Churches – Page 3 – slightly weird

23rd July 202129th July 2021

The Royal Exchange and a quick stroll through Leadenhall Market

Friday, 23rd July (with the 13th briefly), 2021

The distance from Hackney to the Royal Exchange and Cornhill

On my second visit to Cornhill, I decided that with only one goal (St Peters) I’d start off with a visit to the Royal Exchange. I’m pretty sure it was closed for a while since it’s a collection of high end shops and a Fortnum and Mason’s restaurant. The view of and from the main entrance has always been one of my favourites in The City.

Reflections at Wormwood Street — Even before I’d got off the bus, I was engaged with this view through the bus window, a very clear reflection of the Old City on a New City glass front

I took the bus from Liverpool Street Station intending to get off just after the intersection, but the stop was quite a distance west. I stopped right outside the Bloomberg Arcade and it would have been tempting to spend some time there too, but if I don’t focus these days, my main destination slips my grasp. Best to hurry on, eyes averted from all the photo opps, and head directly for – in this case – the Royal Exchange.

Mary Harris Smith was an accountant and entrepreneur. She became the first woman to complete the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales qualification but was denied membership because she was a woman. This plaque is on the City of London Magistrates’ Court

St Stephen Walbrook, by Bloomberg Arcade

I almost did it but I chose to travel on the back streets – Bucklersbury, St Stephens Row and Mansion House Place – and got a tiny bit distracted along the way…

Hawksmoor’s St Mary Woolnoth – a clumsy looking church with a very ornate gilded gate. The site has been used for worship for at least 2,000 years. Partially destroyed in the Great Fire, it was repaired by Wren and rebuilt by Hawksmoor after it was found to be unsafe. It reopened in 1727. It’s used by London’s German-speaking Swiss community, and is the official London church of British Columbia, Canada

Lombard Street runs between King William Street and the Royal Exchange. It’s a lovely curved narrow street that I must look at more carefully soon

The Royal Exchange is a fantastic building. It looks so impressive and when I first stepped inside many years ago, I was surprised to see that it was really a shopping mall, but a high end one with Tiffany’s, Hermes, Aspinall, Jo Malone, and Fortnum & Mason occupying some of its space. This year it is celebrating its 450th anniversary.

There’s a lot of history in this building so here are some of the highlights.

The original Royal Exchange, a trading floor, was opened by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571. Thomas Gresham, an English merchant and financier, added two additional floors of shops to the original trading floor creating Britain’s first shopping mall in 1660. Only six years later the Great Fire destroyed the building and in 1669 a second site was opened this time with merchants and brokers. In 1838 it was again destroyed by a fire on Lombard Street. In 1844 Sir William Tite won an architectural competition to design the third (and current) Royal Exchange. He reverted to the original layout and included an imposing, eight-column entrance inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The building was officially opened by Queen Victoria in 1844.

To more modern times – in the 1980s, The Royal Exchange briefly became a trading floor again, and the roof was replaced. In 2001 the Grade I-listed building was extensively remodelled by architects Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, and was transformed into a luxury shopping and dining destination. Though an entirely different building from his original design, the modern-day The Royal Exchange pays homage to its founder in its gilded copper grasshopper weathervane – a symbol taken from the Gresham family crest.

Grasshopper! — The weathervane with a grasshopper, to honour Thomas Gresham (taken by Krish, the tall one!)

The Royal Exchange entrance is very beautiful — The entrance is very beautiful

If you stand at the entrance, there’s a great view towards central London. Right now it isn’t as wonderful as it was. So much is lost by Fortnum and Mason’s bow to the pandemic outdoor terrace and its patio umbrellas.

If the exterior is impressive, the interior is just as eyecatching, if not more. The F&M colour scheme rules these days and some of the shops haven’t reopened since closing for the first lockdown, but the overall effect is beautiful.

Fortnum and Mason tea in one of its boutiques

Looks so Italian! — If Gresham was inspired by Belgium, the overall feeling to me is Italian. I think I could be in a grand galliera in Milan or Turin

Continue reading “The Royal Exchange and a quick stroll through Leadenhall Market”

23rd July 202118th September 2021

A walk to Cornhill – 2: St Michaels and St Peters

13 and 23 July, 2021

Cornhill, first mentioned in the 12th century, is a ward and a street in The City. The street goes between Bank and Leadenhall Street. Cornhill is one of the three ancient hills of London, the other being Tower Hill and Ludgate Hill. This was the site of the Roman forum of Londinium, and later a corn market, which gave the area its name. Here also was the first underground public toilet, which cost 1d, creating the term ‘to spend a penny.’ Today, the street is associated with opticians and makers of things like microscopes and telescopes. To me, it’s just a beautiful street with some stunning architecture.

Finally we reached St Michael’s Cornhill, but before we went into the church, we wandered down St Michael’s Alley. At the bottom is The Jamaica Wine House, known by locals as The Jampot. The red sandstone building dates from 1869 and was designed in art nouveau style. Many of the original features are still here, On this site in 1652, London’s first ever coffee house opened. Samuel Pepys was one of its earliest patrons. There’s a lovely detail from the original coffee house, Pasqua Rosée. At the back there are medieval courtyards.

At the back, a glimpse of St Michael's Tower — At the back, a glimpse of St Michael’s Tower

With not much time before evensong begun, we went back to the church.

In front there is a beautiful war memorial.

The World War One monument — DURING THE / GREAT WAR / 1914–1919 / THE NAMES WERE / RECORDED ON THIS / SITE OF 2130 MEN / WHO FROM OFFICES / IN THE PARISHES OF / THIS UNITED BENEFICE / VOLUNTEERED TO / SERVE THEIR COUNTRY / IN THE NAVY AND / ARMY + OF THESE / IT IS KNOWN THAT / AT LEAST 170 GAVE / THEIR LIVES FOR THE / FREEDOM OF / THE WORLD.

St Benet le Fink and St Peter le Poer — The two parishes of Benet (short for Benedict) le Fink and Peter le Poer (thought to be a reference to the poverty of the medieval area) were united to St. Michael’s upon the demolition of the former church. But ‘le Fink’? Not sure about that

For those who love historical and architectural detail, St Michael Cornhill was built over the northern part of the great Roman Forum. It’s a medieval church with the original building lost in the Great Fire of London, leaving just the tower. It’s been in existence since 1055 and was under the patronage of The Drapers’ Company during the 15th century. The present Gothic Revival style church is attributed to architects Christopher Wren (there’s doubt about that), with Nicholas Hawksmoor between 1669 and 1672. The tower was designed by Wren and Hawksmoor in the ‘Gothick’ style between 1718 and 1722. It has twelve bells cast by the Phelps Foundry of Whitechapel. Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect of the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station, remodelled the interior in the High Victorian manner between 1857 and 1860. It has Tuscan columns and still has pre-Victorian features, with panelling and sculptures dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The Church escaped serious damage in the Second World War and the interior was restored in 1960, with the roofs and the nave of the tower being renewed in 1975.

There’s a very interesting organ in the church. It’s built so that two parts join at a 90 degree angle. The sound was very full, but the recording I made didn’t bring that out so I was disappointed. There have been some famous organists, some serving the church for many decades. The present organist has been there for over fifty years, a fact Krish and I found quite astounding. It must be humblng to sit at the organ and play on it knowing how many other hands have touched the keys and produced music. I’m a bit sad that my recording was so poor because it was an unusual piece being played. I did find this video online that may very well be the sort of music I heard – not your normal choral sound. It’s too bad that there is a focus on hands and feet and no pull back to see the organ itself.

In this photo you can see the right angles of the organ

Continue reading “A walk to Cornhill – 2: St Michaels and St Peters”

12th November 202015th November 2020

Moorfields and Old Street

Thursday, 12 November, 2020

I haven’t been to Old Street or Moorfields since lockdown, and probably for quite a while before that. I’ve had plans to get on a bus and walk around to see what street art has popped up. Somehow, I’d not made it there. This trip wasn’t going to achieve that either. It was dark, cool and windy, and the object of the journey was to keep Krish company on his latest visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital. He’s been a patient since July 2019 when his sight started to be strange after an episode of shingles during June of last year. Let’s skip over that story for now!

His appointment wasn’t going to last long, we thought (it lasted a few hours) and Krish had noticed that a huge Stik mural had been revealed during some construction. I wanted to see that. So the plan was that I’d wander around a bit and meet him after he’d seen the doctor. We took the 55 bus which goes along Mare Street, down Hackney Road, and across Old Street – a twenty minute or so journey.

An Instagram user told me a bit about this wall art —

That this ‘Shoreditch Past Present Future’ mural will be obscured by the Art ‘Otel is beyond irony…..they made a huge deal about how they preserved the Banksy when the old Foundry building was demolished but there were many other significant pieces of art in there that the developers had no interest in…..

It was hidden by a giant advertisement hoarding but occasionally came back on view for a few days/week as the ads changed. The new hotel is circular but there is a second building going up adjacent to the mural – not a high rise but we should all make the most of the current full view of this art.

So I’m glad I went to photograph it. I went there first in case I ran out of time. The light was already fading on a fairly dull day. I considered trying my original plan to go down Rivington Street and perhaps Great Eastern or even to Curtain Road to see some ancestor stuff John had told me about. However, the dark was encroaching and I thought instead I should meander over towards the hospital and see what I could see over there.

I headed down Leonard Street to Tabernacle Street, named for Whitefield’s Tabernacle a former church at the corner. The first church on the site was a wooden building erected by followers of the evangelical preacher George Whitefield in 1741. This was replaced by a brick building in 1753, and rebuilt in stone over a century later in 1868.John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, preached a sermon “On the death of the Rev Mr George Whitefield” here.

Moorfields Tabernacle Church — Moorfields Tabernacle – a rather large building on a narrow street

Pillars on Moorfields Tabernacle — The pillars of the church were elaborate but neglected

Then I noticed this through the railings — Then I noticed this through the raiings – Central Foundation Boys School (1865) – my mother attended Central Foundation Girls School and, funnily, this school is the beneficiary of The Dulwich Estate, where I once lived – link upon link

A surprise around every corner in London – often several!

Looking from the back streets — Looking from the old back streets to the modern Old Street buildings

It was so quiet in usually chaotic Hoxton. Most offices were dark and deserted. All working from home now.

I was feeling a bit hungry and, as the sun went down, I was feeling the chill. I walked up City Road towards the hospital – through the large roundabout I’ve always thought was so ugly. On the corner of City Road and Old Street is a massive red stone building that I’ve not usually paid close attention to. Today I would. Continue reading “Moorfields and Old Street”

17th September 202021st October 2020

A pandemic visit to Barts

Thursday, 17 September, 2020

Every year I go for a check up at the Sleep Clinic at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in East Central London. This year my annual check up was by phone but, on that call, they told me that they wanted me to come in and have a face-to-face appointment with a therapist to get a new machine and mask. In fact, I was welcome to send a representative but that would mean not choosing a mask myself. I decided to go in person.

I have to say that I was a little nervous about going – it was the farthest I’d travelled in months, and it was to a hospital. However, I thought I could make the best of it by taking photographs in the area. My wish list was Smithfield Market, which is under development for the Museum of London, the hospital itself, and a quick visit to Three Uncles Cantonese barbecue take out, on my way to the train. Krish thought he might come and wanted to see Charterhouse Square. I wasn’t sure he’d be coming until I was almost ready to leave on Thursday late morning. Yes, he was!

There are several ways to reach Barts, which is what most people call St Bartholomew’s Hospital, but we opted to take the bus which usually goes all the way to the door or to Barbican tube station, which is at the east end of the large area that Barts and Smithfield covers. Our bus was going only as far as St Pauls so Barbican it was.

It would be tough to find another area of London with more and varied important history. Another bout of research reveals so many dates and occasions, my head swims, but I tried really hard to stick to my route and focus! To be honest, all the buildings, plaques, and monuments were going to be more than enough to keep the anxiety at a reasonable level.

Approaching the Angel Area before turning down Goswell Road — Approaching the Angel Area before turning down towards Goswell Road, which leads into The City. So far, so quiet

Leaving Angel, with the Barbican estate looming

Crescent House on Goswell Road, my photo bleached by sunlight. It’s my landmark to start getting off the bus

Some of the towers of The Barbican estate

Two estates are dominant at Barbican – Barbican estate itself and the 1950s Golden Lane Estate. Golden Lane Estate comes first. (This from my brother: ‘The first building to be completed was Bowater House, off Fann Street, named for a Lord Mayor of London whose descendants we are related to.’) The most obvious building on the estate is Crescent House, which has a Tudor look so is very distinctive. The estate was built to house those who were bombed out during WWII. Crescent House was the last to be built. By then the huge Barbican scheme was already underway.

The Barbican estate deserves a blog of its own but I have no idea when that day will come. It’s a very complex site over a very large area. Barbican covers the area that was once the main Roman Fort of London (120 AD) – barbican , from Barbecana, which means a fortified outpost or gateway. It has 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses on what was a bombsite after WWII. While Golden Lane estate is a City-owned council estate, Barbican is an upmarket development, designed and built for affluent City professionals and their families, charging market value rents.

‘City Jam’ (Eley Kishimoto 2018) pedestrian cossing by the Barbican, part of the Culture Mile ‘Colourful Crossings’ art project

If you go to Barbican estate, you’d be impressed at its size (15ha) and variety of use. It contains the Barbican Centre (an arts, drama and business venue), the Barbican public library, the City of London School for Girls, the Museum of London, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. There are gardens, cafes, even arenas in there. What you’d also notice is the walkways, called ‘highwalks’ one to three stories above ground level. This separates the estate from the car parks and roads below. You can get lost walking about the highwalks – very entertaining. I wasn’t even going to try going in – it demands a lot of time!

Leaving the Barbican towers behind, cross the road and you’ll find Long Lane, which leads into the medieval area of Bartholomews. I love wandering around here, although today not everything is open. I could take a hundred photos here but today it’s just a handful.

Founders Hall, built in 1985 in the traditional style. The original (1531) was destroyed in The Great Fire. This building is the fifth Founders Hall. Founders? An early medieval guild formed to promote the interests of its members and to ensure high standards of quality and workmanship in articles of bronze and brass

The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, a medieval church founded in 1123

A cheat - The oldest house in The City — 41-42 Cloth Fair, Barbican. Built between 1597 and 1614, its the only house in the City of London to have survived the ‘Great Fire’ of 1666. This makes it the oldest habitable home in the city. I admit to cheating on this – I didn’t photograph it! How I missed doing so, I have no idea

Rising Sun pub, its alley leading to a view of Smithfield Market

And it’s on to Smithfield Market.
Continue reading “A pandemic visit to Barts”

25th August 20202nd September 2020

The German Hospital and Fassett Square

Monday, 24 August, 2020

Considering my goal to explore what’s close to me, I made a list of possible walks and places to see within a kilometre or two. When Krish asked me if I wanted to go on a walk, I told him I’d been wanting to revisit the German Hospital and Fassett Square.

They are actually really close by and have always been some of my favourite things in my part of this borough. So off we went.

On the way to the German Hospital are these two shops, an oasis from all the rundown and deserted shops along Dalston Lane

Madinah Road is a little gated street off Dalston Road leading to the German Hospital. At the bottom, this old house just inside the Madinah Road gate – not sure what it used to be

There’s a lot of complicated history to the German Hospital. It was founded in 1845 primarily to treat poor German-speaking immigrants in the East End. The Hospital occupied three houses converted from the Dalston Infant Orphan Asylum, and had 12 beds. When the North London railway came through the area, the hospital and its garden were separated so the governors built a new building in the garden. It opened in 1864. It now had 100 beds. By 1890 there were 142 beds, a new Sisters’ House was added in 1911 and a third block in 1912.

The nursing care provided by the Protestant Deaconesses inspired Florence Nightingale to visit the German Hospital twice before enrolling for three months’ training at the parent Institute for Protestant Deaconesses in Kaiserwerth, Germany.

The two world wars made things more complex for the institution. During WW1 there were strong anti-German feelings while the staff remained there. In 1931 the hospital had 161 beds and a new wing was built (now Bruno House) for maternity and children’s wards. This brought the bed total to 192. During WW2 things got more serious. Dr Otto Bernhard Bode, the head of the hospital in the 1930s, was a member of the Nazi party. All the German staff were arrested and interned as enemy aliens. English staff now took over.

After the war, in 1948 the NHS took over. There were now 217 beds. From 1974, it became a psychiatric and psychogeriatric Hospital, closing in 1987 when all of its services moved to Homerton Hospital.

The Grade II listed buildings were developed by Landmark Housing as affordable housing for those who earn less than £22,000 a year. I’ll take one!

Crossing the railway bridge, the Hospital is ahead

Now the entrance to the residences. The legend above the doorway reads “This Hospital was opened in October MDCCCLXIV by HRH the Duke of Cambridge President.” The Duke also opened the Lutheran church

Grounds of the Hospital with the former Lutheran church beyond

The Hospital's Chapel — The former chapel entrance with the legend ‘Christo in aegrotis’ (‘to Christ in suffering’) written above the stuccoed Tuscan doorway, now a flat

The side of the Hospital, now residences

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Just beyond the church is the former Hamburg Lutheran Church, now the Faith Tabernacle Church of God. It was built in 1876 in the German Gothic style and used by both staff and patients. The minister at the outbreak of WW2 was Revd. Schonberg, a fervent Nazi, who fled the country in 1939. It’s quite a lovely church.

Formerly the Hamburg Lutheran Church and now the Faith Tabernacle Church of God

Continue reading “The German Hospital and Fassett Square”