A change from the usual programme, Kate booked our guide and
plenty of us signed up and paid our £14 for this very informative and
interesting two-and-a-half hour walk around the Square Mile of London. Sadly, Kate caught Covid and was unable to
attend herself.
I
thought I knew the City, but we were
taken down tiny back streets and alleyways to places I’d never seen before. Beginning
at St Pauls we were told how London was burnt down three times: by Bouddica, in
1666 and then in 1940 in the Blitz and a range of building styles and ruins
nest together mostly on the original mediaeval
street plan. We moved to Paternoster
Square, so called because the monks recited the Lords Prayer (in Latin) as they
processed through the space, ending up at ‘Amen Corner’. St Pauls survived the Blitz due to fire
watches, but not so the printing firm that occupied the site, and millions of
books went up in flames, leading to a shortage of printed material in the
coming 1940’s and 1950’s. A memorial to the flames is in the square, doubling
up as an air shaft for the underground carpark. Opposite, is the only original city gate, also
designed by Christopher Wren. It was moved from Fleet Street when it caused too
much congestion, sold, moved to the Chilterns, then returned to its present
site, framing St Pauls.
We walked briskly to the
corner of Newgate Street and King Edward’s street. The latter used to be called
Stinking Street because it was where the poultry was slaughtered in earlier
times. It was renamed because Edward VI
built St Bartholomew’s hospital, and school for orphans, near this site. Their uniform was blue, the cheapest bye. A lovely sculpture marks the spot. The school
moved to Sussex, a church was built in its place after the 1666 fire, and it was
destroyed, like so many churches, in the Blitz. With a population having shrunk
from 70,000 to about 7,000, there was already an excess of churches, and many
were not rebuilt. This one is now a pleasant garden.
We passed a plaque showing the site of the Guild of Poulterers,
then visited the gardens of St Botolph-without-Aldersgate Church. This was a
cemetery: a few grave stones can be seen against the wall between Brenda and
Hilary. The ground rose in mounds as more and more bodies were buried, and when
it rained, fingers and toes were exposed on the surface. Eventually they were exhumed and
moved to out of city cemeteries such as Highgate.
Around the corner is a monument to ordinary people who carried
out heroic deeds. Many lost their lives in fires or in drowning whilst saving
others.
St Botolph was the saint of
travellers: before journeys people would come to the church to pray, for safety,
then return to give thanks afterwards.
East to Noble Street, we looked at the remains of the Roman Walls.
The city was walled after Bouddica burnt the city down in AD60. Later the
Victorian built sweat shops above the foundations, then more modern buildings
came on top of that. All was exposed during the Blitz, and it has been left undeveloped with a plaque, the Barbican’s concrete edifices in the background.
Noble street used to be called Silver street because in the
opposite corner is the Goldsmith’s hall, where all silver and gold coming into
the city was weighed, checked for quality and Hallmarked’.
By the way, there are no 'roads' in the city because 'all roads lead to London'.
On Wood Street we came face to face with the City Police Station.
The square mile has its own 750 strong police force, with its own uniform,
separate from the Met. In the centre of the road stands the remains of a church
tower, now private residence. Often the towers remained when the churches burnt
as they acted as a chimney. The police woman grooming the huge horse was happy
to talk to us.
We turned down Love Lane, which used to be Brothel Lane. The
Victorians renamed several similar streets: e.g. Grope Street becomes Grape
Street, then we visited a tiny green square with the foundations of a church,
St Mary Aldermanbury.
Destroyed by fire
in 1666, rebuilt by Wren, this church was gutted in the Blitz leaving only the
walls. Winston Churchill, in 1946, gave a speech in Missouri about the Iron
Curtain. Missouri wished to commemorate this speech to mark its 20 year anniversary
and requested a memorial. The City of London had this church ruin it no longer
needed, so it donated it to Fulton, where it was transported stone by stone to
the USA much like London Bridge! Can you spot the statue of Churchill behind Christine?
We entered the square of the Guildhall.
We were heartened as we had been promised ‘posh
loos’ at 11 o’clock and also deduced that we’d be out of the North Wind for a bit. The
square was the site of a Roman Amphitheatre, discovered in 1980’s when the
Guildhall was to be extended to incorporate an art gallery. It was the largest Roman
Amphitheatre in the country and a ring of black tiles marks its extent in the
court-yard.
The Guildhall was the centre
of the city’s government and is designed to impress, looking very like a cathedral.
In the basement of the extension are the remains of the amphitheatre: the gate
way with small buildings either side where bating animals would have been held.
A wooden sluice was excavated, used for washing down the arena after the
slaughter, and also a sump. Here were many bones, trinkets and coins found.
We also were shown the painting to the Mayor
of London’s procession the day after Jack the Ripper’s 4th victim
was found. Hence everyone is looking sombre at what should be a joyous
carnival.
Nicely warmed we were back outside, to find the
sun was shining and the air temperature considerably higher. We walked down Jewry Street to
Cheapside. Jews were encouraged to move to Britain by William the Conqueror to
lend money to the impoverished country. However, they had special privileges,
were resented and expelled in the C12th,
not to return until the C18th . A synagogue was on this street, commemorated by a blue plaque. Cheap is the Saxon word for Market hence
Cheapside is derived. We diverted up a cul-de-sac to see the house where Disraeli
first worked (left), and past the Mansion House (below). This was is the Lord Mayor’s
residence and underneath are 11 prisoners, 10 for men and one for women. Famous
prisoners include Emily Pankhurst.
Opposite is the Royal Exchange. The grave of a very tall
man, 6ft 7”, is situated here from the time of the resurrectionists who coveted
his body: it was rumoured that medics were prepared to pay £2000 for his
remains. A guard was put on his body, and the problem was later solved by
building on his grave. Also on this
corner is the statue of Wellington. It was made from bronze from French cannons
and when the sculptor revealed his work he was mortified as the crowd called
out ‘But he has no stirrups!’ The sculptor committed suicide.
There is a maze of ancient alleyways off Cornhill (so called
because it had windmills for grinding corn). One of these leads to the original Simpson's Chophouse, mentioned in Dicken’s Bleak House. Workers would buy their meat on
the way to work, drop it off, giving the time of their 15 minute lunch break,
and when they arrived at the exact time, the meat would be cooked for them with
a helping of potatoes. It is still open weekdays and not for vegetarians! Around the bend was the Eagle, mentioned in
Pickwick Papers, then the Jamaica. This was the first coffee shop open in
London. They became a popular alternative to the pub for business men as ale
could lead to bad judgement for deals and the caffeine kept them alert. This
one specialised in trading from the West Indies, spices …. and slaves. Later there
were 7000 coffee shops in London. Perhaps there still are!
Next to Leadenhall Market. This sold cheeses and geese. The
geese would be driven here, their feet dipped in tar, and slaughtered on the spot.
The goose-hooks can still be seen on the left. One gander escaped slaughter and
was kept as a sort of pet and named Tom . He lived for 38 years! His carcass
was buried about where the white van in parked. More recently, it was the scene
of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter films: he bought his wand in one of the shops.
Finally we crossed the Thames and had lunch to the George
Inn, the oldest Gallery Pub in London. Afterwards, Tony took us for a tour
through Borough market (lots of street food and very busy) and Southwark
Cathedral before returning home.
