City of London walk 1

The next building you pass is even larger and was also a bank; in fact more than just a bank, it was actually the London headquarters of the Midland Bank and when it opened in 1924 it was the world’s largest ‘bank clearing house’. It has recently been converted into one of London’s newest and most exclusive hotels, with the unusual name of ‘The Ned’. I find it quite amazing the way in which a huge 11-floor Grade I listed building has been so tastefully converted into such a prestigious 250-bedroomed hotel and private members’ club.

Take the first right into St Olave’s Court – passing what used to be St Olave’s Church, dedicated to the 11th century patron saint of Norway, St Olaf.* It was destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666, rebuilt by Christopher Wren and then, for reasons I haven’t established, demolished in 1887, leaving only the tower and west wall. It’s now the offices of a firm of solicitors.

* Olaf II was Norway’s first Christian king. He reigned between 995 and 1030. At the time, England, like Norway, was part of Cnut’s huge Scandinavian empire. The English King Ethelbert fought alongside Olaf to beat Cnut and the invading Danes in 1013. After Olaf died in 1030, he became a Catholic saint. And I like the fact that he was known as Olaf the Fat (or Stout) – who says ‘fatism’ is just a modern thing?

You emerge into Old Jewry – directly opposite on the other side of the street there’s a plaque on the wall of the building explaining that until 1272 this was the site of the famous Great Synagogue, which was destroyed after the Jews had been expelled from England.

Turn left up Old Jewry and left again into Gresham Street, then first right into Basinghall Street (sometimes written with a double ‘s’, the name coming from the Bassing family who built their mansion here in the 14th century.) And as the sign on the wall explains, you are now in the Ward of Cheap.

Notice the old, church-like building on your left – when we turn left up alongside it into Guildhall Buildings you realise it’s not actually a church, but the Mayor of London and City of London’s Court, which was established here in 1921.

As you turn into the Guildhall Buildings, notice on the opposite corner the City Centre, which is managed by New London Architecture on behalf of the Corporation of London. It often has some very interesting exhibitions about the City.

Opposite the court are the offices of the City of London Police, and after just a few yards you enter the actual courtyard of the Guildhall.

This is one of the most historically important sites in the whole of the City of London. It is where for centuries the Corporation of the City has been based – and still is today. It’s a splendid sight, particularly looking across the courtyard at the magnificent Great Hall in the East Wing, which was restored in 1910 to its original 1738 design.

The more modern building on your right is the Guildhall Art Gallery, which opened to the public in the mid-1990s. It’s free to enter and open every day except Sundays. If you have the time, it’s well worth a visit. The upper floors are predominately given over to an excellent collection of paintings, but what I find particularly fascinating is the ‘basement’, where the remains of the Roman amphitheatre were discovered. It is quite amazing how, by using some of the original stones, a part of the amphitheatre has been ‘re-created’. As I say, it’s definitely worth seeing if you have time.

Leave the courtyard via the lane that runs down the side of St Lawrence Jewry Church. (On the opposite side of the courtyard from the Guildhall – notice the old police telephone box on your right).

At the end turn right along Gresham Street – and on the wall of the church, there’s another plaque reminding us we are still in the ‘Ward of Cheap’. All of these Ward noticeboards (there are twenty-five Wards in the City) list the names of the ‘Common Councillors and Ward Clerks’. But notice the names – rarely do you see ‘common’ or everyday names such as Fred Smith or Bob Jones here!

If the main door (known as the West Door) of St Lawrence Jewry Church is open, which it normally is on weekdays, then take a look inside. There are usually coffee and refreshments available – and very nice loos! (As with many city churches, it’s often closed at weekends.)

Leave the garden via the opposite end from which you entered and walk on down Love Lane – it’s very short and runs alongside the City of London police station. At the end is Wood Street and you can’t fail to see the tower that stands in the middle. It’s all that’s left of St Alban’s Church, whose origins date back to the time of King Offa of Mercia who is said to have had a palace here. It had fallen into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1634, but just thirty years later it was destroyed in the Great Fire. It was rebuilt by Christopher Wren, (what a busy man he must have been!) but this time in a Gothic style. Sadly it was yet another city church subsequently destroyed by bombs in the Second World War, leaving just the Grade II listed tower that you still see today.

Cross Wood Street. Directly opposite, underneath a large office building, is a lane called St Alban’s Court, which we walk up next. (The ‘modernistic’ looking building at the right-hand end of Wood Street is part of the Barbican – a huge complex that some people love, and others hate – personally, I really like it and I will be including it in another walk).

At the end of St Alban’s Court, walk up the steps and continue past the little garden that’s built on the site of St Mary Staining, another old church that was destroyed in the Great Fire and wasn’t rebuilt. (The name Staining comes from a family from Staines in Middlesex who owned considerable property in this area.) The first reference to the church was in 1187 when it was referred to as Ecclesia de Staningehuge.

Continue ahead into Oat Lane, passing the red brick hall of another livery company, this time the Worshipful Company of Pewterers. It was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt in 1960.

At the top of Oat Lane, there’s a sign on the right-hand side that tells us that from 1703 to 1940, this was the site of the of the Coachmakers’ livery hall, another victim of the bombing during the Second World War. Whilst the company is no longer involved in its original trade of supporting members who were the manufactures of horse-drawn coaches, it still thrives, thanks to the support of new members who are drawn from those employed in the automobile and aviation industries. Progress indeed!

You are now in Noble Street – in front of you is a really fascinating viewing platform, so I suggest you start at the left-hand side and walk its full length as it allows you to see one of the best-preserved sections of the original Roman Wall.

At the end of the Noble Street viewing walkway, the tiny garden on the right was the site of ‘St Olave Silver Street’ – notice the sign set into the low wall that says that it was also the site of the house of Chris and Mary Mountjoy, where Shakespeare lodged in 1604.

Turn to the left and walk along London Wall – the modern building above you on your right houses the Museum of London. It’s definitely worth seeing as some of the attractions are excellent, but you can easily spend many hours in this fascinating museum, so you may prefer to visit on another occasion. An escalator on your left gives access to the museum – and a plaque in the wall explains that this was once the site of St Mark’s Hospital, founded by Frederick Salmon in 1835.

London Wall now becomes Aldersgate Street, but only for a hundred yards before it changes to St Martin’s le Grand.

Cross over at the pedestrian crossing and in front of you is the Church of St Botolph without Aldersgate.

The entrance to St Botolph Church is on the right in Postman’s Park – a delightful little public space that’s very popular with city workers, especially in summer when the flowerbeds can look particularly attractive. Originally it was the churchyard and burial ground of the church, but later also incorporated the burial grounds of the nearby St Leonards and Christ Church Greyfriars. The reason the park is a little higher than the surrounding streets is because a shortage of burial places in the City meant corpses were often just laid on the ground and covered with soil – thus raising the levels.

Turn to the right and walk down Gutter Lane, which runs between the Goldsmiths’ Hall and the outwardly more impressive Hall of the Wax Chandlers. Their building is the seventh on the site, the first being built in 1501. Although considerably smaller than the Goldsmiths next door, I like it.

Another livery company’s hall – The Haberdashers – used to be opposite but they have moved to new premises close to Smithfield Market.

As you walk down Gutter Lane, you’ll see the Assay Office on the side of the Goldsmiths’ Hall.

Pass Carey Lane on your right and turn right into Priest Court – the ‘lane’ that goes under a large office building.

The building on the left side is another livery company’s hall – this time the Worshipful Company of Saddlers. It’s a lovely building and worth taking a look at its front before walking up the lane – (you can see the rear of it as you walk through.) The modern office building on the other corner of Priest’s Court was once the hall of the Worshipful Company of Broderers. Built in the 17th century, it was destroyed by bombs in 1941 and never rebuilt. They now use the Hall of the Mercers for their official events. And ‘Broderers’? As the name might indicate, they were embroiders, and although they are now one of the smaller of the livery companies, they still support and have close links with the Royal School of Needlework, making awards to encourage proficiency in embroidery amongst students.

At the end of Priests Court, turn left into Foster Lane and just a few yards along, immediately before St Vedast-alias-Foster church, is a doorway that leads into its tiny churchyard. A plaque inside the entrance contains part of a Roman pavement found beneath a nearby church that was demolished 1886.

The church itself is rather lovely and worth popping in for a look. I like the ‘Book of the Sick’ that you see displayed and which visitors are able to add names to. It is placed on the High Altar during Eucharistic prayer and Sunday services.