them – from the clock that killed a man to the one mentioned in a famous poem.
I’ll start, however, with this beauty sited alongside St Magnus the Martyr on Lower Thames Street (EC3R 6DN) …
The clock was the gift of the Lord Mayor, Sir Charles Duncombe. The story goes that when he was a young apprentice, and rather poor, he missed an important meeting with his master on London Bridge because he had no way of telling the time. He vowed that, if ever he became rich, he would erect a clock in the vicinity and this magnificent example of the clockmakers’ art was the result. The artisan was Langley Bradley of Fenchurch Street who had worked with Sir Christopher Wren on several projects, including the early clock that adorned St. Paul’s Cathedral. Wren was evidently impressed with Bradley’s work since, in a letter the Lord Chamberlain’s Office in 1711, he went so far as to describe him as ‘a very able artist, very reasonable in his prices’.
In 1709 St Magnus was located at the north side of the ‘old’ London Bridge as this 18th century map illustrates …
You can also see the clock and its proximity to the bridge in this etching by Edward William Cooke entitled Part of Old London-Bridge, St Magnus and the Monument, taken at Low-water, August 15th, 1831.
Some of you may remember the charming neo-gothic Mappin & Webb building that was controversially demolished in 1994 …
It was replaced by Number 1 Poultry, designed by James Stirling and destined to become the youngest City building to be listed as Grade II* …
Prince Charles was unimpressed and said it resembled ‘a 1930s wireless set’.
I prefer it, however, to the Mies van der Rohe skyscraper that was also considered …
If you walk through the new building at street level you’ll see that the old Mappin & Webb clock has been incorporated …
And a wonderful frieze from the old building illustrating royal processions has also been preserved and relocated facing Poultry. Here is a small section …
King Charles II rides past accompanied by his pet spaniels
Now the clock that killed a man. Here it is attached to the Royal Courts of Justice – designed by George Edmund Street, it has been described as ‘exuberant’ …
On 5th November 1954 a clock mechanic, Thomas Manners, was killed when his clothes were caught up in the machinery as he wound up the mechanism. He had been carrying out this task every week since 1937, as well as looking after the 800 or so other clocks in the law court buildings. You can read the press cutting I came across here.
In 1711 Nicholas Hawksmoor was fifty years old yet, although he had already worked with Christopher Wren on St Paul’s Cathedral and for John Vanbrugh on Castle Howard, the buildings that were to make his name were still to come. In that year, an Act of Parliament created the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches to serve the growing population on the fringes of the expanding city.
Nicholas Hawksmoor c1661-1736.
Only twelve of these churches were ever built, but Hawksmoor designed six of them and – miraculously – they have all survived, displaying his unique architectural talent to subsequent generations and permitting his reputation to rise as time has passed. One of them is St Mary Woolnoth.
The outside of the church is very unusual and it has a fine position on the corner of King William Street and Lombard Street, just off the major Bank road junction (EC3V 9AN). The clock is mentioned in a famous poem …
In a corner sits the clock’s mechanism surrounded by a cover on which is etched an extract from T.S. Eliot’s poem The Wasteland …
Eliot worked nearby in Lloyds Bank and, having watched the commuters trudge over London Bridge, wrote these cheerful lines …
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many. Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. Flowed up the hill and down King William Street, To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.
No doubt if you were not at the office by the ‘final stroke of nine’ you were going to be late.
I have always liked this clock at the corner of Fleet Street and Ludgate Circus …
I read somewhere that, during the Blitz, an incendiary device became entangled in the ball at the top and dangled there for hours until it was deactivated. I often have this image in my head of gently swaying ordnance when I walk up Fleet Street.
The building was originally the London headquarters of the Thomas Cook Travel Agency and, since Mr Cook was a keen supporter of the temperance movement, the first floor contained a temperance hotel. The building is adorned with numerous charming cherubs …
‘This is where we’re going on holiday’.
There are dozens of City cherubs and I have written about some of them here.
The Royal Exchange has two ‘twin’ clocks, both exactly the same, one facing Threadneedle Street and one facing Cornhill …
Britannia and Neptune hold a shield that contains an image of Gresham’s original Royal Exchange whilst above Atlas lifts a globe. I have seen it described as a Valentine’s Day clock because of the two red hearts. Ahhhh, sweet!
Here’s Atlas again, straining under his burden in King Street …
The building was once the home of the Atlas Insurance Company.
The clock at the church of St Edmund King and Martyr in Lombard Street sports a delicate, pretty crown (EC3V 9EA) …
This is Throgmorton Street at the turn of the last century, straw hats (or boaters) being clearly in fashion. You’ll find a short history of them here…
The clock on the left is still there (EC2N 2AT) …
You’ll see that Warnford Court was rebuilt in 1884 but, out of interest, I did a bit more research and came across this list of the tenants in 1842 …
Stock brokers, solicitors and merchants mainly but also a hatter, a ‘commercial teacher’, an auctioneer and, strangely, the Danish Consul General’s Office. Interestingly, the Bolivar Mining Association was also located there. The Association was formed to work copper mines at Aroa, Venezuela and were owned for some time by the Bolivar family who leased them to an English company to help finance the war of independence. You can read more here.
Fleet Street has a lot to offer when it comes to clock spotting.
How about this masterpiece …
Installed just after the Great Fire of London in 1671, it was the first clock in London to have a minute hand, with two figures (perhaps representing Gog and Magog) striking the hours and quarters with clubs, turning their heads whilst doing so.
The present version of the clock was installed in 1738 before, in 1828, being moved to the 3rd Marquess of Hertford’s house in Regent’s Park. The Great War saw the Regent’s Park residence housing soldiers blinded from combat. The charity which undertook this went on to name itself after where the clock in the house came from: St Dunstan’s. It was returned to the Church in 1935 by Lord Rothermere to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V. You can read a lot more about its history here.
If you like the occasional burst of colour, look up at this Art Deco treat, also in Fleet Street outside the old offices of the Daily Telegraph (EC4A 2BB) …
I am really pleased to report that the refurbishment of Bracken House is now complete and we can see again the extraordinary Zodiacal clock on the side of the building that faces Cannon Street (EC3M 9JA).
Here it is in all its glory …
If you look more closely at the centre this is what you will see …
On the gilt bronze sunburst at the centre you can clearly make out the features of Winston Churchill. The building used to be the headquarters of the Financial Times and is named after Brendan Bracken, its chief editor after the war.
During the War Bracken served in Churchill’s wartime cabinet as Minister of Information. George Orwell worked under Bracken on the BBC’s Indian Service and deeply resented wartime censorship and the need to manipulate information. If you like slightly wacky theories, there is one that the sinister ‘Leader’ in Orwell’s novel 1984, Big Brother, was inspired by Bracken, who was customarily referred to as ‘BB’ by his Ministry employees.
The oddly-shaped Blackfriar pub on Queen Victoria Street displays a pretty clock just above the jolly friar’s head …
Unfortunately it hasn’t worked for long time.
This wise old owl looks across the road to the north side of London Bridge, observing the thousands of commuters flowing back and forth every day from London Bridge Station (although not so many lately!). He is perched outside what was once the offices of the Guardian Royal Exchange Insurance Company (later just ‘Guardian’) and was for a while their symbol, presumably signifying wisdom and watchfulness.
Rising from the flames and just about to take off over the City is the legendary Phoenix bird and from 1915 until 1983 this was the headquarters of the Phoenix Assurance Company at 5 King William Street. One can see why the Phoenix legend of rebirth and restoration appealed as a name for an insurer (EC4N 7DA).
The clock shows the name of the present tenants, Daiwa Capital Markets.
Before clocks there were, of course, sundials and there are many fine examples in the City – both old and relatively new.
These are my two favourites …
The Jacobean church of St Katharine Cree in Leadenhall Street was built between 1628 and 1630 and survived the Great Fire of 1666. On the south wall is this wonderful dial, circa 1700, which is described as having ‘gilded embellishments including declining lines, Babylonian/Latin hours and Zodiac signs’. Its Latin motto Non Sine Lumine means Nothing without Light.
And this dial in Fournier Street …
It was once a Protestant church, then a Methodist Chapel, next a Jewish synagogue and is now the Brick Lane Mosque (E1 6QL).
In the late 17th century some 40-50,000 French Protestants, known as Huguenots, fleeing persecution in France, arrived in England with around half settling in Spitalfields. They started a local silk-weaving industry and, incidentally, gave us a new word ‘refugee’ from the French word réfugié, ‘one who seeks sanctuary’. They flourished and established this church in 1743 naming it La Neuve Eglise (The New Church) and installed the sundial we can see today. The Latin motto Umbra sumus translates as ‘we are shadow’, and is taken from Horace’s statement Pulvis et umbra sumus, meaning ‘We are dust and shadow’.
You can read more about city sunduals in my blog called, appropriately, We are but shadows.
If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …
I love visiting Bunhill. It has an atmosphere like nowhere else I visit in London with the possible exception of Highgate Cemetery.
The east entrance …
Around 123,000 people are interred here, among them the poet and mystic William Blake. Everyone is familiar with the great anthem Jerusalem but I also love his poem Auguries of Innocence:
To see the world in a grain of sand/And heaven in a wild flower/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/And eternity in an hour/A Robin Red breast in a Cage/Puts all Heaven in a Rage/A Dove house filld with Doves & Pigeons/Shudders Hell thr’ all its regions
He died in poverty and obscurity and it took 14 years of research in order to identify the exact spot where he was buried. The grave is now marked with a splendid stone funded by the Blake Society …
There are other famous folk commemorated here.
John Bunyan’s tomb of 1689 is not quite what it seems since the effigy of the great man and the bas-reliefs (inspired by Pilgrim’s Progress) were only added in 1862 when the tomb was restored …
A preacher who spent over a decade in jail for his beliefs, he holds the bible in his left hand. He started the Christian allegory Pilgrim’s Progress whilst imprisoned and it became one of the most published works in the English language.
Bunhill is a nice place for a quiet spot of lunch …
Turn your back on Bunyan’s tomb and you will be facing the obelisk erected in 1870 to commemorate the 1731 burial of Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe. The monument was funded by an appeal to boys and girls by the weekly newspaper Christian World who were invited to give ‘not less than sixpence’ …
My favourite tombstone …
Somehow it has fared remarkably well against the elements, pigeons and city pollution.
Many have not …
But some inscriptions survive. I was very taken with this marker for the grave of Reverend Joseph Cartwright who died on 5th November 1800 at the age of 72 …
It seems to me that he composed the poem engraved on the stone himself (sadly the last few lines are obliterated). Here it is …
What if death may sleep provide/Should I be of death afraid/What if beams of opening day/Shine around my breathless clay/Tender friends a while may mourn/Me from their embraces torn/Dearer better friends I have/In the realm beneath the grave.
Many memorials bear witnes to the high degree of infant mortality …
Interred with him and his wife is a lady who can’t resist referring to her connection to the ‘Illustrious House of Percy’ …
Popular styles include pyramids …
… ancient Egypt …
… and obelisks, of which this is a particularly fine example …
The inscription is in Welsh and marks the tomb of the Calvinistic Methodist minister, poet and Bible commentator James Hughes. Also inscribed is his Bardic name Iago Trichrug.
Some atmospheric images …
No visit would be complete without saying ‘hello’ to Dame Mary Page and recognising and admiring her fortitude, which she insisted on being recorded in stone on her memorial …
You’ll find more about Dame Mary and other fascinating people in my book Courage, Crime and Charity in the City of London. Only £10! Just click on the link or pop in to the Daunt bookshop in Cheapside or Marylebone High Street.
Today I’m continuing the walk I started last week heading south along City Road.
Just before the Old Street roundabout you encounter two intriguing buildings. The first of these is The Alexandra Trust Dining Rooms …
In August 1898, newspapers reported a plan to provide cheap meals at cost price in a series of counter-service restaurants in the poorest parts of London. Sir Thomas Lipton, wealthy grocer and philanthropist, was prepared to spend £100,000 on building them; after the initial outlay the scheme aimed to be self-supporting. HRH the Princess of Wales – Princess Alexandra, wife of the future King Edward VII – lent her patronage. The scheme built on her Diamond Jubilee meal for the poor in 1897, for which the then Mr. Lipton had donated £25,000 of the required £30,000, and which succeeded in feeding 300,000 people. He was knighted at the start of 1898, made a Baron in 1902 and died in 1931 aged 83. A fine man with a fine moustache …
Called Empire House, the Old Street building opened on the 9th of March 1900. It had three floors of dining rooms each designed to hold 500 people – a number frequently exceeded in later years. The Morning Post reported that the basement included washing facilities for customers and an artesian well yielding 2,000 gallons of water an hour, and that 1,200 steak puddings can be cooked simultaneously. There were ‘electric automatic lifts’ to aid distribution of food to the dining floors, and a bakehouse with electric kneading. The Sketch described the establishment as a type of slap-bang – an archaic noun meaning a low eating house. Soup, steak pudding with two vegetables and a pastry costs 4½ᵈ.
The kitchen …
The men’s dining room …
The ladies’ dining room …
The Dining Rooms closed in 1951. You can read the full history of this fascinating enterprise here on the brilliant London Wanderer blog.
Further south is the stunning terracotta masterpiece that was once the Leysian Mission …
The crest above the main entrance bears the Latin words ‘In Fide Fiducia’ (In Faith, Trust), which is the motto of the Leys School in Cambridge. The object of the Mission organization was to promote the welfare of the poorer people in the UK …
At the dawn of the last century, like the Dining Rooms, the Leysian Mission was a welfare centre for the poor masses of the East End. As well as saving people’s souls, the Methodists who ran it believed in helping people in this life too. They thus offered health services, a ‘poor man’s lawyer’, entertainment in the form of film screenings and lantern shows, as well as hosting affiliated organisations such as the Athletic Society, the Brass Band, the Penny Bank, the Working Men’s Club and Moulton House Settlement for Young Men …
The Methodist meeting places ‘were all built to look as un-churchlike as possible in an attempt to woo the working classes away from the temptations of drink and music halls.’ The building’s Great Queen Victoria Hall, which seated nearly 2,000 people, boasted a magnificent organ as well as a stunning stained glass window.
Plans published in The Building News 1901 …
The combination of the Second World War, during which the building suffered extensive bombing damage, followed by the introduction of the welfare state and the changing social character of the area saw the Leysian Mission gradually lose its relevance as a welfare centre. In the 1980s it merged with the Wesleyan Church with the building sold, converted into residential flats and renamed Imperial Hall.
Plaques that were ‘fixed’ by VIPs when the building was completed in 1903 are still there …
I like the posh brass intercom system …
At the roundabout there’s another plaque, this time commemorating the City Road Turnpike …
Road pricing is not new! Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the capital operated an extensive system of toll gates, known as turnpikes, which were responsible for monitoring horse-drawn traffic and imposing substantial charges upon any traveller wishing to make use of the route ahead.
A ‘General Plan For Explaining The Different Trusts Of The Turnpike Gates In The Vicinity Of The Metropolis. Published By J. Cary, July 1st, 1790’ …
Just like today, certain lucky users were exempt from the charge – namely mail coaches, soldiers, funeral processions, parsons on parish business, prison carts and, of course, members of the royal family.
Vandals today damaging or destroying ULEZ cameras can feel something in common with these people – a ‘rowdy group of travellers causing trouble at a turnpike in 1825’ …
As you cross the road by the roundabout, look west along Old Street and you’ll see a magnificent old sign, a relic of the area’s industrial past. An extract from the blog of the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society reads as follows:
‘It is pleasing to discover that last year the sign, which is thought to date from early in the 20th century, was restored (though without the black paint Bob thought might originally have featured) and now looks very good. It was presumably erected by J Liversidge and Son, wheelwrights and later wagon and van builders, who occupied 196 Old Street for some decades. The firm first appears in the Old Kent Road in the 1880s; by the 1890s they had expanded into Hackney and then into Old Street. By 1921 they were back in the Old Kent Road alone, the development of motor vehicles presumably having removed much of their busines’ …
I like the hand pointing down to the site (it’s now a petrol station) …
It’s on the east wall of what was once St Luke’s School who presumably made an appropriate charge for allowing its installation …
I paused to admire Old Street Station’s green roof …
Just past the roundabout on the left there’s a building that’s a bit of a mystery. It’s almost opposite the entrance to the Bunhill Burial Ground and has been derelict for as long as I can remember (and that’s quite a while) …
Very strange. On the north wall is a plaque bearing the coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, so maybe they own the building …
I thought it would be appropriate on this walk to acknowledge the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and pop in for a brief visit to his chapel …
It’s well worth a diversion.
You can admire the stained glass of which there are many fine traditional examples …
Plus some striking, unusual contemporary works …
Margaret Thatcher (then Margaret Roberts) married Denis Thatcher here on 13 December 1951 and both their children were christened here. She donated the communion rail in 1993 …
On 28 February 1975 at 8:46 am at Moorgate Station 43 people died and 74 were injured after a train failed to stop at the line’s southern terminus and crashed into its end wall. No fault was found with the train, and the inquiry by the Department of the Environment concluded that the accident was caused by the actions of Leslie Newson, the 56-year-old driver. A memorial tablet was placed in Finsbury Square …
Mr Newson is commemorated on the memorial along with the others who lost their lives. There has never been a satisfactory explanation for his behaviour, but suicide seemed unlikely. Newson was known by his colleagues as a careful and conscientious motorman (driver). On 28 February he carried a bottle of milk, sugar, his rule book, and a notebook in his work satchel; he also had £270 in his jacket to buy a second-hand car for his daughter after work. According to staff on duty his behaviour appeared normal. Before his shift began he had a cup of tea and shared his sugar with a colleague; he jokingly said to the colleague “Go easy on it, I shall want another cup when I come off duty”.
It took all day to remove the injured, many of whom had to be cut free. After five more days and an operation involving 1,324 firefighters, 240 police officers, 80 ambulance workers, 16 doctors and numerous volunteers all of the bodies were recovered. The driver’s body was taken out on day four. His crushed cab, at the front of the train, normally 3-foot deep, had been reduced to 6 inches.
On the north side of the square is this building …
Formerly Triton Court, it’s now known as the Alphabeta Building. Many years ago I would sometimes travel by train into the now demolished Broad Street Station. As the train approached the terminus I could see from my carriage what looked like a little boy standing on a large ball at the very top of the building. It looked like he was waving at me!
Well, he’s still there …
Now, however, I know the statue standing on top of the globe is Mercury (Hermes) the messenger and God of profitable trade. It’s by James Alexander Stevenson and was completed in the early 1900s. Though it would be impossible to see from the ground it’s apparently – as with all Stevenson’s work – signed with ‘Myrander’ a combination of his wife’s name (Myra) and his middle name (Alexander). Sweet. The renovated building is quite stunning inside as you can see here.
And finally to Moorgate Station, where a relic of its past life can be seen if you glance from across the road to the east facing entrance …
It’s a version of the logo of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR) adapted to show the carriages passing through a tunnel under the Thames where little boats bob about in the water. And for extra authenticity, I think the train on the right is coming towards us and the one on the left moving away. I love it …
This was the first successful deep-level underground ‘tube’ railway in the world and the first major railway to use electric traction …
The original service was operated by trains composed of an engine and three carriages. Thirty-two passengers could be accommodated in each carriage, which had longitudinal bench seating and sliding doors at the ends, leading onto a platform for boarding and alighting. It was reasoned that there was nothing to look at in the tunnels, so the only windows were in a narrow band high up in the carriage sides. Gate-men rode on the carriage platforms to operate the lattice gates and announce the station names to the passengers. Because of their claustrophobic interiors, the carriages soon became known as padded cells …
The genius behind deep tunnel boring was James Henry Greathead, a South African engineer (note the hat) who invented what was to become known as the Greathead Shield. His statue, below, was placed on Cornhill because a new ventilation shaft was needed for Bank Underground Station and it was decided that he should be honoured on the plinth covering the shaft …
It was such a nice sky I took another image which also shows the C&SLR logo incorporated in the plinth …
You can read more about him and his tunnelling innovation in my blog City work and public sculpture. You can also read the full fascinating history of the City and South London Railway here.
… That’s the way the money goes, Pop! goes the weasel’.
After Googling this very old rhyme, I was bewildered by the number of interpretations of the term ‘Pop goes the weasel’! Anyway, here’s the one I like best:
‘In the mid-19th century, “pop” was a well-known slang term for pawning something—and City Road had a well-known pawn establishment in the 1850s. In this Cockney interpretation, “weasel” is Cockney rhyming slang for “weasel and stoat” meaning “coat”. Thus, to “pop the weasel” meant to pawn your coat’.
Presumably this was done to spend money on drink in The Eagle pub, and I shall be walking past The Eagle in this week’s blog as I walk down City Road.
My walk starts, however, at the corner of Golden Lane and Beech Street with the Banksy artwork that pays tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) whose UK retrospective opened at the Barbican Centre on 21 September 2017. The main work features a stencilled policeman and woman, recognisably Banksy, who appear to be conducting a stop and search on the artist …
On the other side of the street is a smaller piece, this time featuring a stencilled ferris wheel with people queuing to enter. The carriages have been replaced with stylised crowns, the symbol of Basquiat himself and now an iconic image in the street art and graffiti world …
Heading north I came across this rather nice Victorian double post box …
One of the slots would have been for ‘Meter Mail’ in which businesses once sent pre-printed, self-addressed envelopes or packages to customers with postage pre-paid in-house using a postage meter.
The company was a prolific manufacturer but after Handyside died in 1887 the firm gradually declined until it closed early in the twentieth century.
Here’s the man himself (National Galleries of Scotland) …
A few yards further is the famous Golden Lane Estate …
In the middle of the nineteenth century, over 130,000 people resided in the City of London but by 1952 that number had dropped to just 5,000. Business and commerce had become the main uses of land in the City. Residents who had lost their homes as a result of the 2nd World War bombings were re-housed in areas outside the centre. However, the City Corporation was concerned about the depopulation of the City and turned its attention to this when planning the rebuilding of the City in the post-war era.
The Corporation announced the competition to design an estate at Golden Lane on 12 July 1951 with the closing date for submissions on 31 January 1952. It was won by Geoffry Powell, a lecturer in architecture at the Kingston School of Art College, in 1952. He invited lecturer colleagues Christoph Bon and Joseph Chamberlin to join him in developing a detailed design for the Golden Lane Estate. You can read an interesting history of the estate and its design here.
The winning entry …
The Estate Map …
… with its wonderful the 3D representation …
I took these images on a sunny day last week …
In 1997 the whole estate was listed, including the landscaping and public areas at Grade II but Crescent House was separately listed Grade II* …
I glanced down Garrett Street where one can catch a glimpse of the old Whitbread stables …
Further along on the left is what I call the ‘skinny house’ …
The MailOnline published a rather breathless article about it a few years ago. You can read it here.
I crossed City Road and continued north on Central Street where this young man is commemorated by Islington Council (what a nice idea) …
Another First World War casualty …
PC Smith, 37 years old, was on duty nearby when the noise was heard of an approaching group of fourteen German bombers. One press report reads as follows …
In the case of PC Alfred Smith, a popular member of the Metropolitan Force, who leaves a widow and three children, the deceased was on point duty near a warehouse. When the bombs began to fall the girls from the warehouse ran down into the street. Smith got them back, and stood in the porch to prevent them returning. In doing his duty he thus sacrificed his own life.
Smith had no visible injuries but had been killed by the blast from the bombs dropped nearby. He was one of 162 people killed that day in one of the deadliest raids of the war.
His widow received automatically a police pension (£88 1s per annum, with an additional allowance of £6 12s per annum for her son) but also had her MP, Allen Baker, working on her behalf. He approached the directors of Debenhams (whose staff PC Smith had saved) and solicited from them a donation of £100 guineas (£105). A further fund, chaired by Baker, raised almost £472 and some of this was used to pay for the Watts Memorial tablet, below, which was officially unveiled in Postman’s Park on the second anniversary of Alfred’s death …
Next an Elizabethan postbox by the Carron Company of Stirlingshire …
Among other commissions, the company also produced the famous Giles Gilbert Scott telephone boxes. Despite diversifying into plastics and stainless steel, the company went into receivership in 1982.
‘The new energy centre uses state-of-the-art technology on the site of a disused Underground station that commuters have not seen for almost 100 years. The remains of the station, once known as City Road, have been transformed to house a huge underground fan which extracts warm air from the Northern line tunnels below. The warm air is used to heat water that is then pumped to buildings in the neighbourhood through a new 1.5km network of underground pipes’.
An old trough and water fountain …
Read all about the history of drinking water supplies to the London working population and their animals in my blog Philanthropic Fountains.
Turn right into City Road and you encounter these remarkably lifelike characters and their dog …
This light display gives a clue as to what’s coming up …
The famous Eagle pub as mentioned in the rhyme …
At the beginning of the 19th century, ophthalmology was an unknown science but that all changed in the early 1800s as many soldiers returned from the Napoleonic wars suffering with trachoma. The original 1804 Dispensary for Curing Diseases of the Eye and Ear opened in Charterhouse Square in West in 1805. It moved in 1822 to a purpose-built building in Lower Moorfields and was renamed the London Ophthalmic Infirmary. When Queen Victoria gave it a royal charted in 1837 it became the Royal London Opthalmic Hospital but everyon still called it Moorfields. It still resides on City Road but has been vastly expanded …
The green line helps the visually impaired find their way from Old Street Underground Station …
The Alchemist bar goes green …
As does the roof of Old Street Station …
I’ll probably continue my stroll down City Road and beyond next week.
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