City

London Explained – Freedom of the City of London…

by exploringlondon

On 1st December this year – World AIDS Day, four leading figures from two major HIV charities – Richard Angell, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, and colleagues Dominic Edwardes and Barbara Tinubu, and Mark Santos, executive director of Positive East – were awarded the Freedom of the City of London.

But what exactly does it mean to be awarded the Freedom of the City of London?

An ancient tradition of the City of London, the Freedom is believed to date back to 1237 and was originally awarded to help citizens carry out their trade. The recipient was viewed as a “free man” and not subject to a feudal lord with the right to earn money for themselves and own property.

The Freedom of the City became closely linked with London’s medieval guilds, known as livery companies, and it was through membership of such a company that an application could be made to be a freeman, a necessary step for anyone who wants to hold office in a livery company.

In 1835, the Freedom was widened to include people living or working in the City or those with a strong London connection.

The award is these days also offered to people as a way of paying tribute to their “outstanding contribution” to London or public life, or to celebrate a very significant achievement. It is also necessary to be a freeman to stand for elected office in the City.

London’s Guildhall. PICTURE: stephenarcher (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Freedom ceremonies take place in the Chamberlain’s Court at Guildhall and are usually conducted by the Clerk of the Court or his assistant. Prospective freemen read the ‘Declaration of a Freeman’ – which, among other things they swear allegiance to the King and obedience to Lord Mayor of London – and sign the Freeman’s Declaration Book.

A parchment document, known as The Copy of the Freedom, is then presented to the recipient along with a copy of the ‘Rules for the Conduct of Life’ which date from the mid-18th century. The clerk then extends the right hand of fellowship to the recipient and greets them as “a Citizen of London”.

A fee, known as a “fine”, is charged for applications (currently it’s £170).

Other recent high-profile recipients of the Freedom of the City of London include the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England football captain and former Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe and theatrical impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh.

LondonLife – The number 15…

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Lukas Souza/Unsplash.

The number 15 runs from Blackwall Station via Poplar High Street through the City, finishing at Charing Cross Station.

This Week in London – Impressionists on paper; Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant honoured with a Blue Plaque; new Burnham Beeches history app; and, young artists celebrated on London billboards…

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Claude Monet, ‘Cliffs at Etretat: The Needle Rock and Porte d’Aval’, c 1885. National Galleries of Scotland.

• A new exhibition exploring how Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists in late 19th-century France radically transformed the status of works on paper opens at the Royal Academy on Friday. Impressionists on Paper: Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec features around 80 works on paper by artists including Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Eva Gonzalès, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Odilon Redon, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh. Among the highlights are Degas’ Woman at a Window (1870-71), van Gogh’s The Fortifications of Paris with Houses (1887), Monet’s Cliffs at Etretat: The Needle Rock and Porte d’Aval (c1885) and Toulouse-Lautrec’s images of the urban underworld of Montmartre. The display can be seen in The Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries until 10th March. Admission charges apply. For more, see royalacademy.org.uk.

• English Heritage have unveiled their final Blue Plaque for 2023 and it celebrates two of the most influential painters of the early-to-mid 20th century, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. The plaque was unveiled at number 46 Gordon Square in Bloomsbury, from where the Bloomsbury Group – of which Bell and Grant were leading members – drew its name. Bell first lived at number 46 with her siblings, including Virginia Stephen (later Woolf), and, in 1914, Grant moved in with Vanessa and her husband, Clive Bell. Paintings the pair made at number 46 include Grant’s Interior at Gordon Square (c1915) and Bell’s Apples: 46 Gordon Square (c1909-10), a still-recognisable view from the drawing-room balcony to the square. For more on the English Heritage Blue Plaques scheme, head to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

• The history of Burnham Beeches has been brought to life with a new augmented reality app. The app allows users to superimpose periods of Burnham Beeches’ history – from the Iron Age, Middle Ages and World War II – over what they see when visiting the site and incorporates sounds from selected era as well. It can be accessed via a QR code which is being published on signs at Burnham Beeches. Burnham Beeches, located near the village of Burnham in Buckinghamshire, was acquired by the City of London in 1880 when the area was threatened by development and is managed as a free open space. For more, head here.

• The work of 30 young artists celebrating African community and culture is being showcased on billboards across the city in conjunction with Tate Modern’s current exhibition, A World in Common. The photographs have been selected following a call from the Tate Collective for 16-to-25-year-olds to submit images responding to the exhibition. More than 100 entries were submitted by young people based across the UK and beyond and Londoners will be able to view the 30 shortlisted works on billboards in Haringey, Lambeth, Southwark and Tower Hamlets over the next two weeks.

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10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…7. St Stephen Walbrook…

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Looking up at the dome of St Stephen Walbrook. PICTURE: James Stringer (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

While this series is more focused on Sir Christopher Wren’s life rather than the many works he left behind, we’ve included the remarkable church of St Stephen Walbrook for a couple of reasons.

Inside St Stephen Walbrook. PICTURE: It’s No Game (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

The first is that it is generally seen as being one of the more important church designs he created, particularly with regard to his later design of St Paul’s Cathedral, of which the St Stephen Walbrook dome is said to be a prototype.

The second is it’s claimed St Stephen Walbrook had a rather personal connection in that Wren lived at number 15 Walbrook during the period the church was being built, making it his parish church.

But the church was built between 1672 and 1679 and we know that from 1669 onwards – when Wren was appointed Surveyor-General of the King’s Works by King Charles II – Wren had a substantial home and office at Scotland Yard which was a perk of the office. Prior to that, he was largely based in Oxford and had rooms within Gresham College.

We’ve been unable to find any detailed reference to Wren living at 15 Walbrook either online or in the biographies we’ve read (we’ll keep searching).

But, his residency in Walbrook aside, it’s clear that St Stephen Walbrook – which has been described as the “pride of English architecture” – was a special church for Wren.

Designed to a rectangular form by Wren (and it’s certain this design was that of Wren himself), the church features a dome located toward the east end supported by eight Corinthian columns with the interior light by sizeable windows at the east end. A tower stands at the west end. The altar, a modern design by Henry Moore, sits under the centre of the dome.

As an interesting final note, it is recorded that Wren attended a dinner hosted by the church wardens – along with collaborator Robert Hooke – at the Swan Tavern in Old Fish Street on 4th March, 1673, as work for the church was underway.

WHERE: St Stephen Walbrook, 39 Walbrook (nearest tube stations are Bank and Cannon Street); WHEN: Opening times vary – check website details; COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.ststephenwalbrook.net.  

This Week in London – 695th Lord Mayor’s Show; Peruvian and Andean culture at the British Museum; and, a ‘virtual heart’ at the Science Museum…

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The Lord Mayor’s Show in 2019. PICTURE: It’s No Game (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

• The 695th Lord Mayor’s Show – the oldest and longest civic procession in the world – will be held in the City of London this weekend. The three mile-long parade, which dates back to the 13th century, will feature Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli (who will take office during the Silent Ceremony on Friday), who will process through the City streets to swear allegiance to the Crown in Westminster. Accompanying him will be a procession featuring some 7,000 people, 200 horses and around 150 floats and will include representatives of the City’s livery companies as well as military groups, bands and community organisations. The procession leaves from Mansion House at 11am and rolls down Poultry and Cheapside to St Paul’s Cathedral and then via Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice before returning, from 1:10pm, via Queen Victoria Street to Mansion House. For more, see https://lordmayorsshow.london.

• The first permanent display of Peruvian and Andean culture at the British Museum has opened in the Wellcome Trust Gallery. Part of the Living and Dying exhibition is divided into two sections – the first exploring the culture’s relationship with the sea and the second with the land. The displays includes digital elements as well as objects ranging from pottery and textiles to metalwork and conch shells. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• A “compelling, complex and beautiful” large-scale virtual model of a human heart has gone on display in the Science Museum in South Kensington. The model was created by bioengineer Dr Jazmín Aguado Sierra using scans of her own heart and functions just as her real heart does. The ‘Virtual Heart’ display, which is introduced by Dr Aguado Sierra, can be seen in the Engineers gallery, in a section which explores collaborations between clinicians, medical engineers and patients and showcases real-world health solutions. The display is free to see. For more, see sciencemuseum.org.uk/engineers.

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London pub signs – The Sir John Hawkshaw…

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The Sir John Hawkshaw is located inside the Cannon Street Station (with good reason). PICTURE:© User:Colin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.

This establishment in the Cannon Street Station in the City of London is a modern take on the pub but thanks to the name and location comes with built-in history.

Sir John Hawkshaw (1811-1891) was a railway engineer who, importantly given this pub’s location, is recognised for his work on the original Cannon Street railway station – which he designed with JW Barry – as well as the adjoining Cannon Street Railway Bridge over the Thames (it was originally named ‘Alexandra Bridge’ in honour of Princess Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Edward, the Prince of Wales)

The original Cannon Street station, which opened on 1st September, 1866, featured two “Wren-style” towers which stand 135 feet high and faced the Thames (these two towers, now Grade II listed, are still there today). They helped support the station’s single arched iron and glass roof which stretched some 700 feet in length to cover the railway platforms (an adjoining Italianate-style hotel and forecourt designed by Barry opened the following year).

While Hawkshaw’s two towers remain (and it should be noted that the engineer was also famous for his work on other projects including, among others, the Severn Tunnel and Suez Canal), the current Cannon Street Station is a much more modern structure dating originally from the 1980s with some works being completed in the last decade or so.

The site’s known history, meanwhile, goes back much further, however. Prior to Hawkshaw’s station, since 1690 the site had been occupied by the livery hall of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers. Prior to that it was the site of the Steelyard and, much further back in time, the remains of a Roman palace have been found beneath the site which date from the 1st century.

The modern pub, located in the station, is part of the JD Wetherspoon chain.

For more on the pub, see https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/london/the-sir-john-hawkshaw-cannon-street.

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…5. London coffee houses…

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Sir Christopher Wren was apparently a frequent visitor to London’s burgeoning coffee houses in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

A plaque in the City of London marking the former site of Jonathan’s Coffee House in Exchange Alley. PICTURE: Ethan Doyle White (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Wren apparently started visiting coffee houses during his time in Oxford (the first in England is said to have opened there in 1652; the first in London – Pasqua Roseé’s premises st Michael’s Alley off Cornhill – opened late that same year) and continued to do so in London.

While it’s hard to pin down those he preferred, he reportedly met Robert Hooke at Man’s Coffee House in Charing Cross. The premises was apparently frequented by stockjobbers.

Wren was in good company attending such premises – other luminaries known to have done so at the time include diarist and naval administrator Samuel Pepys, John Locke, Edmund Halley, John Dryden and Alexander Pope.

Among other prominent coffee houses at the time was Jonathan’s – where in, 1698, the London Stock Exchange was born – and Garraway’s Coffee House, both of them located in Exchange Alley, as well as Button’s in Covent Garden.

LondonLife – After office hours…

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PICTURE: Krisztián Korhetz/Unsplash

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…4. Gresham College…

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Described as “probably the most famous Gresham College professor in history”, Sir Christopher Wren was appointed professor of astronomy at the college in 1657.

Wren is believed to have been educated at the Westminster School before attending Wadham College in Oxford and graduating with a BA in 1651. An MA followed in 1653 and he was subsequently elected a fellow of All Soul’s College in Oxford.

Engraving of Gresham College in the City of London, looking east at the front onto Old Broad Street by George Vertue (1740). PICTURE: Public domain (via Wikipedia).

That was followed by the Gresham appointment with Wren giving his inaugural lecture in August of 1657. His tenure was somewhat interrupted when, following the resignation of Richard Cromwell in May, 1659, the college was occupied by the military (and Wren stayed in Oxford). He returned to London following the Restoration which culminated in King Charles II’s entry into London in May, 1660.

Wren left Gresham later that same year and four years later, in 1664, he was appointed Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford – a position he held until his appointment surveyor of works to King Charles II.

Gresham College was established in 1597 under the terms of the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and was originally located in Sir Thomas’ former mansion on Bishopsgate. It was here that Wren – and other lecturers including Sir Robert Hooke – lectured.

In the mid-18th century, Gresham moved to the corner of Gresham and Basinghall Streets. In 1991, it again relocated – this time to the 14th century Barnard’s Inn Hall near Chancery Lane. The college today continues its founding tradition of providing free lectures (there’s now a considerable archive of these online).

There was a Corporation of the City of London plaque commemorating the original location of Gresham College in Old Broad Street but it’s apparently been removed.

This Week in London – ‘Spies, Lies and Deception’ at IWM London; the printing of Shakespeare’s plays; and, Georgian illuminations at the Sir John Soane’s Museum…

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A box of matches containing one match specially adapted for writing
secret messages used during World War II. © IWM (EPH 178)

• A free exhibition exploring the “tricks, tools and elaborate plots that make up the secret world of spying and deception” has opened at IWM London. Spies, Lies and Deception features more than 150 objects including gadgets, official documents, art and newly digitised film and photography. Highlights include Operation Mincemeat mastermind Ewen Montagu’s private papers relating to the World War II plot – which fooled German High Command about the location of the next major Allied assault by planting a dead body with fake military documents off the Spanish coast – along with an oar from the submarine’s dinghy which deposited the body. There is also a box of matches with a match specially adapted for writing secret messages (pictured), footprint overshoes made by SOE (Special Operations Executive) in South-East Asia during World War II to disguise the wearer’s real footprints, and papier-mâché heads used to deceive snipers in World War I trenches. The exhibits also detail the work of the World War I Postal Censorships department – which examined letters sent to foreign locations including testing letters for invisible ink and tell the story of SOE operative Noor Inayat Khan – the first female wireless operator sent by SOE into Occupied France, she successfully transmitted messages to London for four months before being betrayed, captured and executed. There’s also a newly commissioned interview with Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, an international collective of researchers who used open source data to uncover the real identities of those responsible for the Salisbury Novichok poisonings in 2018, along with a photo album of double agent Kim Philby in Siberia after he escaped to the Soviet Union following his discovery in 1963. The free display can be seen until 14th April next year. For more, see iwm.org.uk/events/spies-lies-and-deception.

• A exhibition looking at the history of printing William Shakespeare’s plays has opened at the Guildhall Library. Folio 400: Shakespeare in Print covers everything from the printing of the small ‘Quartos’ of the late 16th century to the reworking of the text in the 18th century and the rediscovery of original texts in the 19th century. Running in parallel is a display at the City of London Heritage Gallery at Guildhall Art Gallery which features the library’s copy of the First Folio, widely regarded as one of the finest and most complete. Entry is free. Runs until 30th January. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/guildhall-library.

• An exhibition centring on the spectacular light illuminations of the Georgian period has opened at Sir John Soane’s Museum. Georgian Illuminations celebrates the light shows of the period and the impressive and the elaborate temporary architectural structures created for them, often designed by leading architects and artists, including Sir John Soane. It features newly discovered linen transparencies, which were back-lit in Georgian windows as patriotic decoration during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as a contemporary work by light artist Nayan Kulkarni light artist which sees the facade of the museum at Lincoln’s Inn Fields illuminated each night from dusk until about 11pm. A series of events accompanies the exhibition. Runs until 7th January, 2024. Entry is free. For more, see www.soane.org/exhibitions/georgian-illuminations,

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What’s in a name?…Pudding Lane…

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Looking northward up Pudding Lane (to the right of the picture is a somewhat controversial plaque marking the site of the bakery). PICTURE: Google Maps

Famous for being the location of the bakery where the Great Fire of London started, Pudding Lane runs between Eastcheap and Lower Thames Street in the City of London.

While it has been claimed in the past that the name did come from desserts or puddings being sold here, it’s now generally believed that the name relates to the medieval word ‘pudding’ which meant offal – the guts or entrails of animals.

It was apparently down this lane that the butchers of the Eastcheap market (London’s primary meat market in medieval times, located at the northern end of the lane), having slaughtered an animal for consumption, would have the ‘puddings’ carried down the lane so they could be disposed of on waste barges (earlier on, the butchers were apparently permitted to toss the offal into the Thames when tide conditions were right).

The lane, which 16th century historian John Stow said was also known as Rother Lane (due to a Thames wharf called Rothersgate at its southern end) and Red Rose Lane (after a shop sign in the lane), also has the honour of being one of the world’s first designated one-way streets.

This Week in London – Charles Dickens’ court suit and Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation glove; Frans Hals at The National Gallery; Peter Paul Rubens at Dulwich; and, email explored…

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• A piece of the only surviving dress worn by Queen Elizabeth I, Charles Dickens’ court suit, an RSC robe worn by David Tennant as Richard II, and the coronation glove of Queen Elizabeth II are among highlights of a new exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Marking the 400th anniversary of the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers, Treasures of Gold and Silver Wire features more than 200 objects related to royalty, the arts, military, and the church spanning the period stretching from the Middle Ages to today. Other highlights include a uniform of the State Trumpeter, The Jubilee Cope from St Paul’s Cathedral, a robe of Order of the Garter and the burse of the Great Seal of King Charles II. The exhibition, which opens on Friday, runs until 12th November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/treasures-of-gold-and-silver-wire-exhibition.

Frans Hals, ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ (1624)/ Oil on canvas, 83 x 67 cm © Trustees of the Wallace Collection, London    

• The Laughing Cavalier serves as the centrepiece of a new exhibition of Frans Hals works at the National Gallery – the largest focused the 17th century Dutch painters’ works in more than 30 years. The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals, which has been organised with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam features some 50 of the artists works gathered from across the globe. Alongside The Laughing Cavalier which is on loan from the Wallace Collection, highlights include Portrait of Isaac Massa (1626), Portrait of Pieter Dircksz. Tjarck (about 1635–38), The Rommel-Pot Player (1618–22) and Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman (1634). Admission charge applies. Runs until 21st January.

• A major exhibition on the work of Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) has opened at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Rubens & Women features more than 40 paintings and drawings along with archival material and challenges the perception that the artist only painted one type of women as it explores his relationships with women and how they nourished his career and creativity. Highlights include Portrait of a Woman (c1625), Marchesa Maria Serra Pallavicino or Marchesa Veronica Spinola Doria (1606-07), The Virgin in Adoration of the Child (c1616), Looking Down (Study for head of St Apollonia) (1628), Ceres and Two Nymphs (1615-17), The Birth of the Milky Way (1636-1638), and Clara Serena Rubens, the Artist’s Daughter (c1620-23). The exhibition runs until 28th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.

• An interactive exhibition exploring email’s impact in our lives – how it shapes our work, relationships, cultures and economies – opens at The Design Museum today. Email is D̶e̶ad̶ ̶, being held in partnership with Intuit Mailchimp, charts the history of email, from its embryonic beginnings in the 1970s to what the email experience might be like in 2070. Admission is free. Runs until 22nd October. For more, see https://designmuseum.org.

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LondonLife – Viewing the Shard from Lovat Lane…

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PICTURE: Alice Greenland/Unsplash

View of The Shard from Lovat Lane in the City of London.

Famous Londoners – Thomas Dagger…

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Josepha Jane Battlehooke’s ‘The Great Fire of London’ depicts the scene as though from a boat in the. vicinity of Tower Wharf. PICTURE: Public domain via Wikipedia.

Thomas Dagger, a 17th century journeyman baker, only became famous rather recently when new research identified him as the first witness to one of the seminal events in London’s history – the Great Fire of 1666.

The research was undertaken by Professor Kate Loveman at the University of Leicester for the Museum of London and will be used to inform its gallery displays when it opens its new site at Smithfield in 2026.

Drawing on letters, pamphlets, legal and guild records, Professor Loveman put Dagger, who worked in Thomas Farriner’s bakery on Pudding Lane, at the centre of the the fire’s origin story.

It’s well-known that the fire began in Farriner’s bakery in the early hours of 2nd September, 1666, and went on to consume some 13,200 homes in the city, leaving some 65,000 people homeless. But reports differ as to who was in the bakery when the fire started.

Among accounts pointing to Dagger being present is a letter from MP Sir Edward Harley who wrote in a letter to his wife that Thomas Farriner’s “man” – a term referring to his servant or journeyman – was woken after in the early hours on 2nd September choking from smoke. He reported that Farriner, his daughter and “his man” then escaped out of an upper window, but his maid died.

Dagger’s name is also found grouped with other Farriner household members among witnesses on a subsequent indictment targeting Frenchman Robert Hubert who was convicted and hanged for starting the fire after making a somewhat dubious confession.

Professor Loveman concludes that, based on her research, Thomas Dagger was the first witness to the Great Fire of London, woken by choking smoke shortly before 2am on 2nd September. Aware of the fire, he then alerted other members of the household before, along with his boss Thomas Farriner, Farriner’s son Thomas Farriner, Jr, and Farriner’s daughter Hanna, escaping by climbing out of an window. An unnamed maid who was in the house did not escape with them and was killed.

Professor Loveman’s research further showed that Dagger arrived in London from Wiltshire in 1655 and was apprenticed to one Richard Sapp for nine years but ended up serving part of that time with Farriner. Soon after the fire, in 1667, he took his freedom and by January the following year had married and had a baby. He went on to establish his own bakery at Billingsgate.

Says Professor Loveman: “It was fascinating to find out more about what happened on that famous night. Although most of the evidence about the Farriners is well known to historians, Thomas Dagger’s role has gone unrecognised. Unlike the Farriners, his name didn’t become associated with the fire at the time. Soon after the disaster, he merges back into the usual records of Restoration life, having children and setting up his own bakery. His is a story about the fire, but also about how Londoners recovered.”

Lost London – The London Coffee House…

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Site of the London Coffee House. PICTURE: Google Maps

Established in the early 1730s on Ludgate Hill (next to St Martin Ludgate), the proprietor of this establishment was one James Ashley (hence the coffee house also being known as Ashley’s London Punch House – the punch was apparently particularly affordable).

It was known to have been frequented by the likes of Joseph Priestley and his friend, American Benjamin Franklin, while James Boswell described its customers as being primarily physicians, dissenting clergy and “masters of academies”.

Its location also meant it served as a place where Old Bailey juries which could not reach a decision were sequestered for the night.

Continued to be favoured by Americans, in 1851 philanthropist George Peabody gave a dinner here for those from the United States who were connected with the Great Exhibition being held in Hyde Park.

In 1806, a statue of Hercules and a hexagonal Roman altar, dedicated to Claudia Martina by her soldier husband, were found here. The coffee house has also been identified as the “Coffee House on Ludgate Hill” mentioned in Charles Dickens’ Little Dorritt.

It closed in 1867. The site is now occupied by a pub, The Ye Olde London.

This Week in London – Bartholomew Fair revival; ‘Totally Thames’; ‘Black on the Square’; and, Art of London’s third season…

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• A recreation of Bartholomew Fair featuring more than 30 free events kicks off in the City of London today. The programme kicks off with RESURGAM, a vertical dance performance on St Paul’s Cathedral with other highlights including immersive theatrical circus performance Dinner for All, Follow Me Into by imitating the dog – a series of projections that weaves through the City, and, Carnesky’s Showwomxn Spectacular, a street show featuring a cast of circus, variety and rare skilled women performers. There’s also al fresco dining at locations across the City of London and creative workshops on Saturdays. The Bartholomew fair, which ran from the 12th century until 1855, started as a cloth market but evolved to become the City’s pre-eminent event, attracting people from across the country and beyond. The revival runs until 16th September. For the full programme of events, see www.thecityofldn.com/bartholomew-fair/

The River Thames. PICTURE: Unsplash

• Totally Thames, London’s month-long celebration of its river kicks off on Friday. Events this year include an exhibition at London Bridge Station celebrating London’s bridges by photographer Henry Reichhold and another looking at medieval artefacts recovered by mudlarks at St Paul’s Cathedral, walks exploring the history of everywhere from Rotherhithe to Twickenham and the Royal Docks (as a well as a walk on which you’ll meet six medieval women in Southwark), ‘Wren by River’ – a tour on Uber Boat By Clippers Thames featuring an introduction to Wren’s London legacy from the perspective of the river (be quick, this takes place on 1st September), and art installations including the Saltley Geyser, a 30 metre high plume of water in the Royal Docks created by David Cotterrell. And, of course, the St Katharine Docks Class Boat Festival on the weekend of 9th and 10th September and the The Great River Race on 16th September. For the full programme of events, see https://thamesfestivaltrust.org.

• Black on the Square, a new “showcase of Black culture and creativity”, takes place in Trafalgar Square this Saturday. The one day family-friendly festival will feature art, fashion and musical performances including jazz, spoken word, freestyle rap and soul as well as DJ sets from the likes of Touching Bass, Art Beyond the Shell, MOBO Unsung, Shortee Blitz, BXKS, The Spit Game UK. There will also be vendors representing a range of Black-owned businesses, including Caribbean and African food, as well as artisan goods ranging from customised accessories to handmade homeware and gifts. The festival kicks off at noon and runs until 6pm. For more, see https://www.london.gov.uk/events/black-square-2023.

• Art of London has launched its third annual season featuring everything from gallery late openings to photography exhibitions and public art displays. Events, which run though until October, include: ‘Art Reframed’ which, developed in partnership with the recently reopened National Portrait Gallery, showcases the gallery’s most iconic portraits of everyone from Olivia Colman to Elton John and William Shakespeare on 52 giant colourful cubes across Coventry Street and Irving Street; photographs by artist Ray Burmiston showcased on the Piccadilly Lights; and, ‘Art After Dark’ in which galleries across the West End open their doors for late night viewings. For the full programme, head to artoflondon.co.uk/seasons/season.

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This Week in London – Open House Festival programme out; women’s lives celebrated at Tower of London; and, families at Buckingham Palace…

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BT Tower. PICTURE: Metin Ozer/Unsplash

• London’s Open House Festival celebrates 30 years this September with two weeks of tours, events, and, of course, the chance to look inside some rarely opened buildings. The full programme of events has been released with highlights including the chance to see up close the conservation and restoration project revitalising the Crystal Palace Victorian Subway, a rare opportunity to visit the BT Tower’s famous revolving floor and the ability to join a guided tour of Burlington House, home to the Royal Astronomical Society since 1874 (and refurbished in 2007). The event runs from 8th to 21st September. For more, see https://programme.openhouse.org.uk.

• The stories of five women – from a servant to a Queen to a suffragette who smashed the Crown Jewels display – are being highlighted at the Tower of London. Trailblazers: Women at the Tower of London, which runs until 3rd September, celebrates the five women with processions through the grounds, staged performances on the South Lawn, and the opportunity to meet and interact with them. Among the women being featured are Catalina of Motril, a servant to Henry VIII’s first wife, Katherine of Aragon; Alice Tankerville, who was imprisoned at the Tower of London in 1534 for piracy; Leonora Cohen, a suffragette who smashed the Crown Jewels display with a crowbar; and Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American woman who visited the Tower in 1773. Trailblazers is included in the cost of admission. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

Story-telling in the Family Pavilion PICTURE: Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

• Families are a special focus of this year’s Summer Opening at Buckingham Palace with a special “Family Pavilion” in the palace garden, “Family Mondays” and a special “Family Festival Day”. The Family Pavilion is open daily and features a range of activities including, inspired by the recent coronations, the chance for children to dress up in gowns and crowns and pose for a photo in a model Gold State Coach. The pavilion also features a rotating programme of arts and crafts activities on Mondays and the family activities will culminate in a special ‘Family Festival’ on 28th August at which families visiting the State Rooms can enjoy story-telling sessions exploring Queen Victoria’s coronation and take part in craft activities outside in the palace garden. Activities are included in the price of admission. For more, see www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace.

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London Explained – The Pool of London…

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A lithograph showing the Pool of London from London Bridge in 1841. PICTURE: W Parrott/Public Domain

A stretch of the River Thames which spans the area from London Bridge to below Limehouse, the Pool of London was the highest part of the river navigable by tall-masted ships (thanks to the them not being able to pass under London Bridge).

The term originally referred to the stretch of the river at Billingsgate in the City of London which was where all imports had to be delivered for inspection by customs officers (hence these wharves were given the name ‘legal quays’).

But as trade expanded and reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the stretch referred to as the “Pool of London”. It came to be divided into two sections – the Upper Pool, which stretches from London Bridge to Cherry Garden Pier in Bermondsey (and is bisected by Tower Bridge), and the Lower Pool, which stretched from the latter pier to Limekiln Creek.

The Upper Pool’s north bank includes the Tower of London, the old Billingsgate Market and the entrance to St Katharine’s Dock while the south bank features Hay’s Wharf and the HMS Belfast. The Lower Pool’s north bank includes the entrance to Limehouse Cut as well as Regent’s Canal and Execution Docks while below it runs the Thames and Rotherhithe Tunnels.

This Week in London – New section of London’s Wall revealed; ‘Summer on the Square’; and, Heath Robinson’s fairy tale illustrations…

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PICTURES: Courtesy of Urbanest.

• A large section of London’s Roman wall had gone on show to the public thanks to an innovative collaboration between Urbanest, the City of London Corporation, Historic England, and the Museum of London. A new free display – The City Wall at Vine Street – has been created by Urbanest as part of a redevelopment of the site. At its heart is a segment of London’s Roman wall, including the foundations of a bastion or tower. Alongside the wall is a permanent display of artefacts from the Museum of London ranging from a tile marked with a cat’s paw print to Roman coins and ceramics. Completed between AD 190 and 230, the Roman wall was between two and three metres thick and faced with blocks of Kentish ragstone. This section of the wall was first rediscovered in 1905 when a new building – Roman Wall House – was constructed on the site and the inner face of the wall was exposed and preserved in the basement. In 1979, the outer face of the wall and the bastian foundations were also uncovered – but the wall was still left largely forgotten in the building’s basement. The site was acquired by Urbanest in 2016 and during the subsequent construction of Urbanest City in 2018, the wall was protected by a timber enclosure. Tickets to The City Wall at Vine Street, located at 12 Jewry Street in the City of London, can be booked for free. For more head to https://citywallvinestreet.org.

Summer on the Square PICTURE: © James Ross, courtesy The National Gallery, London

• ‘Summer on the Square’ has returned to The National Gallery’s North Terrace with a series of workshops aimed at inspiring the local community and visitors to engage with themes around the gallery’s collection. The programme sees the gallery work with a variety of artists and creative practitioners in a shared focus of creating child-led art, design and play activities. The workshops – which range from a session on discovering what you can do with bamboo to discovering movement and shapes in the National Gallery paintings – are free, drop-in and open to all ages and abilities. Summer on the Square, which runs until 28th August, is supported by and part of Westminster City Council’s Inside Out Programme. For the full programme, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/summer-on-the-square.

• On Now: Happily Ever After? Illustrating Andersen & Perrault. This exhibition at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner focuses on works Heath Robinson created for the fairy tale collections of Hans Christian Andersen, which he illustrated three times, and Charles Perrault’s Old Time Stories published in 1921. The display, which also features works on the same subjects by Michael Foreman, shows how Heath Robinson was able to explore subjects and characters which ranged from sleeping princesses to adventurers and monsters in some of his lesser known works. Runs until 17th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org.

LondonLife – View across the Thames…

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Looking from Bankside to the City of London. PICTURE: Rose Galloway Green/Unsplash