On Tuesday the 9th of February 2016 Dan and I set off for another walk from the London's Hidden Walks Vol 1 book. I met Dan at Liverpool Street for a coffee before we continued onto Blackfriars on the Circle Line.I almost went wrong straight away,before we started by getting onto the wrong train, lucky enough Dan was alert enough to prevent me!We left Blackfriars Station and saw a first for me a Flower vending machine!!
We left the station crossed the road and after getting our bearings crossed back over again. We passed the finish point of the walk The Blackfriars Pub and walked up Black Friars Lane.
Entrance to Apothecaries' Hall from Black Friars Lane
The Society of Apothecaries was incorporated by royal charter from
James I in 1617. The Letters Patent gave the Society the right to "have,
purchase, retain and appoint a certain Hall, or Counsel-House" in the
City, but it was 15 years before it could afford one.
Cobham House in Blackfriars was chosen. Situated in the precinct of the
former Dominican Priory of the Black Friars, the property had
originally been their guesthouse. The Society bought it for £1,800 in
October 1632 from the executors of Lady Anne Howard, sister-in-law of
Lady Cobham (who was the wife of the 11th Baron and daughter of Lord
Howard of Effingham).
Destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the Society immediately
set about re-building the Hall. Work was completed in 1672 and an
'Elaboratory' was included for the first ever large-scale manufacture of
drugs. This was located at ground level along the eastern side of the
courtyard, underneath the Great Hall.
A major restoration and building programme was carried out in the 1780s,
in part because of the huge expansion in the pharmaceutical trade
operations at the Hall. This resulted in a new west and south range to
the courtyard and additional premises behind the original, eastern
block. Formerly bounded by large iron gates on the western side, entry
to the Hall was now from the street through a central archway.
The Apothecaries' retail pharmacy, which had been located on the
northern side of the courtyard, gained a separate entrance on Water Lane
(now Black Friars Lane) in 1823. Its steps and wrought-iron railings
are still evident. The colonnade in the courtyard where the main door,
surmounted by the Society's Arms, is now located was enclosed in 1929.
The Entrance Hall features the main staircase which was constructed in
1670.
Although the Hall underwent major re-development in the 1980s, its
external appearance has altered little since the late-eighteenth
century.
It is the oldest extant livery company Hall in the City, with the
first-floor structure and arrangement of the Great Hall, Court Room and
Parlour remaining as re-built between 1668 and 1670.
We walk back down Black Friars Lane to Playhouse Yard. Blackfriars is named after the black cappa cloaks worn by the friars of the vast monastery that dominated the area from 1275. It was in this court that the divorce proceedings of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon took place in 1529.
In the 1590s James Burbage theatrical manager converted the former refectory building of the monastery into a playhouse, today Playhouse yard.
From 1608 the playhouse was used by the King's Men led by Burbage's son Richard. Shakespeare was a leading member of this troupe,both as an actor and writer.
This theatre had a roof unlike other London's playhouses and was used as an alternative to The Globe during the Winter months.
We walk up Church Entry on our left to a small garden containing some old gravestones, which stands on the old site of St Ann Blackfriars.
This church was built after the Monastery was shut down and was used by mainly a Puritan congregation, who complained about the disruption to their services by the Playhouse next door.
St Anns was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666,but was chosen not to be rebuilt.
We retrace our steps and walk into Ireland Yard. In 1613 Shakespeare bought a property here for £140. It was located within the old monastery gatehouse.
Going East on our left is another small garden containing the old graveyard of St Anns. This was used for burials until 1849.Below are the ruins of the old Monastery wall.
We head up Friar Street then along Carter Lane and on our right we find Wardrobe Place.
Wardrobe Place
is a little courtyard just off Carter Lane. This is hidden place in
London which feels like the streets were left untouched by the great
fire in 1666. This, however, is an illusion as they were all burned
down.
King’s wardrobe
established by medieval King Edward III – kept ceremonial robes of
state, on view just as crown jewels are today.
The
Wardrobe, originally housed within the Tower of London was where (as
the name might suggest) King's kept their clothes, and also armour and
treasure. It was moved in 1311 by Edward II to Lombard Street, then
later to the site where the group are standing, by Edward III. It's
currently a quiet little space populated by a few trees, offices, a
hotel and enclosed largely by 18th century houses.
In 1604
Shakespeare received 4 ½ yards of scarlet cloth from the Wardrobe
enabling him to attend state entry into London of James I. If
you have ever read any of Samuel Pepys' diary, the name might sound
familiar, as 'The Wardrobe' was the generic name given to the
surrounding area and one he mentioned quite frequently. Pepys
was a visitor to the Wardrobe on several occasions as he was required
to dress the part for attending Court. He must have been one of the last
people to visit before the Wardrobe was destroyed by the Great Fire.
Christopher
Wren did have grand plans for the rebuilding of London, much like what
had happened in Paris, but his plans were ignored. Much of then known
London was rebuilt without any alteration to the original street plan.
Houses, this time, were made of brick rather than timber. The
wardrobe, however, was not rebuilt. In 1709 the office of the Wardrobe
was abolished and the garden of the great house was converted into this
courtyard.
Back out on Carter Lane we pass the YHA here. After nearly 100 years as a school for choirboys, this Youth Hostel has loads of charming period features from the Latin paintings outside to the ornately carved front door.
We pass the Old Deanery in Deans Court on the South side of St Paul's Cathedral. Designed by Wren dating from 1670,today is the London Palace of The Bishop of London.
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604.
The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren. Its construction, completed in Wren's lifetime, was part of a major rebuilding programme in the City after the Great Fire of London.
At 365 feet (111 m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962. On 2 December 1697, only 32 years and 3 months after the Great Fire
destroyed 'Old St Paul's', the new cathedral was consecrated for use.
The cathedral survived the Blitz
although struck by bombs on 10 October 1940 and 17 April 1941. The
first strike destroyed the high altar, while the second strike on the
north transept left a hole in the floor above the crypt.The latter bomb is believed to have detonated in the upper interior
above the north transept and the force was sufficient to shift the
entire dome laterally by a small amount.
On 12 September 1940 a time-delayed bomb that had struck the cathedral was successfully defused and removed by a bomb disposal detachment of Royal Engineers under the command of Temporary Lieutenant Robert Davies.
Had this bomb detonated, it would have totally destroyed the cathedral;
it left a 100-foot (30 m) crater when later remotely detonated in a
secure location.As a result of this action, Davies and Sapper George Cameron Wylie were each awarded the George Cross.
Temple Bar was the principal ceremonial entrance to the City of London on its western side from the City of Westminster. It is situated on the historic royal ceremonial route from the Tower of London to the Palace of Westminster, the two chief residences of the medieval English monarchs, and from the Palace of Westminster to St Paul's Cathedral. The road east of Temple Bar and within the City is Fleet Street, the road to the west, in Westminster, is The Strand.
At Temple Bar the Corporation of the City of London formerly erected a
barrier to regulate trade into the City. The 19th century Royal Courts of Justice are located next to it on its north side, having been moved from Westminster Hall. To its south is the Temple Church and the Inner Temple and Middle Temple Inns of Court. As the most important entrance to the City of London from Westminster, it was formerly long the custom for the monarch to halt at Temple Bar before entering the City of London, in order for the Lord Mayor to offer up the Corporation's pearl-encrusted Sword of State
as a token of loyalty. The term Temple Bar strictly refers to a
notional bar or barrier across the route, but is commonly used to refer
to the 17th century ornamental Baroque arched gateway designed by Christopher Wren which spanned the road until its removal in 1878. Wren's arch was preserved and was re-erected in 2004 in the City, in Paternoster Square next to St Paul's Cathedral.
The main monument in the redeveloped square is the 75 ft (23m) tall Paternoster Square Column.It is a Corinthian column of Portland stone topped by a gold leaf covered flaming copper urn, which is illuminated by fibre-optic lighting at night. The column was designed by the architects Whitfield Partners and also serves as a ventilation shaft for a service road that runs beneath the square.It is sometimes referred to as the 'pineapple'.
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers) (usually known as the Stationers' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed as an organisation in 1403; it received a Royal Charter
in 1557. It held a monopoly over the publishing industry and was
officially responsible for setting and enforcing regulations until the
enactment of the Statute of Anne
in 1710. Once the Company received its Charter, “the Company’s role was
to regulate and discipline the industry, define proper conduct and
maintain its own corporate privileges.
Its members (Master, Wardens, Assistants, Liverymen, Freemen and
Apprentices) are mostly involved with the modern visual and graphic
communications industries which have evolved from the company's original
trades. These include printing, paper-making, packaging, office
products, engineering, advertising, design, photography, film and video
production, publishing of books, newspapers and periodicals and digital
media. The Company's principal purpose nowadays is to provide an
independent forum where its members can advance the interests
(strategic, educational, training and charitable) of the industries
associated with the Company.
The current building dates from The Great Fire Of London. Until 1911 every copy of publications had to registered here. Many of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets were registered here.
We walk back up Ave Maria Lane to reach Amen Corner and court.
Amen Court contains a number of 17th and 18th century houses,the clergy and other staff from the cathedral live here. The wall alongside was built high to prevent prisoners from Newgate Prison escaping. The court is said to haunted by the men who were executed here during its 800 year past.
We walk up Warwick Lane and up to Cutlers Hall. Home to the Cutlers Livery company since 1887. This trade traces its origins back to 1389, and once controlled the making of swords and surgical equipment.
The first headquarters of the College of Physicians were in Knightrider
Street, south of St Paul’s Cathedral. The next premises was at nearby
Amen Corner in 1614. This building was completely destroyed in 1666 by
the Great Fire of London and the RCP was rebuilt in Warwick Lane by
1674. In 1825 the RCP moved again to fashionable Pall Mall East.
Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate Street,was a church in Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Established as a monastic church in the thirteenth century, it became a parish church after the dissolution of the monastery. Following its destruction in the Great Fire of London of 1666, it was rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. Except for the tower, the church was largely destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. The ruins are now a public garden.
Both the church and Christ's Hospital and School was built on the site of Grey Frairs Monastery which was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538. The Great fire destroyed both the church ,school and hospital.
We head along Newgate Street to reach the Central Criminal Court, otherwise known as The Old Bailey.
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street on which it stands, is a court in London and one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court. Part of the present building stands on the site of the medieval Newgate gaol, on a road named Old Bailey which follows the line of the City of London's fortified wall (or bailey), which runs from Ludgate Hill to the junction of Newgate Street and Holborn Viaduct.
The Crown Court sitting at the Central Criminal Court deals with major criminal cases from within Greater London
and, in exceptional cases, from other parts of England and Wales.
Trials at the Old Bailey, as at other courts, are open to the public,
albeit subject to stringent security procedures.
Built in 1902 on the site of Newgate Prison. Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall.
The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in
1904. The prison was extended and rebuilt many times, and remained in
use for over 700 years, from 1188 to 1902.
Now we walk to the Viaduct Tavern, near the Old Bailey on Newgate Street. Opened in 1870 and was one of the best Orginal Gin palace to survive in London. It has a lovely ornate interior.
It's cellars are thought to have been part of Newgate Prison and can be visited by appointment. However the barmaid really didn't know what we were talking about and may have been new staff.
The Holborn Viaduct:
The pub’s name celebrated the opening of the Holborn Viaduct – as the
pub essentially lies at the east entrance to this section of roadway.
Construction of this viaduct- essentially a flyover and the first ever
in central London – began in 1863 and was completed in 1869, the year
the pub opened. It was considered a major architectural accomplishment
(it is still there today) and was opened by Queen Victoria. It replaced
the Holborn Bridge that spanned the River Fleet valley (though the
Fleet had long been taken underground).
Hangings were a public spectacle in the street until 1868, the year
before the pub opened. The condemned would be led along Dead Man’s Walk,
a caged walkway between Newgate Prison and the Court. It is claimed
that many were buried under the walk itself. The small water feature /
fountain across the street purportedly marks the place where executions
of prisoners occurred. Leading some to claim the pub is haunted by
spirits in the area.
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey. In medieval times it stood just outside ("without") the now-demolished old city wall, near the Newgate. It has been a living of St John's College, Oxford, since 1622 and is part of the area designated the "Newgate Street Conservation Area" (No.6) by the City of London Corporation.
The original Saxon church on the site was dedicated to St Edmund the King and Martyr. In 1137 it was given to the Priory of St Bartholomew. During the Crusades in the 12th century the church was renamed St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, in reference to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, by soldiers who passed by the church on the way to the Holy Lands.The name eventually became contracted to St Sepulchre.
The church is today the largest parish church in the City. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century but was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666,which left only the outer walls, the tower and the porch standing-. Modified in the 18th century, the church underwent extensive restoration in 1878. It narrowly avoided destruction in the Second World War,
although the 18th-century watch-house in its churchyard (erected to
deter grave-robbers) was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
St Sepulchre is named in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey".
The south aisle of the church holds the regimental chapel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (merged to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers), and its gardens are a memorial garden to that regiment. The west end of the north aisle has various memorials connected with the City of London Rifles (the 6th Battalion London Regiment). The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.
We take the wrong way out of thew church and turn right instead of left,a slight diversion but not too far.
We head back down the road to The Viaduct Tavern and then turn left onto Giltspur Street.
We pass St Bartholomew's Hospital on our right, also known as St Barts. Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died 1144, and entombed in the nearby Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great), a favourite courtier of King Henry I. The Dissolution of the Monasteries
did not affect the running of Barts as a hospital, but left it in a
precarious position by removing its income. It was refounded by King Henry VIII in December 1546, on the signing of an agreement granting the hospital to the Corporation of London, which was reaffirmed by Letters Patent
of January 1547 endowing it with properties and income entitlements.
The hospital became legally styled as the "House of the Poore in West
Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's
Foundation", although the title was never used by the general public.
The first Superintendent of the hospital was Thomas Vicary, sergeant-surgeon to King Henry, and an early writer on anatomy.
We reach thee Old watch House of 1791 on our left. It was used to guard against body-snatchers who took corpses from the Graveyard and sell them to the anatomists at St Bart's.
We reach Cock Lane, so called because of sordid goings on that took place here when it was the only licensed street for prostitutes in the medieval city.
On the corner of Cock Street and Giltspur Street is The Golden Boy of Pie Corner which marks the furthest West extent of the Great Fire of London.
The Golden Boy of Pye Corner is a small monument located on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane in Smithfield, central London. It marks the spot where the 1666 Great Fire of London was stopped. The statue is made of wood and is covered with gold. The building which incorporates it is a Grade II listed building.
It bears the following small inscription below it:
This Boy is in Memmory Put up for the late FIRE of LONDON Occasion'd by the Sin of Gluttony.
The main inscription, approximately 10ft below the boy, reads as follows:
The boy at Pye Corner was
erected to commemorate
the staying of the great
fire which beginning at
Pudding Lane was ascribed
to the Sin of Gluttony
when not attributed to
the papists as on the
Monument and the Boy was
made prodigiously fat to
enforce the moral he was
originally built into the
front of a public-house
Called The Fortune of War
Which used to occupy
This site and was pulled
Down in 1910
'The Fortune of War' was
The chief house of call
North of the River for
Resurrectionists in body
snatching days years ago
The landlord used to show
The room where on benches
Round the walls the bodies
Were placed labelled
With the snatchers'
names waiting till the
Surgeons at Saint
Bartholomew's could run
Round and appraise them
We continue up to West Smithfield.
Smithfield has borne witness to many bloody executions of heretics and political rebels over the centuries, including major historical figures such as Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace and Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants' Revolt, among many other religious reformers and dissenters.
Smithfield Market, a Grade II listed-covered market building, was designed by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones in the second half of the 19th century, and is the dominant architectural feature of the area.Some of its original market premises fell in to disuse in the late 20th century and faced the prospect of demolition. The Corporation of London's public enquiry in 2012drew widespread support for an urban regeneration plan intent upon preserving Smithfield's historical identity. William Wallace was hung drawn and quartered here in 1305.
In the Middle Ages, it was a broad grassy area known as Smooth Field, located beyond London Wall stretching to the eastern bank of the River Fleet. Given its ease of access to grazing and water, Smithfield established itself as London's livestock market, remaining so for almost 1,000 years. Many local toponyms are associated with the livestock trade: while some street names (such as "Cow Cross Street" and "Cock Lane") remain in use, many more (such as "Chick Lane", "Duck Lane", "Cow Lane", "Pheasant Court", "Goose Alley") have disappeared from the map after the major redevelopment of the area in the Victorian era.
Smithfield or, to give it its official name, London Central Markets,is the largest is the largest wholesale meat market in the UK and one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
Located within the Square Mile of the City of London it is housed in three listed buildings.
It is a place packed with history there has been a livestock market
on the site for over 800 years and yet is as modern as tomorrow with its
state of the art facilities for the receiving, storing and despatching
of meat and poultry.
Park opposite Smithfields Market
During the Great Plague of 1664-1665 Smithfields area was used as a burial pit for the victims.
Across the road is St Bartholomew The Great. The Priory Church of Saint Bartholomew the Great is
London's oldest surviving church. Founded in 1123 as an Augustinian
Priory, it has been in continuous use since 1143. It is an active
Anglican/Episcopal Church located in the part of London known as The City.
Originally known as the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and founded nearby in 1123, the Hospital Church of St Bartholomew the Less, just inside the hospital gates, moved to its present site in 1184. It was called the Less just to distinguish it from its larger neighbour.
Behind the scaffolding is a 13th century gatehouse with its half timbered house of 1595 on top, this leads through t St Bartholomew the great church.
We leave the churchyard out into Little Britain. At no 41 is an early 17th century merchants house that survived the Great Fire.
Here on Little Britain is where Pip from Dickens Book 'Great Expectations' comes to meet the lawyer Jaggers and describes it as a gloomy street. It is named after the medieval Dukes of Brittany who once owned a home here.
Postman's Park opened in 1880 on the site of the former churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph's Aldersgate church and expanded over the next 20 years to incorporate the adjacent burial grounds of Christ Church Greyfriars and St Leonard, Foster Lane,
together with the site of housing demolished during the widening of
Little Britain in 1880; the ownership of the last location became the
subject of a lengthy dispute between the church authorities, the General
Post Office, the Treasury, and the City Parochial Foundation.
A shortage of space for burials in London meant that corpses were often
laid on the ground and covered over with soil, thus elevating the park
above the streets which surround it.
The Lord Raglan pub is one of the oldest sites in the city. Rebuilt
after the Great Fire of London, it was originally known as ‘The Mourning
Bush’ but later changed to Lord Raglan. This magnificent pub still
retains much of its original features, including the remained of an old
Roman Wall in the cellar.
Probably founded in Saxon times the church stood outside the Aldergates entrance in the city wall. It was one of three churches dedicated to the Saxon patron Saint of Travellers.
The present building was finished in 1744. It is the work of George
Dance the Elder, who also built Mansion House, the official home of the
Lord Mayor of London.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century the interior of the church was
remodelled by J F Bentley, architect of the Roman Catholic Cathedral at
Westminster. He made the carved ceiling and added the decorative
plasterwork, created the chancel by adding the side screens, replaced
the gallery fronts with a pierced balustrade and replaced the large box
pews with the present seating. His work survived the bombs which fell on
this part of London during the Second World Wars. In 1941 a bomb
pierced the roof near the organ but failed to explode. Our Rector in
those days slept among the coffins in the Crypt, coming out onto the
church roof during air raids to put out incendiary bombs.
Thanks to our previous architect Mr Rodney Tatchell and MR J S
Comper, the church interior was greatly improved following a fire in
1965, notably by the creation of the Baptistry in the space under the
tower.
We detour into Noble Street, at the end is a small garden that stands on the site of St Olaves Silver Street.
St Olave, Silver Street was a church on the south side of Silver Street, off Wood Street in the Aldersgate ward of the City of London. It was dedicated to St Olaf, a Norwegian Christian ally of the English king Ethelred II. The church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.
Here on Noble Street are the remains of the old Roman Garrison Fort and the city wall.
Some time between 190 and 225, the Romans built the London Wall, a defensive ragstone wall around the landward side of the city. Along with Hadrian's Wall and the road network, the London Wall was one of the largest construction projects carried out in Roman Britain.
In addition to small pedestrian postern gates like the one by Tower Hill, it had four main gates: Bishopsgate and Aldgate in the northeast at the roads to Eboracum (York) and to Camulodunum (Colchester) and Newgate and Ludgate in the west along at the road which divided for travel to Viroconium (Wroxeter) and to Calleva (Silchester) and at another road which ran along the Thames to the city's main cemetery and the old ford at Westminster.
The wall partially utilized the army's existing fort, strengthening its
outer wall with a second course of stone to match the rest of the
course. The fort had two gates of its own—Cripplegate to the north and another to the west—but these were not along major roads.Aldersgate
was eventually added, perhaps to replace the west gate of the fort.
(The names of all these gates are medieval, as they continued to be
occasionally refurbished and replaced until their demolition in the 17th
and 18th centuries to permit widening the roads.)The wall initially left the riverbank undefended: this was corrected in the 3rd century.
Although the exact reason for the wall's construction is unknown, some historians have connected it with the Pictish invasion of the 180s. Others link it with Clodius Albinus, the British governor who attempted to usurp Septimius Severus in the 190s. The wall survived another 1,600 years and still roughly defines the City of London's perimeter.
We return to Gresham Street,on the right hand corner of Foster Street is The Livery Hall of Goldsmith's Company.
The Company, which originates from the twelfth century, received a Royal Charter in 1327 and ranks fifth in the order of precedence of City Livery Companies. Its motto is Justitia Virtutum Regina, Latin for Justice is Queen of Virtues.
The Company was established as a medieval guild for the goldsmith trade, and over time became responsible for silversmiths and jewellers too. Only those clothed with the livery (liverymen)
of the Company were licensed to trade such precious commodities within
the bounds of the City. Whilst this arrangement maintained standards, it
also became restrictive in an ever increasing global market.
The word hallmarking derives from the fact that precious metals were officially inspected and marked at Goldsmiths' Hall, the Company's HQ.
Today, the Company is one of the few Livery Companies still to play a
formal role in its ancient trade. Until the late 20th-century, the
Company retained paramount responsibility for hallmarking platinum, gold and silver, but successive parliamentary legislation has devolved much authority to Government departments.
Nonetheless, the Goldsmiths' Company oversees the London Assay Office, where objects made of precious metals are tested for purity, and then marked with an official symbol should they pass the necessary tests. At the Trial of the Pyx, the Goldsmiths' Company is also responsible for checking the validity of British coinage.
The Company has been based at this location since 1339, the present building being their third hall on the site.Little is known about the first hall. The second hall was built circa 1634-36 and restored after the Great Fire of London in 1666; it was eventually demolished in the late 1820s. The third and present hall was designed by Philip Hardwick. The hall is entirely detached,and occupies an entire block. Despite its great size, it is the second largest livery hall after the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers' Plaisterers Hall at One London Wall.
Across the road is another small garden that sat on another lost church, St John Zachary.
St John Zachary (meaning "St John son of St Zachary", i.e. John the Baptist)was a church, first mentioned in official records in 1181.Its vicar from May 25, 1424 to an unknown date was William Byngham, the founder of England's first teacher training college It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt,with its parish being reunited with that of St Anne and St Agnesby Act of Parliament in 1670 an arrangement that lasted until the 20th century.
‘A spontaneous desire has
been expressed by members of the staff to purchase a Spitfire for
presentation to the Royal Air Force’ declared Sydney Parkes, Chief
General Manager of Lloyds Bank, in July 1940.
Anxious to help the war effort, staff and directors clubbed together
to raise £7,000. They reached their target with ease. Parkes telegraphed
Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, on 6 August,
informing him that ‘The Directors and staff of Lloyds Bank will give a
Spitfire to our gallant Royal Air Force and would like it to be named
"The Black Horse" after our sign in Lombard Street'. It had taken just
six days to raise the money.
The plane was delivered to RAF Kinloss, in the north of Scotland, on
15 March 1941. It took part in patrols protecting naval convoys in May.
In July it began sweeps and escorted bombers to and from their targets.
It was during this time that it shot down a Messerschmitt over
Gravelines in northern France.
'The Black Horse' suffered a number of crashes during its lifetime
(belly landing when its undercarriage failed to deploy, engine failure,
and crash-landing in strong cross-winds). It met its end, however, on 12
July 1942, when it collided mid-air with another Spitfire. The pilot,
Sergeant W. J. Johnston, bailed out safely, but the plane was lost in
the West Country… until 10th July 2015.
As part of Lloyds' anniversary commemorations, TV historian Dan Snow
led a very special excavation to uncover 'The Black Horse' spitfire.
Widely reported in the media, the dig yielded some significant
discoveries including the plane's propeller, parts of the exhaust and
then, finally, the intact engine.
We leave the garden and back out onto Gresham Street, here there are many Chandlers.
Wax Chandlers
Wax Chandlers Hall is located in the heart of the City in Gresham Street on a site that the Company has owned since 1501.
Located in the Foster Lane Conservation Area, the current brick
and granite styled building is the sixth design of the Hall on the same
site, having lost previous versions
to the Great Fire of 1666, town planning and general disrepair. The
Hall is well appointed and has benefited from a recent refurbishment to
its interior.
Like many other livery companies, the Company acquired its Hall
as a permanent meeting place and somewhere to administer its affairs,
and these continue to be its main functions today.
We walk down Staining Lane to a small garden of St Mary Staining.
St. Mary Staining was a parish church. First recorded in the 12th century, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.
The first reference to it is to "Ecclesia de Staningehage" in 1189, probably deriving from a family from Staines holding land in the area of the church. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.Its parish was united to St. Michael Wood Street in 1670,.and later to St. Alban Wood Street in 1894, and finally St. Vedast Foster Lane in 1954.
Nikolaus Pevsner found a "few battered tombstones" in nearby Oat Lane.Since 1965 its site has been a City of London Corporation garden, containing a historic tree; an adjacent office block was built semi-circular so as not to damage it.
Near the garden is Pewterers Hall. The Pewterers’ Company is an ancient and continually evolving
foundation with medieval origins as a City Guild. The earliest
documented reference to it is in the records of the Corporation dated
1348 and the Company’s own records are extant from 1451. The first
charter was granted by King Edward IV in 1473. It is number sixteen
in the order of civic precedence among over a hundred livery
companies.
We take a pathway that leads through St Albans Court and into Wood Street. Here is the free standing Wren Tower in the middle of the road. Once part of the church of St Alban Wood Street.
St Alban's was a church in Wood Street, City of London. It was dedicated to Saint Alban. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt in 1634, destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt, this time to a Gothic design by Sir Christopher Wren. It was severely damaged by bombing during the
Second World War, and the ruins cleared, leaving only the tower.
Some argue that it dated back to King Offa of Mercia,who is believed to have had a palace on the site which included a chapel. Offa founded an abbey also dedicated to Alban in 793 and subsequently a number of churches were dedicated to St Alban in the City of London.
Horse box by City of London Police station and museum.
We now walk on through to The Barbican. The Barbican is Europe's largest multi-arts and conference venue
presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and
creative learning events. It is also home to the London Symphony Orchestra.
St Alphege or St Alphage London Wall was a church in Bassishaw Ward in the City of London, built directly upon London Wall.It was also known as St Alphege Cripplegate, from its proximity to that gate.
The earliest mention of this church dates to c. 1108–25, though it is said that it was established before 1068. The church was closed by Act of Parliament at the end of the sixteenth century and demolished.The London Wall was left standing. The site of the church became a carpenter's yard. In 1837
it was laid out as a public garden, which remains today, with a
preserved section of the London Wall on its north edge. After the
realignment of the road London Wall, that section formerly running past
the site of this church was renamed St Alphege Gardens.
The churchyard to the north of the London Wall was still open in 1677, but was subsequently built over.The last building on the site, using the London wall as its southern boundary, was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War.
This exposed the Roman city wall that the medieval wall had been built
on. When a new Salters' Hall was built on the site (opened in 1976), the area north of the London Wall was made into a garden for the Hall.
Remains of the old city wall, this entrance was known as Cripplegate. The Jews Garden until 1177 was the only place in Medieval London where Jews could be buried.
We walk up the steps into The Barbican Centre.
We exit out onto Silk Street, walking up to Whitecross Street.
Here we meet Whitecross Street Market. An array of foods from across the world. It smells lovely but I'm on a diet and end up with a punnet of strawberries, not quite the same!
Whitecross Street market is one of the
oldest markets in London. Located between Old Street and Fortune Street
in the south of the borough, this is a highly acclaimed haven of street
foods with a variety of other commodities in between and is very popular
at lunchtimes.
Types of products you will find are:
Variety of Street Foods – Hog roasts, Pies, Thai, Chinese,
Vietnamese, Indian, Moroccan, French, Turkish, Italian, wild and exotic
meats, crepes, cakes and sweets, delicatessens, baguettes, sandwiches
and salads, teas and coffees
Household Items– electrical & household items and mobile accessories
Women’s clothing
Hand crafted and silver jewellery
A quick walk down Fortune Street takes us to a plaque of where the Fortune Theatre stood.
The Fortune Playhouse was an historic theatre in London. It was located between Whitecross Street and the modern Golden Lane, just outside the City of London. It was founded about 1600, and suppressed by the Puritan Parliament in 1642.
The Fortune was erected as the second half of a substantial realignment of London's chief acting companies. In 1597, the Lord Chamberlain's Men had left, or rather been ejected, from The Theatre; they abandoned Shoreditch and in 1599 constructed a new theatre, the Globe, in Southwark. The Admiral's Men, then playing in the nearby and aging Rose Theatre, suddenly faced stiff competition for Bankside audiences.
At this point, the Admiral's manager Philip Henslowe and his stepson-in-law, the leading actor Edward Alleyn,
made plans to move to Shoreditch; Alleyn appears to have funded the new
theatre, later selling half-interest to his father-in-law. They paid £240 for a thirty-year lease on a plot of land between tenements on Golding and Whitecross Lane. They hired Peter Street,
who had just finished building the Globe, to make them a playhouse.
Street was paid £440 for the construction job; with another £80 spent
for painting and incidental expenses, the cost of the physical building
was £520. The total expenses for the project, including the securing of
property rights and clearances of previous leases, came to £1,320.Maintaining the theatre cost about £120 per year in the first decade of its existence.
Because the contract for the construction was preserved among
Alleyn's papers, a good deal more is known about the Fortune than about
the other outdoor theatres. The document also casts some light on the
features of the Globe, since Henslowe and Alleyn planned their theatre
with an eye on their rival's venue; many of the details in the contract
are for sizes equal to or bigger than the Globe's equivalent.
We turn down Dufferin Street, signs of this streets poverty stricken past become apparent.
The street is home to the Peabody Trust Housing Association buildings. Dufferin Court contains houses originally designed for costermongers including special sheds to house their barrows. The trust founded in 1862 by American Philanthropist George Peabody to help London's poorer classes.
We head left down Bunhill Row where there is Braithwaite House. Here the Kray Twins were arrested in their mothers flat by police on 8th May 1968. They were convicted of separate murders and imprisoned the following year.
It was in use as a burial ground from 1665 until 1854, by which date
approximately 123,000 interments were estimated to have taken place.
Over 2,000 monuments remain.It was particularly favoured by Nonconformists, and contains the graves of many notable people, including John Bunyan (died 1688), author of The Pilgrim's Progress; Daniel Defoe (died 1731), author of Robinson Crusoe; William Blake (died 1827), artist, poet, and mystic; Susanna Wesley (died 1742), known as the "Mother of Methodism" through her education of sons John and Charles; Thomas Bayes (died 1761), statistician and philosopher; and Isaac Watts (died 1748), the "Father of English Hymnody".
Wesley's Chapel is a Methodist church in London that was built by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. It is now a place of worship and visitor attraction, incorporating the Museum of Methodism in its crypt and John Wesley's House next to the chapel.
The chapel opened in 1778 to replace John Wesley's earlier London chapel, the Foundry, where he first preached on 11 November 1739. In 1776 Wesley applied to the City of London for a site to build his new chapel and was granted an area of land on City Road. After raising funds the foundation stone for the chapel was laid on 21 April 1777. The architect was George Dance the Younger, surveyor to the City of London.
Wesley died on 2 March 1791. His tomb is in the garden at the rear of
the chapel alongside the graves of six of his preachers, and those of
his sister Martha Hall and his doctor and biographer, Dr John Whitehead.A statue of Wesley with the inscription "the world is my parish" stands at the entrance to the courtyard.
The site also houses one of the few surviving examples of a gentleman's convenience, built by the sanitary engineer Thomas Crapper in 1891, and restored in 1972.
We were greeted by an lovely lady who was enthusiastic and offered to show us about. we declined, but she explained the history and we walked off to explore the chapel and museum ourselves.
A service was being conducted at the time, so we didn't enter the church itself.
Wesleys Grave
We walked back out onto City Road and passed the site occupied by the Honorable Artillery Company(HAC).
The HAC is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army and can trace its origins back to 1296. From 1538 to1658 it was based in Spitalfields,originally practicing archery on the open grounds before changing over to cannons.
First rule about FLIGHTCLUB, is you don't talk about FLIGHTCLUB
We pass a bland Finsbury Square laid out by George Dance the Younger in the 18th century.
Now we reach Moorfields. Named after the marshy moor that lay outside the city walls and was only drained in 1520s. After the Great Fire ,thousands on Londoners made makeshift camps on Moorfields. During this period it was a notorious haunt for highwaymen and prostitutes.
London Metropolitan University
We pass The Keats at The Globe PH. Dedicated to the poet John Keats. Keats was born in his fathers pub that stood on this site and lived here till 1804.
The Company, which was involved with the making of girdles (or belts), received
its Letters Patent from Edward III in 1327. While it no longer practises its
craft – although it has the honour of presenting the girdle and stole worn by
the Sovereign at each coronation – it remains a Company closely connected with
the government and Livery Companies of the City of London, the fellowship of its
members and various charitable works.
Long before they received formal recognition, the Girdlers were a fraternity
of craftsmen, associating for religious observance and mutual assistance, as well
as for guarding the secrets, standards and conditions of their craft. They received
royal letters patent in 1327 regulating the craft, and in 1449 were granted a Royal
Charter of incorporation. This enabled the Company to own property in perpetuity,
if it so wished, as opposed to mere lifetime ownership by its members.
The Company received a grant of arms in 1454. The arms embody three gridirons,
alias griddle or girdle irons. The crest is a figure of St. Lawrence the Martyr
who, according to legend, was burned to death on a gridiron. On account of this
punning allusion, St. Lawrence is the patron saint of the Girdlers, and the Company
has ancient connections with the nearby church of St. Lawrence Jewry-next-Guildhall. The members of the Company used to wear a distinguishing livery - a coloured
gown and hood, believed to have been of blue and gold.
The Girdlers flourished from medieval times until the end of the sixteenth century,
when girdles began to go out of fashion. Even in its heyday, the Company overlapped
with other crafts concerned with metal or leather and was at various times associated
with the Pinners, the Cordwainers and the Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers. Today
the Girdlers' Company no longer practises its craft, with the single proud exception
that it has the privilege of presenting the sword belt for the Sword of State
and stole for each Sovereign's coronation.
We follow the road through to Aldermanbury where we come to a garden of St Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury.
St. Mary Aldermanbury was a church in the City of London first mentioned in 1181 and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt in Portland stone by Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls standing. In 1966 these stones were transported to Fulton, Missouri, by the residents of that town, and rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College as a memorial to Winston Churchill. Churchill had made his Sinews of Peace, "Iron Curtain" speech in the Westminster College Gymnasium in 1946.
The footprint of the church remains at the junction of London's Aldermanbury
and Love Lane, planted with bushes and trees; to this footprint has
been added a memorial plaque placed by Westminster College. The gardens
also house a monument to Henry Condell and John Heminges, key figures in the production of the First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays and co-partners with him in the Globe Theatre.
Condell and Heminges lived in the St. Mary Aldermanbury parish and were
buried in its churchyard. This monument is topped with a bust of
Shakespeare. The remains of the church were designated a Grade II listed building on 5 June 1972.
Love Lane recalls its history as a red light district in medieval times.
We follow the map to walk beside the Guildhall, home of the Corporation of London and the centre of local government in the city for the past 8oo years.
St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall is a Church of England guild church, next to the Guildhall. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It is the official church of the Lord Mayor of London.
The church was originally built in the twelfth century and dedicated to St Lawrence; the weather vane of the present church is in the form of his instrument of martyrdom, the gridiron.The church is near the former medieval Jewish ghetto, which was centred on the street named Old Jewry. From 1280 it was within the advowson of Balliol College, Oxford.
Sir Thomas More preached in the older church on this site.
The City of London was under Roman rule for a fifth of its history.
Around AD43, the Romans established Londinum: within 30 years, they are
thought to have constructed a wooden amphitheatre, which received a
major face-lift in the early second century.
The remains where discovered during the redevelopment of the Guildhall Art Gallery
in 1985 and offer a fascinating insight into the bloody and barbaric
theatre of Roman London. More than 7,000 spectators sat on tiered wooden
benches in the open air to watch wild animal fights and the execution
of criminals.
It’s a reminder of a time when the police didn’t have radios and the
public didn’t have mobile phones (or, for most people, telephones in
their houses).
The red light at the top would be illuminated when the station wanted
the officer on the beat to call in for instructions. The ‘phone would
be in the top compartment of the box and a first-aid kit was in the
space below.
We follow on down Old Jewlry, where there is a plaque recalling the site of the Great Synagogue stood until closure in 1272.
We turn into Fredericks Place. A plaque outside no 6 commemorating Benjamin Disraeli who worked here as a clerk for a firm of lawyers. But was destined to become prime minister twice.
St olaves Jewly. The medieval church was rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire but closed in 1888. Only the tower remains.
We walk up Cheapside once the busiest street in Medieval London.
We reach St Mary le Bow. St Mary-le-Bowis a historic church rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666 by Sir Christopher Wren . According to tradition a true Cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of Bow Bells (which refers to this church's bells rather than St Mary and Holy Trinity, Bow Road, in Bow, an outlying village until the 19th century).
The sound of the bells of St Mary's is credited with having persuaded Dick Whittington to turn back from Highgate and remain in London to become Lord Mayor
.
Ordinarily, distances by road from London are now measured from Charing Cross but, before the late 18th century, they were measured from the London Stone in Cannon Street, or the "Standard" in Cornhill. On the road from London to Lewes,
the mileage is taken from the church door of St Mary-le-Bow. To note
the reference used, mileposts along the way are marked with a cast-iron
depiction of a bow and four bells.
We walk down to St Peter WestCheap. St Peter, Westcheap, sometimes known simply as “St Peter Cheap”,was a parish church in the City of London. It stood at the south west corner of Wood Street in the ward of Farringdon Within. Parts of the parish were also in Bread Street and Cripplegate Wards Of medieval origin, it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.
We walk back to St Mary le Bow and walk down into the surving Norman Crypt.
Bow lane
Ye olde Watling PH
As we continue down Bow Lane we pass St Mary Aldermary.
St Mary Aldermary is an Anglican church in Bow Lane in the City of London.
Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt from 1510. Badly damaged in the
Great Fire of London in 1666, it was rebuilt once more, this time by Sir
Christopher Wren, unlike the vast majority of his City churches in a Gothic style.
St Thomas the Apostle was a parish church in
in the City of London. In existence by the late twelfth century, it was
destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt.
Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) was a medieval merchant and a politician. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale Dick Whittington and His Cat. He was four times Lord Mayor of London,
a member of parliament and a sheriff of London. In his lifetime he
financed a number of public projects, such as drainage systems in poor
areas of medieval London, and a hospital ward for unmarried mothers. He
bequeathed his fortune to form the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington
which, nearly 600 years later, continues to assist people in need.Despite knowing three of the five kings who reigned during his lifetime, there is no evidence that he was knighted.
The church is dedicated to the apostle St James, known as 'the Great',
although the dedication in the fourteenth century seems to have been
jointly with his brother St John. The first known mention of the church
was in a will dated around 1100.
According to tradition, St James preached the Gospel in Spain and,
following his martyrdom in the year 44, his body was taken to Santiago
de Compostella in the northwest of the country, where it remained
undiscovered for almost 800 years. The cathedral built to house his
remains was second only to Rome as a place of pilgrimage, and the
scallop shell which pilgrims took home became the emblem of the saint
and can be seen throughout this church.
After the Great Fire of 1666, Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt the Church at
a cost of £5,357 .10s/ 10½d. The foundation stone was laid in 1676 and
the re-opening took place on 10 December 1682, although the tower was
not completed until 1717.
We cross over a bridge and head down to the Thames.
View across to The Globe Theatre
Millennium Bridge
We follow The Thames pass the Millennium Bridge and a plaque of Baynards Castle. Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in London, between where Blackfriars station and St Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard and demolished by King John in 1213. The second was a medieval palace built a short distance to the southeast and destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. According to Sir Walter Besant, "There was no house in [London] more interesting than this" The original castle was built at the point where the old Roman walls and River Fleet
met the River Thames, just east of what is now Blackfriars station. The
Norman castle stood for over a century before being demolished by King John
in 1213. It appears to have been rebuilt after the barons' revolt, but
the site was sold in 1276 to form the precinct of the great priory of
Blackfriars.
We walk up to Blackfriars Bridge and walk back towards the Station.
Historic Art Nouveau Grade II masterpiece of a pub was built in 1905 on
the site of a Dominican friary. The building was designed by architect
H. Fuller-Clark and artist Henry Poole, both committed to the
free-thinking of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Jolly friars appear
everywhere in the pub in sculptures, mosaics and reliefs.
t was built in about 1875, and remodelled in about 1905 by the architect Herbert Fuller-Clark. Much of the internal decoration was done by the sculptor Henry Poole.
Dan enjoying a pint of Deuchars IPA.
A pint of Doombar was had by myself while we took in the beauty of this pub. The Couple we meet earlier in the day doing the same walk were here also. Although they admitted to giving up on the walk and just visiting pubs!
A walk of about 6 to 7 miles in all. We left for the station and our journey home. This really was a cracker of a walk.
