Sunday, 19 July 2020
On Sunday morning, Krish brought up the idea of getting on a bus and going somewhere. He said maybe it would be quiet on the buses and we could wander around The City on a peaceful day. The City is dead out of office hours as a rule but surely now it would be even deader. I thought about it for a little while and then said yes, let’s go.
We took the 242, which goes along Kingsland Road, then turns down Commercial Street at Shoreditch High Street Station. We sailed past a very splendid new Dan Kitchener geisha art piece but stayed on until we went one more stop, where the crowd – if there is one – will have dissipated. And out we got.
We walked back a little bit to Christ Church, where I’d seen a cattle trough. I’ve taken lots of photos of the church but this time it was the trough and drinking fountain that caught my eye. The church itself was the first of three that Hawksmoor built between 1714-1729 and for me, it’s the landmark that dominates the area.
The trough and fountain are lovely. They were put there by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, set up in London during the 19th century to provide free drinking water.
We decided to get off the main street to head towards The Gherkin. I’ve walked along Toynbee Street many times but never past Middlesex Street. We saw very few people, but there were a few stalls set up at the top near Commercial Street.
I have absolutely no navigation skills. In London this is even more apparent than anywhere else. The streets are twisty and turny and I’m always sure I know where I’m headed until I (don’t) get there. Krish, on the other hand, even in a strange city will instinctively know where we are, and where we are likely to end up in any direction. Enviable. So, although I know the streets of The City pretty well, I confess I kept being surprised at where we were. I thought we had turned away from all sorts of streets and buildings only to see them right in front of me.
The City is curious. There is still so much of the Square Mile that has scarcely changed in a couple or more hundred years, but then there’s this new city that’s rising from the old. It’s not Manhattan, nor even Toronto but the buildings are tall and they’re springing up everywhere. The other thing I enjoy about London’s new buildings is how iconic and unusual they can be. Then there are the great nicknames – Brits are fond of renaming things. The Gherkin, the Cheesegrater, the Scalpel, the Shard, the Walkie Talkie…
First the old – I’ve gone past St Botolph’s Aldgate many times on the bus but have never stopped there. It seemed very picturesque among all the old brick and new steel and glass.
St Botolph’s without Aldgate is an 18th century church that lies outside the line of the city’s former eastern walls, a part of the East End of London. Saint Botolph was a 7th century East Anglian saint. He was the original patron saint of travellers. There are four medieval churches named for him, each by one of the gates to the City. This church dates from before 1066 but has been rebuilt three times, most recently between 1741 and 1744. The church has the UK’s oldest organ and on 1 January 1684, Daniel Defoe was married there.
Whenever buildings are going up, they excavate the site. This takes a long time since archaeologists swoop in and look for artifacts. As you can imagine, there’s little of London that’s not rich with historical treasures. MOLA – The Museum of London Archaeology – will have a space here to display what they’ve found on this building site. With its position at Aldgate (Old Gate) and close to St Botolph, I’m interested! (And now I don’t remember where this site was. Hmmm.)
These next photos show the mix of old and new once you start to venture into the busier part of The City. I can’t get enough of this contrast.
The maypole story was interesting. I found something a bit further along. Here is the replica maypole and the plaque, which saves me some typing!
There are many new buildings to photograph but I was running out of time and energy. There’s a lot here, but hopefully they are interesting.
But I always come back to the old. I love Leadenhall Market. Walking over from the Lloyds building along Lime Street, where everything is new and modern, the market comes as a wonderful surprise.
I love the fact we went into The City. I wish I had another hundred years and the patience for all the research. I wish I had the time to know all of it, but I never will. On the bus home, I felt quite anxious. At first things weren’t too bad but, as we went along, we gathered more people. I’d think twice about going so far again. If only I could walk like I used to, but I can’t. It was worth it for sure but I’ll have to wait a while to gather courage for another such journey.