Earlier this week I visited the recently opened Roman Wall exhibition in Vine Street. Entrance is free but you need to book a time slot online.
Looking down through a window near the entrance you get an excellent sense of Roman London’s street level …
Once inside the imposing nature of the wall itself is immediatly apparent…
The exhibition signage is first class throughout …
It is also complemented by Museum of London plaques …
Archaeoligical finds from the site (which served as a cesspit for many years) are beautifully displayed ..
As regular readers will know, I rather like quirky stuff, and some of the finds displayed fall into that category.
The paw prints on this tile are a cat’s …
The Romans brought cats with them to Britain although there is some evidence of domesticated felines before this time. Like modern cats, they knew no boundaries. When this tile was still soft and lying on the ground of the tile yard to dry, one of our cats’ ancestors strolled casually across it, leaving its territorial mark for posterity.
This rabbit skeleton has been dated to between 1760 to 1770 …
There are no visible butchery or skinning marks, so it was probably not kept for eating. It is likely that it was kept as a domestic pet, perhaps by the children of the family. Alongside it are the vertebrae and jawbones from a younger rabbit. These bunnies may have been much loved when alive. But having died, it appears that both were dropped unceremoniously into the cesspit in the backyard. Or maybe, horror of horrors, they fell in accidentally and drowned.
Of course I had to include this, a charmingly named ‘stool pan’ …
Another useful explanation …
Nice to see he’s wearing a decidedly modern-looking anti-Covid mask.
How the terraced houses on the site may have looked …
Some of the other artefacts on display include the following.
Pretty chinaware – someone must have been very unhappy when these articles were broken and had to be consigned to the rubbish pit. Or maybe they had just fallen out of fashion and were discarded …
Clay pipes galore …
A familiar brand …
Lots to see, very well displayed and explained …
As you leave you get a fine view of the outer face of the wall …
The last thing to admire is the artwork by Olivia Whitworth, the East London-based artist who creates wonderfully detailed illustrations …
If you are in ‘London Wall mode’, don’t forget there are two other wonderful examples nearby.
Just five minutes’ walk away at Cooper’s Row, round the back of a hotel, is an equally spectacular stretch of wall that is off the tourist trail. Here you can see the marks of former staircases and medieval windows cut through to create a rugged monument of significant height …
Also, alongside Tower Hill Underground Station, the Roman Emperor Trajan stands in front of another magnificent section …
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A property deed signed by William Shakespeare and a near-perfect copy of the First Folio are on display as part of celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of one of the world’s most significant literary treasures
The City of London Corporation’s copy of the 1623 First Folio, which was owned by one-time Prime Minister, William Petty Fitzmaurice, and is now conserved at Guildhall Library, is one of the finest and most complete copies in the world …
The book was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death. It’s a collection of 36 of his works and was brought together by two of his friends, John Heminge and Henry Condell under the full title of:
Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. Published according to the true originall copies.
As a tribute to their friend, Heminges and Condell wanted to put forward the best possible version of Shakespeare’s plays, so they used original prompt books, quartos, and original notes to collate the final collection.
The title page has an engraving of the playwright …
This is an important image since it’s one of the few portraits of Shakespeare to have been approved by those who had known him personally.
The parish register containing the entry for the burial of Edmund Shakespeare, William’s nephew, is also on display …
In the exhibition you will see John Keats’s facsimile of the First Folio, in which he wrote two poems, including ‘On Sitting Down To Read King Lear Once Again’, and which is open to the play’s first page …
In March 1613 William Shakespeare and three associates agreed to purchase the Gatehouse of the former Dominican priory in London known as Blackfriars from Henry Walker for the sum of £140. The indenture of bargain and sale is dated March 10. The purchasers also agreed to the mortgage shown here, dated March 11, for the same property, in the amount of £60, implying that the buyers put up only £80 at the time of sale. The document is signed by three buyers, William Shakespeare, William Johnson and John Jackson. The place set aside for the signature of John Heminges is left blank …
The thrill here, of course, is that this document contains one of the only six Shakespeare signatures known to exist. Here it is ..
My image is not great so this is a screenshot of a better one from the Internet …
The heroes of the story of Shakespeare’s plays and of the First Folio are John Heminge and Henry Condell without whom most, if not all, of his work would have been lost forever.
They were both buried at the church of St Mary Aldermanbury which was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and then rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. Unfortunately it was gutted during the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls intact. Rather unusually, in 1966 the remains of the church were shipped to Fulton, Missouri, USA. The church now stands as a memorial to Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech made at Westminster College, Fulton, in 1946.
Heminge and Cordell, however, have been honoured with a splendid memorial on the previous site of the church …
‘TO THEIR DISINTERESTED AFFECTION THE WORLD OWES ALL THAT IT CALLS SHAKESPEARE. THEY ALONE COLLECTED HIS PRINTED WRITINGS REGARDLESS OF PECUNIARY LOSS AND WITHOUT THE HOPE OF ANY PROFIT GAVE THEM TO THE WORLD. THEY THUS MERITED THE GRATITUDE OF MANKIND’
Incidentally, the Heritage Gallery in the Guildhall Art Gallery is a bit of a hidden treasure with ever-changing displays of great interest drawn from the City of London collections and archives. It also boasts a splendid back-lit copy af the Agas map of Early Modern London …
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Five City churches are currently hosting an exhibition of reproductions of paintings by firefighter artists along with contemporary photographs from the London Fire Brigade archive.
The works are displayed on pop-up screens. For example, this one is at
You will find details of participating churches at the end of the blog along with opening times.
Here I am going to publish examples of some of the work on display, starting with my favourite, Driving by Moonlight, by Mary Pitcairn …
It depicts an AFS volunteer, Gillian “Bobbie” Tanner, at the wheel of a truck. She was awarded the George Medal for bravery and the citation read: ‘On the night of 20 September 1940, Auxiliary G.K.Tanner volunteered to drive a 30 cwt lorry loaded with 150 gallons of petrol. Six serious fires were in progress and for three hours Miss Tanner drove through intense bombing to the point at which the petrol was needed, showing coolness and courage throughout‘.
During the Second World War, women joined the fire service for the first time as volunteers in the AFS working in a variety of roles ranging from control operators to dispatch riders and delivery drivers.
AFS women despatch riders around 1940 …
A 1941 oil painting by Reginald Mills of Mrs Kathleen Sayer an AFS Station Officer …
The Women’s Division of the AFS had its own leadership structure.
After the war Hailstone had a very successful career as a portrait painter. A gregarious, outgoing man, he went on to paint the last officially commissioned portrait of Sir Winston Churchill in 1955 and later members of the Royal family.
Here he is at work as a fireman circa 1940 attaching a hose to a fire hydrant …
Resting at a Fire by Reginald Mills, around 1941 …
These AFS firefighters are surrounded by rolled up hose, resting in the back of an appliance vehicle which pulls a trailer pump, while their colleagues in the background continue to fight a fire. You can see a church spire in the background.
Bells Down by Julia Lowenthal …
Julia Lowenthal’s drawings and paintings gave remarkable insights into life inside the fire stations during the Blitz. Unlike most of her fellow firefighter artists she worked primarily in pencil and watercolour. Lowenthal was based in Kilburn and most of her surviving work is of colleagues in the station, and often at rest. Her watercolour sketch Bells Down refers to firefighters being called to action by bells in their fire station.
At the top of a turntable ladder in Eastcheap directing water into a blazing building, terrifying …
Also terrifying, Run! by Reginald Mills ..
There are examples of extraordinary works by Paul Dessau. In one set, four scenes show different stages of the battle to conquer the flames, much in the style (if not the subject matter) of a Hogarth series. Look closely and you’ll see a monstrous form in each panel. In the first stage, termed Overture by the music-loving Dessau, the bombs begin to fall and a smokey menace looms large over the City …
In Crescendo, the flames take hold as a fiery giant smashes down buildings …
Rallentando, as the name suggest, shows the beast tempered, its infernal form withered but still intimidating …
In the final scene, Diminuendo, the foe lies vanquished amid the smoking rubble, the firemen victorious. Yet the creature has untold siblings who will return night after night to challenge the city’s protectors anew …
Cannon Street – also by Dessau …
Aftermath of a bombing raid near Cheapside with St Paul’s in the background …
Rescuing Horses by Reginald Mills …
Red Sunday, 29 December 1940 by W.S.Haines. Haines was a member of the London River Service and unlike other firefighter artists he was not working in the tight confines of the City of London. This meant he had the opportunity for more panoramic pictorial compositions. Here you can see St Pauls Cathedral and the spires of City churches, through the iconic silhouette of Tower Bridge …
The London Blitz lasted from 7 September 1940 until 11 May 1941 and between 7 September and 2 November heavy bombing continued every night except one. More than 20,000 Londoners were killed including 327 men and women from the fire service with over 3,000 seriously injured. The Germans’ key weapon in the Blitz was the incendiary bomb, a device designed not to explode on impact, but able to burn at 2,500 degrees. Thousands of these were dropped creating fires that threatened to overwhelm the capital.
The firefighter memorial opposite St Paul’s Cathedral …
Part is dedicated to the women who died whilst serving in wartime. The lady on the left is an incident recorder and the one on the right a despatch rider …
Fire in the City is open now and can be seen in the following churches:
St Mary-le-Bow: Monday to Friday, 7.30am – 6.00pm. Open weekends on an informal basis.
St James Garlickhythe: Monday to Wednesday, 10.00am – 4.30pm, Thursday, 11.00am – 3.00pm, Sunday: 9.00am – 1.00pm. Friday & Saturday, Closed.
St Mary Aldermary: Tuesday to Friday, 7.30am – 4.00pm
St Magnus the Martyr: Tuesday to Friday, 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sunday, 10.00am – 1.00pm (Mass at 11am)
St Stephen Walbrook: Monday to Friday, 10.30am – 3.30pm
(Venue details may be subject to change so it is advised to check individual church websites for the latest information). The exhibition will move to a second cluster of churches from Monday 23 October until the end of November (with selected venues hosting displays into December).
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If you want a real treat, do try to visit to the Guildhall Art Galley where, until 12th November, you can immerse yourself in a world of exquisite craftsmanship and historical significance at the Treasures of Gold and Silver Wire exhibition. This dazzling display of over 200 items – from centuries-old robes to contemporary jewellery – forms the finest collection of gold and silver wire objects to ever be brought together in an exhibition. The entrance fee is £10 and you can book online for a timed ticket.
The highlight for me was the Bacton Altar Cloth (1590-1610), the only surviving dress worn by Queen Elizabeth the First …
I spent a long time gazing at its exquisite workmanship and trying to spot little details such as the depiction of animals stitched into the fabric (there seem to be quite a few caterpillars) …
The Queen is seen wearing a similar dress in her Rainbow Portrait 1600-1602 …
Here are just a few of the other delights on show. The exhibition signage is excellent and very detailed so I won’t attempt to replicate it here.
Queen Mary’s 1911 coronation dress …
The Queen’s 1977 Silver Jubilee Cope …
Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Glove and its informative label …
Royal Regalia …
‘The Most Noble Order of the Garter Mantle with Badge, Cordons and Hood’ …
A seventeenth century burse, or bag, for carrying the Great Seal of England …
Crowns of the Master and Wardens of the Girdlers Company (15th and 20th century) …
The arts are represented.
A costume worn by Darcey Bussell in 2004 …
The cloak and crown worn by Helen Mirren as Cleopatra in 1982 …
Charles Dickens’s Court Suit and his dress sword, 1870 …
The Military …
There are unusual and unexpected items too.
The Fishmongers’ Pall 1512-1530 – used for covering the coffin of distinguished Liverymen …
Some detail …
A piece of Oliver Cromwell’s dressing gown …
And finally, the David Shilling Commemorative Hat …
It’s definitely one of the most interesting exhibitions I’ve seen in years and my pictures can’t really do it justice (and they only represent a small number of the 200-plus items on display).
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Although I love my City expeditions, every now and again it’s nice to explore further afield and, for some reason, with me this usually means heading east. On this occasion I took the DLR to Limehouse and walked south.
On the way I passed Limehouse Basin, a navigable link between the Thames and two of London’s canals. First dug in 1820 as the eastern terminus of the new Regent’s Canal, it was gradually enlarged in the Victorian era and incorporated a lock big enough to admit 2,000 ton ships. The basin in 1827 …
Here coal was unloaded from ships to barges and until 1853 it was done entirely by human muscle power. Working in total silence, a nine-man gang was expected to unload 49 tons of a coal a day but, according to Henry Mayhew, they often achieved double that amount. During each period each rope man climbed a total distance of nearly 1 1⁄2 vertical miles — and sometimes more. This system was known as ‘whipping’ …
Congestion in the 1820s …
Congestion in the 2020s …
Instead of slaving shifting coal, people here are more likely to be slaving at nearby Canary Wharf.
Nice to see a bit of greenery …
Some horticultural humour …
Onward to Narrow Street, so known because once upon a time it was … er … very narrow.
Time to stop for a bit of refreshment …
The pub is partly owned by Sir Ian McKellen and has a really atmospheric ‘old boozer’ interior …
The terrace outside overlooks the Thames and from it you can see this mysterious life-sized figure …
It’s a sculpture by Anthony Gormley and is one of a series entitled Another Time. The artist describes the series as follows: Another Time asks where the human being sits within the scheme of things. Each work is necessarily isolated, and is an attempt to bear witness to what it is like to be alive and alone in space and time.
The seagulls have shown it little respect but he can be thankful that this one, perched just across the road, isn’t capable of flying …
You can see The Grapes in the background …
The sculpture was commissioned by the London Docklands Development Corporation in 1994 and stands in Ropemaker Fields, the park taking its name from the fact that rope was once manufactured in this district. The work by the artist Jane Ackroyd is mixed media in that the bronze figure of the gull is actually standing on a coil of rope.
The man from further east along the river …
Images from Dunbar Wharf …
The poor Gherkin can now only be clearly seen from the east …
Dunbar Wharf was named after the Dunbar family who had a very successful business at Limekiln Dock. The family wealth was initially from a Limehouse brewery established by Duncan Dunbar. It was his son, also called Duncan, who used the money he inherited from his father to build the shipping business that was based at Dunbar Wharf. The company’s ships carried passengers and goods across the world as well as convicts to Australia. The wharf, probably in the 1950s, showing lighters with cargo moored alongside …
Limekiln Dock …
This dock is a very old feature in the area. In the following Rocque map extract from 1746, the dock is to the right …
Rocque shows that on the southern side of the dock entrance was Lime Kiln Yard. This was the location of the lime kilns that as well as giving their name to the dock, were also the origin of the name Limehouse.
And finally, at the South Eastern tip of Millwall, near Canary Wharf, lie the remains of a great ship’s launch ramp …
SS Great Eastern was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Iaambard Kingdom Brunel and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the Thames. She was the largest ship ever built at the time and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling.
Her launch was planned for 3 November 1857 but ship’s massive size posed major logistical issues and, according to one source, the ship’s 19,000 tons made it the single heaviest object ever moved by humans! Since no dock was big enough, Brunel’s solution was to launch the ship sideways using cables and chains. Nothing had been attempted on this scale before, but Brunel was confident that his calculations were correct to allow the launch to go ahead.
This is the famous photograph by Robert Howlett of Brunel in front of the ship’s launching chains …
The ship under construction …
Because Brunel knew the launch would be fraught with difficulty he was keen to keep the whole thing low-key, however the ship company sold thousands of tickets for the launch and every available vantage point was taken on land as well as on the river.
The launch, however, failed, and the ship was stranded on its launch rails – in addition, two men were killed and several others injured, leading some to declare Great Eastern an unlucky ship. Over the next few days various investigations were carried out to determine why the ship did not move, and in the end it was decided that the steam winches were simply not up to the job of pulling the vessel into the Thames. In fact, it took another three attempts and three months to finally get the ship into the water on 31 January the following year.
Throughout the construction of the ship, Brunel kept letter-books, six large volumes into which every piece of correspondence sent or received regarding the Great Eastern was copied. These volumes are an amazing resource, effectively detailing the entire progress of the project and illuminating many of Brunel’s thought processes and his relationships with colleagues and suppliers. See this link to the University of Bristol Library.
Tragically, Brunel suffered a stroke just before Great Eastern‘s maiden voyage in 1859, in which she was damaged by an explosion. He died 10 days later, aged 53, leaving an extraordinary pioneering legacy behind him.
The ship berthed in New York in 1860 …
Read all about this great ship and its rather sad end here.
Beached, prior to being broken up …
Once again I am extremely grateful to the London Inheritance blogger for much of the historical information contained in this week’s blog.
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I think it would be fair to say that 22 Bishopsgate is ‘not everyone’s cup of tea’ and I too am rather ambivalent about it. Second only to The Shard in height, it dominates the City and stands at 278 m (912 ft) tall with 62 storeys. At an all-inclusive total of just over 195,000 sq metres, it’s probably the largest office building ever built in Britain. It even looks down on Tower 42, seen here in the foreground (and pictured later) along with The Gherkin and the Walkie Talkie …
The view of the building from Bank Junction and the Royal Exchange …
Last Saturday the viewing gallery on the 58th floor was opened specially for ‘local residents’ so, of course, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to look down on the City from a new perspective.
A nice surprise was to be had walking through the main reception area where special artwork has been commissioned …
I really liked these wall hangings …
Then onward to the lifts …
With ears popping, we watched the screen in the lift monitor our progress towards our destination, the 58th floor …
You walk out into a vast viewing area with rather disconcerting floor to ceiling glass (at least it’s rather disconcerting for people like me who are not mad keen on heights) …
The views are as spectacular as one might expect …
Looking down on Tower 42 you can see its original design replicating the NatWest Bank logo if seen from above (it was originally the NatWest Tower) …
Canary Wharf in the misty distance …
Next week I’ll be back down to earth, writing about my walk east along the river. Here’s a small sample.
Can you see the chap balanced on a plinth looking across the river …
Here he is again (rather in need of a clean-up, seagulls have no respect for art) …
More about him next week, as well as this ramp where, in 1857, a famous ship was launched …
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I was so hot recently that I didn’t really want to wander far and today’s blog is the result. I hope you will find it interesting nonetheless.
I visited churchyards where, in some cases, the church they were associated with no longer exist.
First up is St Olave Silver Street, destroyed, the plaque tells us, in the ‘dreadfull fire in the year 1666‘ and never rebuilt …
Another stone commemorates the churchyard being ‘thrown back’ due to road widening in 1865 …
It’s a nice, modest little space – very green and lush at the moment …
With a little font-like pool that I rather like …
Interestingly, the church was notable as the place where the bodies of those dissected at the nearby Barber-Surgeons Hall would be buried. Prior to the Anatomy Act of 1832, only the bodies of those executed for murder could be used for dissection. The bodies would be used for anatomical study and then interred at St Olave’s.
Shakespeare once lived nearby but that building perished in the Great Fire as well …
Wilfred Dudeney’s 1954 sculpture has been here since 2009. Commissioned by the Westminster Press Group, it represents the newspaper process with a newsboy (sales), printer and editor (or proprietor), and used to stand by their offices in New Street Square. When the square was redeveloped the Goldsmiths’ Company, as the freeholders of the square, relocated the sculpture here (they had to rescue it from a demolition yard). Look closely, the printer is grasping a ‘stick’ for holding metal type, and Dudeney’s name is in ‘mirror writing’ just as it would have been when typeset the old-fashioned way …
Just across the road is St Anne and St Agnes with its pretty brickwork …
And quiet, secluded garden …
Christchurch Greyfriars Church Garden is on the site of the Franciscan Church of Greyfriars that was established in 1225. Numerous well-known people, including four queens, were buried in the old church, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. A new church, designed by Wren, was completed in 1704.
In 1940 incendiary bombs destroyed the body of the Wren church, and only the west tower now stands. In 1989 a rose garden was established that reflects the floor plan of the original church with box-edged beds representing the original position of the pews with wooden towers representing the stone columns of the former church …
These blocks of granite are relatively new additions to the site …
Information about them …
The nearby sculpture celebrates the Greryfriars School’s success in educating youngsters from a deprived background and turning them into model citizens …
Actually, I think the street ragamuffins on the right seem to be having a great time …
St Paul’s Cathedral churchyard …
St Thomas à Becket lies in agony …
And some great news, the little pond outside St Lawrence Jewry has been renovated …
I hope they put in some fish.
And finally, near St Paul’s, is this the most expensive barber in London?
Mind you, there is complimentary Japanese Whisky and Beer!
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If you want to have a brief experience of the St Paul’s Cathedral crypt without paying to enter the Cathedral itself just make your way down the stairs to the Crypt Cafe. The entrance is opposite the Temple Bar …
Down below you’ll encounter some extraordinary monuments to deceased heroes. This is the one to Sir William Ponsonby …
‘Created in white marble, the figure of the dying hero rests against his fallen horse. He is nude except for drapery, and a broken sword slips from the fingers of his right hand. His shield is on the ground beside him. He looks upwards at a winged female figure in a classical tunic, representing Victory, who approaches from the left. She holds a wreath above him, and he reaches for it with his left hand’ …
You can read more about his background along with the gripping story of his final battle on the Waterloo Association website.
Nearby is this monument to two Naval heroes …
Both men died in the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen.
Riou ‘ … …was sitting on a gun, was encouraging his men, and had been wounded in the head by a splinter. He had expressed himself grieved at being thus obliged to retreat, and nobly observed, ‘What will Nelson think of us?’ His clerk was killed by his side; and by another shot, several marines, while hauling on the main-brace, shared the same fate. Riou then exclaimed, ‘Come, then, my boys, let us all die together!’ The words were scarcely uttered, when the fatal shot severed him in two’.
In 1799 James Mosse was appointed Captain of HMS Monarch, also under the overall command of Admiral Nelson. Mosse took a leading role, sailing from one end of the line to the other, whilst both firing and receiving fire. He was killed soon after adopting his required position, his last orders being to ‘cut away the anchor’. Like Riou, he was buried at sea …
If you look through the gates to the main crypt area you can just see in the distance the tomb of their commander, Horatio Nelson …
Here’s a picture I took on an earlier visit …
After all that death and drama you might like some of the images of flowers I have been taking!
Good corporate neighbours on Gresham Street …
Also on the same street, the Goldsmith’s Garden (the old churchyard of St John Zachary) …
A Goldsmith’s leopard guards the entrance …
Across the road …
Opposite St Paul’s underground Station …
Near St Paul’s Cathedral …
At Aldermanbury …
The Silk Street flower bed. From planting on 22nd June …
To a splendid display today …
Finally, three things I have seen from or on the Barbican Gilbert Bridge.
Water lillies …
Pigeons who don’t like the rain …
And, the weird contribution, what may or may not be a fashion shoot …
It’s definitely a fella …
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Have you ever paused outside Liverpool Street Station and looked across the road to admire this magnificent building …
Its Grade II listing describes it as a ‘lavish pastiche of Tudor gothic style in red brick and Portland stone’ and ‘lavish’ seems a very appropriate word. Built in 1888, it is a typical expression of Victorian civic pride with its original purpose still clearly visible 135 years later …
Sadly, however, beyond the arches there no longer resides the great engines and brave crews who used to keep Londoners safe but a retail outlet for Tesco.
Fire services in London emerged principally from the need for insurance providers to limit their losses through damage to property in the period after the Great Fire of 1666. Initially, each insurer maintained a separate brigade that only served subscribers until the foundation of an integrated service in 1833, funded by City businesses. A terrible fire in Tooley Street prompted a radical review of firefighting in London – read all about it in my earlier blog.
The first publicly-funded authority charged with saving lives and protecting buildings from fire was founded in 1866: the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), initially part of the Metropolitan Board of Works whose initials are still displayed on the building …
The earliest stations were generally plain brick and few pre-1880 examples survive. In the 1880s, under the MFB architect Robert Pearsall, fire stations acquired a true architectural identity, most notably in the rich Gothic style typical of Victorian municipal buildings such as Bishopsgate.
Let’s take a closer look.
The spandrels above the arches include the coat of arms of East Anglia (3 crowns) and Essex (3 swords) …
There’s also Kent (white horse) and Norwich (Castle) …
Plus the City of London (St George’s cross with sword of St Paul) and the Houses of Parliament (portcullis) …
From a distance you can admire the Victorian watch tower – literally for keeping a look out for fires from the top of the building …
Can you see the discreet Livery Company coat of arms?
Here it is in close-up …
The arms belong to the Goldsmith’s Company who probably own the freehold to the building.
I’ve been searching the archives for images of the Station in its heyday and here’s what I found.
The Station in 1907 (Image copyright London Metropolitan Archives / City of London Corporation)..
This 1904 picture isn’t of the Bishopsgate Station but it does show an interesting combination of horse-drawn and mechanical engines …
London’s oldest fire station was based in Clerkenwell but was closed down in 2014. Read all about it here in The Gentle Author’s blog.
This might be a good time to remember the bravery of individual firefighters and a Clerkenwell station ‘escape attendant’ called George Lee is commemorated on the Watts Memorial in Postman’s Park where brave police officers are also remembered.
At the inquest into George’s death the chief officer giving evidence declared that ‘after a very long experience he believed this was the greatest act of bravery ever shown by any fireman in the world’. There is a really comprehensive description of the event and George’s extraordinary courage here on the London Walking Tourswebsite. Incidentally, I’m grateful to Katie Wignall of the Look Up London website for inspiring today’s blog – the picture of the watchtower and the coat of arms are from her blog.
Finally, as regular readers will know, I do tend to pay particular attention to bollards and have devoted a blog to them entitled Bollardology. I couldn’t resist, therefore, taking a picture of these rather colourful examples at Citypoint …
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Every now and then I start noticing new shapes appearing around the City in addition to the fascinating Sculpture in the City project that I wrote about recently. Here’s my selection for this week. I’ll start with the largest and most colourful, Holly Hendry’s joyful work entitled Slackwater currently exhibited on the flat roof of Temple Underground Station. That’s what I like, sculpture that makes you smile …
The view from above gives a really interesting perspective (image by CoLab) …
Read all about it …
For over a month I watched the very careful erection of this extraordinary structure on Moorfields …
Commissioned in 2019 as part of The Crossrail Art Foundation’s public art programme for the Elizabeth line (with the support of Victoria Miro Gallery), Manifold (Major Third) 5:4is by British artist Conrad Shawcross RA. ‘It represents a chord falling into silence extrapolated from observations of a Victorian pendulum-driven drawing machine known as a harmonograph, which was instrumental in the birth of the science of synaesthesia. This sculpture is the physical incarnation of the mathematics within a chord’. So now you know.
A crazy oasis outside nearby City Point (EC2Y 9AW) …
Yummy colours …
And finally, have you ever noticed this chap? I often see him looking out of the window of the Chiropractic clinic. Like the Manifold sculpture he’s also on Moorfields, just off London Wall …
I presume he likes to watch the world going by when he’s not treating patients …
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I was a hospital in-patient recently and fortunately ended up at one of the best hospitals in the world, St Thomas’ in Lambeth (or ‘Tommy’s’ as us alumni call it) where the standard of care was outstanding. I’m pleased to say I’m fine now, thank you for asking.
One of the most extraordinary features of the place is the view from some of the wards. Here’s what I could see if I just stepped out of bed …
When I went back last week for a follow-up appointment I did a bit of exploration and was astonished and delighted at what I found.
I headed for the oldest part of the hospital and on my way, in the South Wing corridor, I came across these lovely tiles …
Created by the Royal Doulton Lambeth factory, they and others originally covered the walls of two of St Thomas’ childrens wards, Lilian and Seymour, which were opened in 1901 and 1903 respectively. Hygiene was a factor in the tiling decision but also, of course, the aim to give pleasure and amusement to the young patients. Here they are illustrated on two postcards …
In the Great Hall are commemorated important people who had a connection with the hospital …
She saw her 10 years as matron of St Thomas’s and superintendent of the Nightingale training school from 1955-65 as a time of great social change and was eager to relax the strict rules which she believed had governed nurses’ lives for too long. Encounters with Theodora Turner were seldom forgotten … Former students and nursing colleagues remember her sense of duty and discipline, her kindness and humour. The latter is, perhaps, most neatly encapsulated in her belief that her pet mynah bird, presented to her by sailors when working at Liverpool Royal Infirmary, was a foolproof burglar alarm because of its ability to mimic her laugh.
No prizes for guessing who this lady is …
Florence Nightingale greatly influenced the design of the new 1872 St Thomas’ Hospital with its innovative ‘pavilion style’ of seven large separate buildings connected by walkways. She recognized the importance of design for improving hygiene and health, and made careful calculations regarding dimensions and efficient use of space in hospitals. Nightingale proposed full-height windows at specified intervals in the wards, with the beds set between to encourage ventilation and allow air to circulate without creating drafts. She stipulated that clean and dirty areas should be separate so food and clean linen were stored at the ward entry with washing and sanitary facilities at the other end.
I saw this entrance and had to go and nose around …
Up the impressive staircase, which I presume dates from the 1870s …
A modern stained glass treat at the top …
I peeped into the dining room …
Above the staircase …
The Duke of Connaught (1850-1942) …
He was president from 1882 to 1932.
Back on the ground floor …
Truly Imperial (and maybe a bit imperious) …
Edward VI was the son of Henry VIII and his third queen, Jane Seymour. Born on 12 October 1537, he succeed his father at the age of nine in 1547 but never attained his majority, dying aged 15 in 1553. During the Reformation St Thomas’, as a religious foundation, was deprived of its revenues and estates and was closed in 1540. In 1551, Edward granted a charter for the hospital’s refounding which is why he’s commemorated here …
More beautiful stained glass on the way out …
I love the frog …
Outside the main entrance you’ll find this sculpture Cross the Divide by Rick Kirby (2000) …
There’s also this striking sculpture of Mary Seacole …
I was teribly disappointed this year when I had to miss the Whitecross Street Party. I read also that, because of inclement weather, it had been restricted to one day rather than two.
The party is a time when the brilliant Whitecross Street art is replenished and so it was with some trepidation that I visited again yesterday (when we finally had some sunshine!) to see what had been produced.
I needn’t have worried. Some old favourites remain and the new work is terrific. Here’s my selection but do go along if you can and see for yourself – especially if it’s a sunny day and you fancy some of the excellent street food that’s available lunchtime Monday to Friday.
And, as always, there’s some humour too …
Some of my old favourites that are still there …
And finally a tribute to our wonderful City gardeners who brighten up our streets and gardens. I particularly notice the beds in Silk Street since I walk past them almost every day.
From planting on 12th June to full glory on 3rd August with progress in-between …
Poor, lonely echinacea. ‘What am I doing among all these salvias?’
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I was browsing the British Sundial Society website (as you do) and it inspired me to look for examples of these elegant devices in the City. My research also took me on a bit of a journey around Spitalfields, which I hope you enjoy reading about.
Sundials measure local solar time, and were the only source of time for business and government before the invention of the clock, and even then were used to check clock accuracy whilst the mechanisms were still being perfected. The coming of the railways in the early 19th century meant that time needed to be consistently measured throughout the country, and this speeded up clock development. Sundials, however, survived in many places, and are still being manufactured today, serving both a practical purpose along with being aesthetically pleasing.
There are some fine examples in the City, measuring out the minutes using the shadow cast by the sun as it appears to move from east to west, reaching its zenith at mid-day.
On the corner of 107 Cheapside
Completed in 1958 for the Sun Life Assurance Society, the two dials incorporate the company’s sunburst logo.The south facing sundial has the letters GMT under the sun face and covers hours from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. The west facing sundial also shows the letters GMT in the bottom right corner of the dial and covers the hours 2:00 in the afternoon until 7:00 in the evening.
The building will be familiar to any of you who have had a chance to look at the signs of the Zodiac arranged around its main entrance and described my earlier blog Looking at the Stars.
Sundial Court, Chiswell Street
Once part of the Whitbread Brewery, this dial is now behind locked security gates but is still visible from the road. It is made of wood, with its motto ‘Such is Life’, dating back to 1771. Around the sides it has the interesting inscription Built 1758, burnt 1773, rebuilt 1774.
There is a late 17th Century dial on St Sepulchre’s, Holborn Viaduct.
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, junction of Snow Hill and Holborn Viaduct
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. Across the road is the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey) where once stood the notorious Newgate Prison. I wondered if the Newgate executioner might have taken the time from this dial to help him decide when to start the journey to Tyburn scaffold, along with his unfortunate condemned prisoners. (You can read about my recent tour of the Old Bailey here).
If you visit the church, do have a look at the corner of the churchyard where you will find London’s first public drinking fountain as described in another of my earlier blogs Philanthropic Fountains. You also get a good view of Lady Justice, atop the Old Bailey across the road.
Whenever I visit the Inns of Court I like to enter by one of the old gates in Fleet Street – it really is like stepping back in time, from the bustle of the City to the leafy, collegiate atmosphere of the Inns.
A Fleet Street entrance designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The Lamb and Flag is the emblem of Middle temple.
Lane leading from Fleet Street into the Inns
I read somewhere that Dr Johnson used to enjoy swinging round these supporting pillars when he was in an ebullient mood!
There are two fine sundials nearby.
Pump Court, Middle Temple
Reminding the lawyers of their mortality.
And in Fountain Court …
‘Learn justice you who are now being instructed’
The TWT refers to the Middle Temple Treasurer in 1684, William Thursby, a successful lawyer and later MP. He spoke of the study of law as ‘a rough and unpleasant study at the first, but honourable and profitable in the end … as pleasant (and safe and sure) as any profession’.
And now 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 finally, this dial in Fournier Street.
Once a Protestant church, then a Methodist Chapel, next a Jewish synagogue and now the Brick Lane Mosque
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 with the poignant inscription Umbra Sumus – ‘We are shadows’.
Typical weavers’ houses in Fournier Street
Driven out by the decline of the weaving trade and anti-French feeling, the Huguenots slowly dispersed and their church was for a while taken over by ‘The London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews’. Not being very successful, they moved out after ten years and the next tenants were John Wesley’s Methodists, who refurbished the building.
From the 1880s onwards, the East End population underwent another significant upheaval as thousands of Jews arrived fleeing poverty, pogroms, war and revolution. Many settled in Spitalfields and Whitechapel, close to where they arrived in the docks, setting up numerous businesses.
‘Ghost sign’ for Amelia Gold’s business, 42 Brushfield Street
Built in the 1780s, in the 1880s this shop was once the business premises of a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, a lady called Amelia Gold. Describing herself as a ‘milliner’ indicates that she was a very accomplished, professional maker of ladies’ hats rather than simply a retailer.
The famous entertainer Bud Flanagan was born nearby. His parents Wolf and Yetta (Kitty) Weintrop were Polish Jews who set off for New York in order to flee the pogroms. Sadly for them, a dishonest ticket agent sold them a ticket that only took them as far as London, where they eventually set up a barber shop and tobacconist.
12 Hanbury Street
By the late 19th Century the Methodists had left and the building became the Spitalfields Great Synagogue. However, as the 20th century wore on, many Jews were leaving the East End and the synagogue relocated to Golders Green in 1970. During the 1970s, the area became populated mainly by Bangladeshis who had come to Britain looking for work and often found it in factories and the textile trade. That growing community required a place of worship, and the building was bought and refurbished. In 1976, it reopened as a mosque, the London Jamme Masjid. Today, although it has been renamed, it still serves the Bangladeshi community as a mosque.
A while ago, The Economist ran an article about multicultural London and I would like to end with two quotes from it that I particularly liked since they reference the building.
Because it is a human entrepôt, Spitalfields remains one of London’s poorest and most conservative districts; but now, for the same reason, it is also among the hippest. When old men in traditional dress congregate beneath the mosque’s prophetic sundial, immodestly clad young women weave between them
And …
The mosque is a bricks-and-mortar correction to those Britons who think that immigration is a new and harmful phenomenon
Well said.
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With global warming and rising sea levels just how safe are you as you walk along Cheapside? Read on to find out.
The City contains many examples of signs that were once important but have now ceased to have the relevance they once did.
If you know Wood Street then you will be familiar with the tower of the old church of St Alban, left stranded in the middle of the street as a result of wartime bombing and subsequent redevelopment …
Whilst walking past it one day, I noticed this mark chiselled into the base of the west side of the tower …
Then, on a later date walking past St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside, I saw another one …
It isn’t so clear but if you want to see it look just below the notice boards on the Cheapside entrance to the church …
The mark is below the notice board on the left.
At first I thought they might be old War Department markers (see below) but didn’t think they were likely to be carved into churches.
I have subsequently discovered, to my personal surprise, that they are what is known as Bench Marks, and there are thousands around the UK indicating where the height above sea level has been calculated. Actually I have often wondered what was taken as ‘sea level’ since the sea tended to, well, go up and down. The decision was taken back in 1918 that the single reference point would be mean sea level at Newlyn in Cornwall. In its favour was that it was situated in an area of stable granite rock and the gauge was perched on the end of a stone pier at the harbour entrance where it was exposed to the open Atlantic. This meant it wasn’t liable to be influenced by the silting up of the estuary or river tide delays.
So now you know – Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN) is the national height system for mainland Great Britain and forms the reference frame for all heights above mean sea level. Bench Marks were made on buildings which surveyors believed were unlikely to be redeveloped or demolished – they would be the ‘bench mark’ for the surrounding area. Nowadays, however, satellites can measure this distance to the nearest few millimetres and Bench Marks are no longer inspected for accuracy.
The St Alban tower survived the Blitz as did the tower of St Mary-le-Bow …
The St Mary-le-Bow tower shortly after the war. Photo : ‘A London Inheritance’.
So you can feel relatively safe from drowning as you walk down Cheapside – by the ODN measurement the church Bench Mark is 56.269ft above sea level!
On the right below is an example of the sign I confused the benchmarks with …
Outside Trinity House, Trinity Square.
The ‘broad arrow’ mark is used to identify property owned by the War Department (which became the Ministry of Defence in 1964) and here it appears on a boundary marker. There are half a dozen WD marks in the vicinity of the Tower of London, all numbered like No 11 above (in ascending order they are numbers 8, 12, 13, 21, 28 and 29).
And finally, I always take a picture of ghost signs because you never know how long they are likely to last. Here is a selection …
A bit of history from the ‘old days’ before Big Bang. There is still a second door on the right but opening it no longer reveals dapper gents with pinstriped trousers perusing the Financial Times.
At the top of Lovat Lane EC3 are these old survivors …
A bonded warehouse held taxable goods ‘in bond’ until an importer redeemed them by paying the appropriate level of excise duty.
These printers, stationers and account book manufacturers were based in Wardrobe Place …
Another classic sign with smart shirt and cufflink …
This message on the wall of St Andrew by the Wardrobe is gradually disappearing. Eventually no one will know that the key for the fire ladder is kept with the Sexton at nearby 52 Carter Lane …
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In her right hand she holds a crayon ‘as drawing is the most essential principal in Design’. Her left hand holds a drawing board with paper pinned to it, which rests on her left thigh. Her left foot rests on an Ionic capital denoting architecture. Behind her to her left is part of a Corinthian column, on the top of which stands a bust of Pallas Athena, ‘as she was the patroness of both the useful and elegant arts’.
Behind the figure’s right foot, a small palette and brushes rest on the base …
Science is also by Farmer & Brindley. She is ‘of more masculine proportions than Fine Art, with a fine penetrating countenance’ …
Her tiara has a star at its centre and stars form the fringe of her robe. She holds in her hand the ‘Governors’ that were used to control steam engines. At her left side stands a tripod on which is placed a terrestrial globe encircled with the Electric Telegraph wire which is connected with a battery.
Around the top of the tripod are the signs of the zodiac ‘indicating Astronomy’ …
Beneath it lie compasses and a crumpled sheet of paper with geometrical drawings, one of them a demonstration of Pythagoras’s theorem (you also get a better view of the battery in this picture) …
She wears a crown of olives, ‘the emblem of peace’, and there is a decorative band of oak leaves on the fringe of her robe. ‘She turns to Providence with a thankful expression for a beautiful harvest’ and in her right hand she holds a sickle. Beside her left foot is a belt with a sheath, containing a whetstone.
Bursill also sculpted Commerce …
She is shown ‘advancing with right hand outstretched towards mankind in a sign of welcome, whilst in her left she proudly holds gold ingots and coin, the foundation of enterprise and Commerce in the civilized world’. At her feet to her right are two keys along with a parchment showing the City Arms representing ‘the Freedom of the City’ …
Farmer and Brindley are also responsible for the four winged lions …
I love these Atlantes holding up a balcony. They date from 2014 when the north east pavilion was rebuilt …
Here’s one in close up …
In 2013 the Viaduct was repainted and re-gilded with, at the request of the City Conservation Officer, ‘maximum bling’.
You get an idea of how well this was accomplished in this picture. It shows the re-gilded base of one of the lamps, a knight’s helmet and a City dragon …
There is a fascinating article about the work, particularly the gilding, here.
I hope you have enjoyed these two visits to the Viaduct. Again I have been plundering Dr Philip Ward-Jackson’s wonderful book Public Sculpture of the City of London for much of this blog’s detail.
As you know, I usually do a quiz at Christmas, but I thought it might be fun to do one now around mid-year.
The City livery companies and the City of London itself grew up together. Those working in the same craft lived and worked near each other, grouping together to regulate competition within their trade and maintain high standards. The early London guilds benefited their members and customers alike, controlling the manufacture and selling of most goods and services in the Square Mile. When some guilds introduced their own distinctive clothing and regalia – or livery – to distinguish their members from those in other guilds, they soon became known as livery companies. All have been granted coats of arms, some dating back to the 15th century, and many are displayed proudly on buildings throughout the City.
There is a nice little summary on the website of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers about livery company coats of arms. They say that the acquisition of a coat of arms by a livery company signified social status in the same way that a coat of arms was the badge of a gentleman: a visual affirmation of its permanence and distinguished heritage: a combination of a traditionally noble characteristic with merchants and craftsmen. The care and expense that companies lavished on the acquisition, preservation and display of their important documents and insignia suggest that antiquity and heraldry were important aspects of their sense of corporate identity, alongside processions, halls, feasts and clothing.
Over the last few weeks I have been seeking out some examples and photographing them, twelve of which are set out below.
Just for fun, do have a look at them and try to guess the trades and professions they represent just by looking at the arms and their mottoes. I have provided a few clues and the answers are at the end of the blog … some are more obvious than others!
1. ‘Ecce Agnus Dei Qui Tollit Peccata Mundi’ – ‘Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world’. A few clues. The angels are ‘crowned with stars in token of light’ and the company’s original motto was ‘things which are in dispute are made clear by the light’.
2. The Crest is a lynx – a short tailed wild cat whose fur was formerly held in great esteem. No one below the rank of Earl was allowed to wear it.
3. ‘Give Glory to God’ – these leopards have managed to change their spots
4. ‘Hinc Spes Affulget’ – ‘Hence Hope Shines Forth‘ – somewhere to shelter on your journey (and get a drink and some food)
5. ‘My trust is God alone’ – you may be on tenterhooks trying to work this one out
6. I don’t think a clue is needed for this one
7. The beehive is a good clue – and their product had purposes other than providing light
8. The trowel offers a strong hint
9. Their motto is ‘A blessing to the aged’ – I can vouch for that
10. ‘Throughout the world I am called the bringer of help’ – The horns of the rhinoceros and the unicorn were reputed to be of medical use
11. The motto is God is our Strength and if you look closely you will see four salamanders, the top two chained together. In medieval times they were reputed to be able to survive fire.
The final coat of arms belongs to an Honourable Company rather than a Worshipful one – a rare privilege bestowed on the company by King George V.
12. The ship is the Golden Hind in full sail and the Red Ensign flag and gold quadrant are also clues.
The answers are the Worshipful Companies of …
1. Tallow Chandlers : Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2SH
2. Skinners : 8 1/2 Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2SP
3. Dyers : 10 Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2ST
4. Innholders : 30 College St, London EC4R 2RH
5. Clothworkers : Dunster Court, Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7AH
6. Saddlers : 40 Gutter Lane, London EC2V 6BR
7. Wax Chandlers : 6 Gresham St, London EC2V 7AD
8. Plaisterers : 1 London Wall, London EC2Y 5JU
9. Spectacle Makers : Apothecaries Hall, Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6EL
10. Apothecaries : Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6EJ
11. Ironmongers : Shaftesbury Place, Off Aldersgate Street, London EC2Y 8AA
12. The Honourable Company of Master Mariners : 4 Temple Place, WC2R 2PG (the picture is of their coat of arms in All Hallows by the Tower, Byward St, EC3R 5BJ)
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As regular readers of my blog will know, Wren is one of my great heroes and I am delighted to report that he is being celebrated by a number of events in this tercentenary of his death in 1723.
You can read more about these here and about the man himself here.
My friends at the Guildhall Art Galley have put on an exhibition entitled Wren at Work and I visited it on Sunday.
There you’ll find numerous facsimiles of drawings and plans, such as this one by Wren’s brilliant and trusted assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor …
Here are some of the other images I took …
The labels are very informative (even if you have to get down on your knees to read some of them!).
The artist / cartographer Adam Dant has created a specially commissioned map which describes aspects of Christopher Wren’s life and times and this is also on display …
The exhibition is in the Crypt so, if you want to see it, you must pay to enter the Cathedral. Before visiting it, I paid my respects to the great man at his tomb – a plain monument in a quiet corner …
‘Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.’
Nearby …
A better image from the Cathedral website …
Here are some of my shots of the exhibition itself …
Wren is hauled up in a basket to inspect progress …
In a glass case you can see his ceremonial staff inscribed with his title ‘Surveyor to the Fabric’ (circa 1710) …
Along with his penknife and its case …
There is also a stonemason’s cap discovered during structural work in the 1920s …
A pair of dividers for measuring distance between two points on a plan or a map. Inscribed ‘Sir Christopher Wren, February 1697’ …
And alongside …
Faith Coghill, Wren’s first wife …
And a letter to her written by him …
Copy of a bust by Edward Pierce made about 1673 …
On my way home from the Guildhall Gallery I paused at St Lawrence Jewry to admire the lovely stained glass window that celebrates the great man himself along with Grinling Gibbons and Edward Strong …
You can read more about it and other stained glass masterpieces here.
Since this is a new Wrenaissance (!) why not treat yourself to a Walking Tour of his churches. More information can be found here on the City Guides Website.
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Whenever I’m stuck for something to write about the Guildhall Gallery often comes to my rescue.
I visited the little Heritage Gallery on Monday and what I found was very interesting. Rather than rewrite all the information on the plaques I hope you won’t mind if I simply reproduce them below.
Look at these fine fellows …
The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nicholas Lyons, and the Sheriffs, Alderman Alastair King and Andrew Marsden for the period 2022-2023.
The Mayoralty Charter …
In 1215 King John was faced with a major rebellion …
An etching of the Magna Carta seal which I found on the Internet …
Also on view is the Cartae Antiquae …
Dating from the 1400s, this beautifully illustrated book records charters and statutes covering laws enacted from the reign of Edward III (1327 onwards) to the accession of Henry VII in 1485. City officials used this book as an essential reference tool as they scrutinised statute and safeguarded the rights of the medieval City. There is a portrait of each king on the first page of the statutes for his reign; the page open shows the portrait of Richard III, one of the best known medieval monarchs.
In a nearby display case are prints of Coronations in the 19th century.
George IV on 19 July 1821 …
William IV on 8 September 1831 …
And finally Queen Victoria on 28 June 1838 …
As you leave the exhibition space and head for the exit, take a moment to inspect the David Wynne sculpture of Prince Charles as he then was …
He just doesn’t look happy, does he? Maybe he wasn’t too keen on the rather spiky modern version of a coronet that he is wearing here at his 1969 Investiture as Prince of Wales. It was designed by a committee chaired by his auntie Princess Margaret’s husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones (later Lord Snowdon). The globe and cross at the top was originally intended to be solid gold but the committee concluded that this would be far too heavy. The solution was to use a gold plated ping-pong ball – which is why I always smile at this portrayal of the Prince (and possibly why he doesn’t appear to have ever worn the item again).
In other news, the Barbican duckling population seems to have thrived this year. I haven’t seen the heron lately – could that be the reason?
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The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, known the world over as the ‘Old Bailey’, has opened its doors to the public for guided tours this summer and I visited last Saturday. You can book your own visit here and I highly recommend it.
The tour was conducted by two City of London Guides and an Officer of the Court and they gave us a comprehensive history of the building and its location from its time as a prison dating from the 1100s to the present day.
The site was originally the location of the notorious Newgate gaol – a terrible place of disease, death and despair. Here it is circa 1810 … …
The artist Gustave Doré captured its ghastly atmosphere in this portrayal of the exercise yard in 1872 …
On view in the tour are some gruesome artifacts from that time …
In 1783 the site of London’s gallows was moved from Tyburn to Newgate. Public executions outside the prison – by this time, London’s main prison – continued to draw large crowds. This painting by Thomas Rowlandson shows a public execution at Newgate in the late 18th century …
In the centre of the picture three people have been hanged. The area is crammed full of people who have turned up to watch. They even hang out of the windows, and are on the roof of, the building on the left. On the far right a street seller takes advantage of the crowds and is selling his wares from a basket. In the very centre foreground a woman sits on a man’s shoulders in order to get a better look. The last public hanging there was in 1868 and the last one behind its firmly closed doors in 1902.
There were courtrooms attached to the prison but as trials lengthened and the number of those seeking to watch increased in the late nineteenth century the courthouse building became increasingly inadequate. In 1877 a fire forced the City of London to act and proposals were drawn up for a new building. Owing to the dilapidation of Newgate Prison next door, which by the 1860s no longer held long-term prisoners, it was decided to demolish everything on the site to make room for a larger building.
After many delays, the new building, designed in the neo-Baroque style by E. W. Mountford, was finally opened by King Edward VII in 1907. It was lavishly fitted out and adorned with symbolic reminders to the public of its virtuous purpose. On top of the 67 foot high dome a 12 foot gold leaf statue was placed of a ‘lady of justice’ holding a sword in one hand and the scales of justice in the other; she is not, as is conventional with such figures, blindfolded …
Over the main entrance to the building figures were placed representing Fortitude, the Recording Angel and Truth, along with the carved inscription, ‘defend the children of the poor and punish the wrongdoer’ …
The entrance in 1910 …
You enter for the tour via the extension to the building built in 1972 and are then escorted to the old building by the guides.
The first thing you notice is the grandeur of the architecture. This is the circulating area on the ground floor …
Some of my images didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked so the following three are from an excellent blog published by Bryan Jones.
The main staircase …
The dome …
And the stained glass window …
My image from a different angle …
The building was significantly damaged by wartime bombing and subsequently restored …
These lovely murals were one of the results of the restoration work.
In the one above, reference is made to Edmund Hillary and the conquest of Everest. Here he is in the background …
And, guess what, the artist Gerald Moira has included himself as well. He’s the bald headed chap at the back holding his palette …
King John sets his seal to Magna Carta …
And my favourite …
And Gerald is here again, disguised as an old lady clutching a cup of tea!
Elizabeth Fry the prison reformer is commemorated with this statue …
She was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the treatment of prisoners, especially female inmates, and as such has been called the ‘Angel of Prisons’. She was instrumental in the 1823 Gaols Act which mandated sex-segregation of prisons and female warders for female inmates to protect them from sexual exploitation.
Also commemorated is one of the most important trial outcomes in Britain’s judicial history …
In what came to be known as Bushell’s Case, a landmark ruling ensured the future autonomy of English juries. It also had consequences for jurisprudence in North America, where Penn (incidentally a Quaker like Fry) inspired by the trial, incorporated Magna Carta into the laws of his new colony.
The highlight of the tour was, of course, a visit to the famous Court Number 1 followed by a trip to the cells …
It may be a courtroom but it is pure theatre, and remarkably small and intimate. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed, but I found this image of the court in 1911. The general layout hasn’t change that much …
Whilst standing in the dock (on the right of the picture), which we were allowed to do, I found it difficult not to think of the disparate people it has temporarily housed over the decades – for example, Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr, Dennis Nilsen, Peter Sutcliffe, the Kray Twins, William Joyce and Dr Crippen. Also poor Timothy Evans, wrongly convicted of murder, hanged in 1950, but eventually pardoned. And tragic Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK in 1956 …
Nowadays, given the evidence available of the abusive relationship she was in, she would probably have only been accused of manslaughter at most.
Defendants access the dock via hidden steps that emerge out of the bowels of the building and descend the same steps at breaks in proceedings or if found guilty – ‘take him down!’ the Judge declares, in all the best movies when sentence has been delivered.
Our guides related some interesting stories regarding famous trials and then we were ‘taken down’ ourselves to the warren of cells below where again pictures were forbidden. We were warned not to press the red buttons on the wall which are used if there is an ‘affray’. It automatically closes and locks all the cell doors and seals off the area – and keys are not kept nearby!
As you walk down the steps oak pannelling gives way to white lavatorial tiles and then white painted walls – there is no doubt you are now in custody even though you are still a ‘defendant’ and not a ‘prisoner’. Not surprisingly, it is a very disturbing experience, even for a temporary visitor. We then went on to visit a more modern court in the 1970s extension – there are 19 courts in all.
If you decide to take the tour I strongly recommend you buy this book beforehand and just have a browse even if you don’t have the chance to read it all …
Moving, thrilling and occasionally very funny, it was one of my most enjoyable reads over the last year.
Also underground on the site is the route taken by condemned prisoners on their way to the gallows …
Known as ‘Dead Man’s Walk’ I did smile when we were told that it was not open to the public due to ‘Health and Safety issues’!
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