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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