Only in London by Duncan J.D. Smith
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ONLY IN LONDON For those who never tire of exploring London LONDON, thou art of townes A per se. Soveraign of cities, seemliest in sight, Of high renoun, riches and royaltie; Of lordis, barons, and many a goodly knyght; Of most delectable lusty ladies bright; Of famous prelatis, in habitis clericall; Of merchauntis full of substaunce and of myght: London, thou art the flour of Cities all. In Honour of the City of London, William Dunbar (1465–1520) Above: Tiled motoring motif at Michelin House in Chelsea (see no. 74) Page 2: Toy ducks recall the so-called Winchester Geese buried at Cross Bones Graveyard in Southwark (see no. 87) Contents Introduction 9 NORTH BANK (E & EC) From the City to Clerkenwell 1 The Ruins of Roman Londinium 11 2 Traditions at the Tower 14 3 Monuments to the Great Fire 17 4 All Markets Great and Small 19 5 Britain’s Oldest Synagogue 21 6 Hawksmoor’s Rockets 23 7 The Biggest Brewery in the World 25 8 The Fantasy of Dennis Severs 27 9 London Unseen 29 10 A Hill of Bones 31 11 A Visit to a Turkish Bath 33 12 Where to Hold a Bar of Gold 35 13 Heroes and Villains 37 14 London’s Alternative Royal Family 39 15 Secrets of St Paul’s 42 16 The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths 44 17 Postman’s Park 47 18 A History of London in Eight Objects 49 19 Medieval Church Survivors 51 20 From Plague Pit to Pension House 54 21 The Legendary Knights of Saint John 56 22 A Corner of Cambridgeshire 58 23 An Historic Pub Crawl 60 24 C is for Cat 63 25 The World’s Oldest Debating Society 65 26 More City Church Survivors 67 NORTH BANK (WC) From the Strand to Bloomsbury 27 Everyone Enjoys a Cuppa! 69 Contents 5 28 The Most Extraordinary Office in England 71 29 Ghost Stations on the Piccadilly Line 73 30 Somerset House Revisited 76 31 Egypt on the Thames 78 32 A Closer Look at Trafalgar Square 80 33 Walking on Greta Garbo 82 34 An Art Deco Picture Palace 84 35 London’s French Connection 86 36 Theatreland 88 37 Mysterious World of the Freemasons 90 38 Sir John Soane’s Pasticcio 92 39 Waters, Walks and Gardens Green 94 40 Lenin and Marx in London 97 41 Foundlings and the Messiah 99 42 The Horse Hospital and Other Galleries 101 43 Strolling Bloomsbury’s Squares 103 44 The Treasures of Room 41 105 45 Pickled Toads and Dodo Bones 107 46 The Mummified Philosopher 109 NORTH BANK (NW & W) From King’s Cross to Mayfair 47 Harry Houdini’s Handcuffs 111 48 The Most Wonderful Railway Station 113 49 The Mystery of Baker Street 115 50 Worship beneath a Golden Dome 117 51 Bowling Balls and Cricket Bats 119 52 The Man Who Saved Millions 121 53 Execution in Mayfair 123 54 A Hyde Park Odyssey 125 55 Of Feedback and Fugue 127 56 A Lost London River 129 57 This is the BBC! 132 58 Sustenance in Strange Places 134 59 The World of Charles Dickens 136 60 A Buddhist Temple in Fitzrovia 139 61 Signs of the Times 141 6 Contents 62 Hotels with History 143 63 Shrines to Shopping 146 64 Eros and the Rebus Myth 149 65 A 20th Century Icon 151 66 For Members Only! 153 67 Banksy’s Falling Shopper 155 NORTH BANK (SW) From Knightsbridge to Westminster 68 A Wayside Miscellany 157 69 The Home of Geography 160 70 Orthodoxy in Knightsbridge 162 71 Quest for the First Computer 164 72 Building the V&A 166 73 In the Spirit of Darwin 169 74 Monument to the Michelin Man 171 75 In Praise of the Humble Shed 173 76 A Tour of Buck House 175 77 Septem juncta in uno 177 78 London Made to Measure 179 79 Bolt-holes for Bookworms 182 80 History Ahoy! 184 81 Whitehall Above and Below 186 82 A World Famous Front Door 188 83 Scotland Yard on the Move 190 84 Bombs and Bunkers 192 85 The Abbey on Thorney Island 195 86 The First Parliament 198 SOUTH BANK (SE) From Lambeth to Bermondsey 87 A Celebration of English Gardening 200 88 At Home with the Archbishop 202 89 War and a Little Peace 204 90 Goldfinger’s Crowning Glory 206 91 The Necropolis Railway 208 92 The Lady with the Lamp 210 Contents 7 93 A Tonic for the Nation 212 94 Mr Kirkaldy’s Testing Works 214 95 A Powerful Centre for the Arts 217 96 The Cathedral across the Water 219 97 History under the Knife 221 98 A Pint and a Play with Shakespeare 223 99 The View from the Shard 226 100 A Plate of Pie’n’Mash 228 101 Cayenne Court and Cinnamon Wharf 230 102 Tower Subway, Tower Bridge 232 103 Across London in Seconds 234 APPENDICES Opening Times 236 Bibliography 241 Acknowledgements 243 Imprint 244 8 Contents Introduction “No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), compiler of the first English dictionary* London is arguably the world’s greatest city. Commercially frenetic, culturally diverse, and historically engaging it contains myriad places to discover – and it’s good to know that the famous sights still retain a few surprises. Tourist hotspots aside there are many less well-known locations secreted in London’s crooked backstreets, each providing a hidden history of the place. Devotees, like Samuel Johnson before them, declare it is difficult to tire of London! This book is as much for the carefree stroller as for the determined city explorer. A few minutes’ planning with a good street map** will get the reader quickly off the beaten track – and under the city’s skin. This is the London of Roman ruins and sci-fi skyscrapers, eccentric museums and novel art spaces, ancient customs and living traditions. The journeys described in the following pages are the result of the author’s odysseys through central London – from St. Pancras in the north down to Westminster, and from Hyde Park in the west across to Tower Bridge. All are potential starting points from where readers can embark on their own voyages of discovery. Although no longer Lord Byron’s “mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping” London re- mains a city with one foot in the past, the other striding confidently ever forwards. Indeed London’s flair for reinvention has seen it rise above many grave challenges, from the Great Fire of London in 1666 to the bombing raids of the Second World War. From each era something tangible always remains creating the palimpsest that is London today. It is the author’s intention that the locations described will enable readers to acquaint themselves not only with the surviving treasures of old London but also to savour the delights of the new. Many of them lie within the City – known also as the Square Mile – on the north bank of the Thames. From Roman times to the Middle Ages this relatively small area containing St. Paul’s Cathedral constituted almost all of London; no longer walled it is now the financial district and was until recently home to the British press. In 1857 the many districts of Victorian central London were cor- ralled into half a dozen postal zones, and it is this convention that has been used to divide the material in this book. The City found itself in the eastern central zone (EC), which extends from the river north to Introduction 9 Clerkenwell, flanked by Spitalfields and the start of the East End (E). Immediately west and encompassing the area from Strand to Blooms- bury is the western central zone (WC). This is where London’s mer- chants relocated after the withdrawal of the Romans, and the site of a Victorian slum after they returned to the City. It is now home to the the- atres of the West End, universities, law courts, and the British Museum. Many no less intriguing locations occupy the zones beyond from King’s Cross to Mayfair (NW & W), a bustling grid of department stores, hotels and elegant Georgian squares sandwiched between Re- gent’s Park and Hyde Park; others lie in the south west (SW), with its major museums, embassies and royal institutions ranged between posh Knightsbridge and the City of Westminster, the heart of British government. Both areas have long been favoured by the well-to-do be- ing located away from the once overcrowded and smoggy City. Yet more locations are to be found south of the river in the south east (SE), including Lambeth, the South Bank, and Bermondsey. Once notorious for its bear baiting, brothels and debtors’ prisons this area is now home to some fascinating historical remains, as well as some of London’s most innovative visitor attractions. Whilst walking is undeniably the best way to explore London, red double-decker buses, black cabs and hire bikes are convenient, and the ubiquitous London Underground (Tube) is an adventure in itself***. Whether visiting a ghost station on the Piccadilly line, meditating in Soho’s Buddhist temple, searching for Florence Nightingale’s lamp, or tucking into a plate of Pie’n’Mash, it is hoped that the reader will expe- rience some sense of personal discovery, and thereby take away a more indelible memory. Happy Exploring! Duncan J. D. Smith, London & Vienna * Dates given after the names of British rulers are regnal years; those after other per- sonalities relate to their birth and death.