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10 atmospheric ruins in London – 9. Barking Abbey…

by exploringlondon
Footings of the abbey (these are modern with the real foundations below ground). PICTURE: diamond geezer (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Once one of the most important nunneries in the country, Barking Abbey was originally established in the 7th century and existed for almost 900 years before its closure in 1539 during King Henry VIII’s Dissolution.

The abbey was founded by St Erkenwald (the Bishop of London between 675 and 693) for his sister St Ethelburga who was the first abbess.

The Curfew Tower. PICTURE: Rept0n1x (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

In the late 900s, St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury introduced the Rule of St Benedict at the nunnery.

King William the Conqueror stayed here after his coronation while famous abbesses included Mary Becket, the sister of St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was given the title in 1173 in reparation for the murder of her brother, as well as several royals including Queen Maud, wife of King Henry I, and Matilda, wife of King Stephen.

The nunnery gained wealth and prestige but this suffered somewhat as a result of floods in 1377 with some 720 acres of land permanently lost. It nonetheless remained one of the wealthiest in England and it’s said the abbess had precedence over all other abbesses in the country.

After the abbey was dissolved, some of the building materials were reused elsewhere and the site was later used as a farm and quarry.

Most of the buildings were demolished – today only the Curfew Tower, which dates from around 1460, remains. The Grade II*-listed tower contains the Chapel of the Holy Rood and now serves at the gateway to the nearby St Margaret’s Church.

Building footings also remain buried under the ground in what is known today as Abbey Green (the layout is marked today by modern additions). There’s a model of how the abbey once appeared inside the gateway.

Barking Abbey ruins, Abbey Road, Barking (nearest Tube Station is Barking); WHEN: Daily: COST: Free; WEBSITE: https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/find-your-nearest/barking-abbey-ruins

What’s in a name?…Basinghall Street…

by exploringlondon
Looking north up Basinghall Street from Gresham Street. The buildings on the left are part of the Guildhall complex. PICTURE: Google Maps

This City of London street, which sits on the eastern side of the Guildhall complex, is named for the wealthy Basing (or Bassing) family who had a hall here in the 13th century.

The street, which links Gresham Street in the south to Basinghall Avenue in the north, has been the site of numerous prominent buildings including the medieval hall of the Weaver’s Company (demolished in 1856, having replaced an earlier hall which burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666, the hall is now located in Gutter Lane), the Cooper’s Company (demolished in 1867, the hall is now located in Devonshire Square) and the Girdler’s Company (destroyed in the Blitz in 1940; the hall is now located in Basinghall Avenue).

It was also the location of the Sir Christopher Wren-designed Church of St Michael Bassishaw until 1899 after it was seriously damaged when the crypt was being cleared of human remains in line with the orders of City authorities. The parish with united with St Lawrence Jewry.

Famous denizens included the goldsmith, banker and civil engineer Sir Hugh Myddelton, most renowned for his design of the New River scheme to bring clean water to the City, who, according to The London Encyclopaedia, would sit in the doorway of his office and smoke his pipe while chatting with the likes of Sir Walter Raleigh.

The family also gave their name to the City of London’s Bassishaw Ward.

This Week in London – Charles Holden’s university vision; Two-Tone at the Barbican; and celebrating Winston…

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Senate House. PICTURE: Tim Abbott (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• A new exhibition celebrating the vision architect Charles Holden had for the design of the University of London – including the iconic Senate House – has opened at the venue. Holden had a hand in designing some 48 Tube stations and 55 Broadway – London’s first skyscraper - before in 1931 being appointed to develop the university’s Bloomsbury estate, including its headquarters. While the master plan was never completed (only the Senate House and its library were finished), it provides a fascinating insight into a part of London that could have been. Charles Holden’s Master Plan: Building the Bloomsbury Campus tells the story of institution’s design through architectural models, archival documents, photo albums, and other mixed media. The display in the Chancellor’s Hall Lobby on the first floor of the Senate House runs until 17th March. Entry is free. For more, see www.london.ac.uk/news-events/events/charles-holdens-master-plan-building-bloomsbury-campus.

• A new exhibition tracing the origins and influence of the popular British music genre known as two-tone has opened at the Barbican Music Library. Two-tone, which is also known as ‘ska-rock’ or ‘ska revival’ and which had its heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s, fused traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae music with elements of punk rock and new wave music. Its name comes from record label 2 Tone Records which was founded in 1978 by Jerry Dammers from The Specials, one of the most popular Two-tone bands of the time. The display – From the Caribbean to Coventry: Plotting the Rise of Two Tone – features band memorabilia as well as clothing, literature, art, photographs, and fan contributions, and explores how Caribbean immigration influenced UK youth culture. Runs until 25th May. Admission is free. For more, see https://fromthecaribbean2coventry.co.uk.

• FURTHER AFIELD: Sir Winston’s family home – Chartwell in Kent – is hosting a new outdoor photography exhibition to mark what would have been his 150th birthday which features some of most spectacular birthday cakes. Press interest into Churchill’s birthday extravaganza – and in particular the cakes – was considerable and historic photographs from TopFoto have now been colourised for the first time, bringing the baking creations vividly to life. The images can be seen until 25th February. For more, see www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/chartwell.

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Famous Londoners – John Stow…

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Sixteenth century historian John Stow wrote numerous chronicles of English history but is mostly remembered for his landmark survey of London, a monumental work which has lead to him being informally given the title “founding father of London history”.

The monument depicting John Stow. PICTURE: John Salmon / St Andrew Undershaft, St Mary Axe, EC2 – Wall monument of John Stow / CC BY-SA 2.0

Stow (sometimes written as Stowe) was born a Londoner in about 1525 in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. He was the eldest of seven children of Thomas Stow, a tallow chandler, and his wife Elizabeth.

Nothing is known about Stow’s early education - whether he attended a grammar school or was self-taught – but he is known to have developed a deep knowledge of English history, culture and customs as well as of Latin.

He didn’t follow his father’s trade but instead became an apprentice tailor and in 1547 was named a freeman of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. He is said to have worked as a tailor in London for almost 30 years.

In 1560, he started on his best known work, A Survey of London, a detailed topographical survey of the City of London and its suburbs – it was eventually published in 1598 (a second, longer edition followed in 1603). But his first book, on the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, was published in 1561, and he went on to publish numerous editions of English chronicles.

Stow was in contact with many of the era’s leading antiquarians, including the likes of John Dee and William Camden, and he was an active member of the first Society of Antiquaries, established in about 1586.

He also attracted the patronage of some significant figures including the Archbishops of Canterbury Matthew Parker and John Whitgift and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and was well-known for his collection of manuscripts, the largest group of which is now within the Harley collection at the British Library.

Stow, whose work never made him a wealthy man and who, at times, was the subject of his acquaintances’ charity (although Barrett L Beer in an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes his pleas of poverty as “exaggerated”), married his wife Elizabeth sometime after 1549. They lived initially in Aldgate where his business was also based (and later moved to the Lime Street ward). The couple had three daughters, two of whom – Joan and Julyan – survived him.

Stow died on 5th April, 1605. He was buried in the church of St Andrew Undershaft and his wife commissioned a marble monument to commemorate him which depicts Stow seated at his desk. A commemorative service, organised by the Merchant Taylors Company, is still held in the church every three years during which the quill he writes with is regularly replaced in a sign of respect.

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…10. St Paul’s Cathedral…

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For the final entry in our Wednesday special series, we go to see Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest work – and also his resting place, St Paul’s Cathedral.

Following his death on 25th February, 1723, Wren was buried in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral on 5th March.

The memorial to Sir Christopher Wren. PICTURE: Phil Guest (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

His burial location was in the south-east corner of the crypt and a simple memorial was placed there near that of his daughter Jane and his sister Susan Holder and her husband William.

The plaque which marks the location was written by his eldest son Christopher. Inscribed in Latin, it reads: “Here in its foundations lies the architect of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived beyond ninety years, not for his own profit but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Died 25 Feb. 1723, age 91.”

It’s a fitting tribute to one responsible for some of London’s most famous landmarks.

Interestingly, a fragment of Wren’s coffin can be seen at the RIBA Library. It was taken from his tomb in 1851 when it was last opened to allow for his last surviving direct descendent to be placed within.

WHERE: St Paul’s Cathedral (nearest Tube stations are St Paul’s, Mansion House and Blackfriars); WHEN: 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday; COST: £23 adults/£20.50 concessions/£10 children/£56 family (these are walk-up rates – online advanced and group rates are discounted); WEBSITE: www.stpauls.co.uk.

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…9. St James’s Street, Piccadilly…

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Looking south down St James’s Street. PICTURE: Via Google Maps

As noted at the outset of this series, in his latter years Sir Christopher Wren retired to the property on Hampton Court Palace Green, a property he was granted after he was appointed Surveyor-General to King Charles II in 1669.

But he also still spent time in London and, no longer having access to Scotland Yard, he lodged at his son Christopher’s house in St James’s Street, off Piccadilly. In fact, it was in this property that Wren, having suffered a chill, died while sitting in a chair at the age of 91 on 25th February, 1723.

It’s been suggested that the house in which Wren died was on the west side of the street. There’s an apocryphal story that suggests Wren came to London to check up on his greatest work, St Paul’s Cathedral.

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…8. The Bankside Plaque…

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PICTURE: Robin Sones (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Sir Christopher Wren’s name is one which pops up in association with buildings all over London – some authentically so, others less so.

The house at 49 Bankside with the plaque to the left of the door. PICTURE: Jim Linwood (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

One of the more talked about locations where it can be physically seen is on a plaque attached to the front of a house overlooking the Thames at 49 Bankside, on the corner with Cardinal Cap Alley.

The plaque, written in a flowery script, claims that “Here lived Sir Christopher Wren during the building of St Pauls Cathedral” before going on to state that the property was also where in 1502, Catherine of Aragon, “took shelter” on first arriving in London before her marriage to King Henry VIII.

But author and historian Gillian Tyndall debunks the claim in her 2006 book The House by the Thames and the People who Lived There.

Tyndall explains that the property apparently dates from 1710 – St Paul’s was officially declared complete in 1711, leaving little cross-over (and certainly ruling out any residence by Queen Catherine who actually landed in Plymouth). She says that while it’s true the present house stands in the footprint of an older one, the house where Wren may have actually lodged during the 1670s is located further west along Bankside.

London Remembers notes that this property was apparently marked with an 18th century plaque commemorating Wren. But when that house was demolished in 1906, the plaque was saved and subsequently attached to a power station’s outer wall. When that was redeveloped in the post-war period, the plaque disappeared.

It was apparently that plaque which inspired the creation of the current plaque which was created by Major Malcolm Munthe, who acquired the property in 1945, and subsequently had the plaque made for the home’s exterior.

So it seems the plaque, despite what it says, does not commemorate a Wren residence (although perhaps it may commemorate the residence of Wren in the area). And, it’s been suggested, that while the plaque may not actually have marked a Wren home, its presence may have been enough to protect the building it adorns from threatened redevelopment in the mid-20th century.

This Week in London – Hans Holbein at The Queen’s Gallery; ‘Crown and Coronation’ at the Tower; Christmas at Kew; and, Charles Dickens’ friendship with Wilkie Collins explored…

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Hans Holbein the Younger, 
Anne Boleyn (1532)/Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023.

• The largest exhibition of the work of Tudor-era artist Hans Holbein the Younger has opened at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Holbein at the Tudor Court features more than 50 works by Holbein including intimate portrait drawings of the royal family and the Tudor nobility including one of few surviving drawings of Anne Boleyn made during her lifetime, drawings of Jane Seymour and Sir Thomas More, and an unfinished portrait of King Henry VIII’s son Prince Edward. Other portraits include that of Derich Born, a 23-year-old Steelyard merchant, and one of Richard Southwell, a convicted murderer who was one of King Henry VIII’s closest advisors. The exhibition also features objects including a Brussels tapestry, jewel-like miniatures and Henry VIII’s magnificent armour, usually on show at Windsor and in London for the first time in a decade. Runs until 14th April. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/holbein-at-the-tudor-court/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

The White Tower looking south-east, showing a coloured light projection of St Edward’s Crown, the crown used at the moment of Coronation. PICTURE: © His Majesty King Charles III 2023 -Royal Collection Trust – Historic Royal Palaces

• The magnificence of coronations and the Crown Jewels will be on show at the Tower of London from tomorrow night in a new light and sound show. Crown and Coronation – which has been created by Historic Royal Palaces in partnership with Luxmuralis as part of an artistic collaboration between artist Peter Walker and composer David Harper – brings the “spectacle, significance and shared experience” of coronations to life and demonstrates the pivotal role of the Crown Jewels in the ceremony as it takes visitors on a journey through the past 1,000 years. Images of the jewels will be projected on the White Tower in the show with visitors then able to view the actual jewels themselves in a special after hours opening. But you’ll have to be quick – the show can only be seen for nine days, ending on 25th November before it embarks on a two year UK-wide tour. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

The Palm House light show, part of Christmas at Kew. PICTURE: © Raymond Gubbay Ltd, Richard Haughton

• Christmas returned to Kew this week with the launch of it’s new festive light trail featuring seven new installations. Highlights of this year’s trail include three metre tall illuminated flowers, cascading lights suspended from the tree canopy, one of the longest light tunnels to ever feature in Kew’s Christmas celebrations and the Hive – which recreates life inside a beehive – as well as the iconic Palm House light show, the twinkling tunnel of light inspired by arched church windows known as the ‘Christmas Cathedral’, and a ‘Fire Garden’ at the Temperate House. There’s also festive treats to sample and visitors can experience a traditional Christmas dinner at The Botanical Brasserie. Admission charges applies. Runs until 7th January (advance bookings only). For more, see www.kew.org/christmas.

• Charles Dickens’ friendship and collaboration with writer Wilkie Collins is explored in a new exhibition at The Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury. Dickens met Collins, who would become one of his most significant friends, in 1851 as they performed together in a play at the house of John Forster and their personal and professional relationship lasted more than 15 years. The display features works produced as a result of the friendship – everything from articles in Dickens’s Household Words through to novellas and plays such as The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices and The Frozen Deep – and features original letters, historic objects, and interactive displays focusing on everything from the pair’s moustache-growing contests and cruising international entertainment districts to co-writing side by side, discussing writer’s block and plot devices. Admission is included with general admission. Runs until 25th February. For more, see https://dickensmuseum.com.

Send all items to exploringlondon@gmail.com.

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.  

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…6. Westminster Abbey…

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PICTURE: Benjamin Elliott/Unsplash

Think of Sir ChristopherWren and chances are it’s St Paul’s Cathedral – perhaps the most famous building he designed – which comes to mind. Certainly not Westminster Abbey, which he did not.

Yet, aside from his time at the Westminster School as a child, Wren did have a long relationship with the royal church at Westminster. In March, 1698, he was appointed the Surveyor of the Fabric at Westminster Abbey, a post he held until his death (when he was succeeded by Sir Nicholas Hawksmoor).

Wren did some work on the building. Prior to being appointed surveyor he had undertaken some work on schoolmaster Dr Richard Busby’s house (Wren had been one of his students) in the Little Cloister in 1683 (the house was destroyed during the Blitz in World War II).

Following his appointment, Wren did undertake a major restoration of the decayed stonework and roof of the church. He also approved designs by his deputy, William Dickinson, for the north front and an altarpiece which Wren had originally designed for the royal chapel at the Palace of Whitehall was given to the minster by Queen Anne (it was removed in the 19th century).

In 1713, Wren had also created designs for a series of works at the abbey which included the addition of a central tower and spire at the abbey and the completion of the west front which were never realised and which were shelved after his death (the wooden model for the tower and spire is located in Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, along with a pair of wooden obelisks he designed for the entrance to the Quire).

While there’s no memorial to him in the Abbey, Wren’s image can be seen in the lower right section of a memorial window in the north choir aisle dedicated to 19th century engineer Robert Stephenson while his coat of arms is shown along with numerous others in some post-war glass windows in the Chapter House.

WHERE: Westminster Abbey (nearest Tube stations are Westminster and St James’s Park); WHEN: Times vary – see the website for details; COST: £29 adults/£26 concession/£13 children (family rates available); WEBSITE: www.westminster-abbey.org.

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.

Famous Londoners – William Camden…

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Famed 16th century historian and writer William Camden is celebrated not only for the influence he and his career had on writers including the likes of Ben Jonson and Edmund Spenser, but also for his work in helping to transform the idea of historical inquiry.

‘William Camden’ by or after Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, oil on panel, 17th century, based on a work of 1609 NPG 528. PICTURE: © National Portrait Gallery, London

Camden was born in London on 2nd May, 1551, the son of Sampson, a painter-stainer originally from Lichfield, and his wife Elizabeth (Curwen).

He attended a school at Christ’s Hospital and then St Paul’s School before going on to study at the University of Oxford., graduating with a BA in 1573.

He had returned to London a couple of years earlier and in 1575 was appointed the second master of Westminster School (Jonson was one of his pupils; according to tradition, Camden sponsored his position).

It was during this period that, when not attending his duties at Westminster, he travelled the country, collecting material for what would be the first topographical survey of England. Titled Britannia and written in Latin, it was published in 1586.

Camden was made head master in 1593 and in 1595 published a Greek grammar which became seen as standard work.

In 1597, he was made Clarenceux king-of-arms (one of the three principal heralds at the College of Arms) which allowed him more time for writing (in 1589, he had been granted the prebend of Ilfracombe at Salisbury Cathedral).

Camden, who had established the Society of Antiquities with friends in about 1585 (it helped lay the foundations for the school of 17th century historians), published several history-related works between 1600 and 1607 including the first guide to Westminster Abbey’s monuments.

He was, from the end of that period, also working on his Annales Rerum Anglicarum et Hibernicarum Regnante Elizabetha (Annals of the Affairs of England and Ireland During the Reign of Elizabeth), the first volume of which was published in 1615 (a second volume was completed in 1617 but not published until after Camden’s death).

In 1618, in poor health, Camden retired two Chislehurst in Kent and while there founded the first chair of history at the University of Oxford (in fact the first such chair at any English university). He died, having never married, at Chislehurst on 9th November, 1623.,

Camden was buried in Poet’s Corner, in the south transept, of Westminster Abbey and has a monument which features his bust.

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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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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10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…3. Scotland Yard…

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An English heritage Blue Plaque marking the location of Scotland Yard. PICTURE: Google Maps

OK, so there’s not much left to see here – at least not from Wren’s time. But it was in Scotland Yard that Wren spent much of his time after being appointed Surveyor-General of the King’s Works.

The yard, which was located just north of the kitchens serving the Palace of Whitehall and to the south of aristocratic mansions built along the Strand, was the location of the Office of Works. It served as a workplace for Wren and was also the location of his main residence between 1669 and 1718 when he lived in a house built by his predecessor in the office, John Denham.

According to a recent lecture by Professor Simon Thurley at Gresham College, newly identified plans of the house show the ground floor contained a hall, with a kitchen and scullery to the rear while on the first floor was a great dining room, a smaller private dining room, bedroom and dressing room. A floor above contains quarters for servants and possibly the nursery for his children. There were cellars below, two yards and a long narrow walled garden (he also had a stable nearby for his horses and carriage). Most importantly, a door connected the house directly with the Office of Works next door.

Said Thurley: “Although slightly further [from] the royal lodgings than some apartments, Wren’s house was amongst the largest and best appointed of all the houses allocated to senior courtiers.”

Wren lived here with his two wives – his first wife Faith Coghill died of smallpox here in 1675 and his second wife Jane Fitzwilliam died of tuberculosis in 1680 as well as their children – Christopher, William and Elizabeth. Both William and Elizabeth never left their father’s care and died before him.

The origins of the name of Scotland Yard – which has since become synonymous with the Metropolitan Police (now based at New Scotland Yard) – apparently come from the fact the site contained lodgings where the Kings of Scotland stayed when visiting London (the last Scottish royal to stay here did so before Wren’s time, apparently in the reign of King Henry VIII).

From the Stuart period onward, the site was used for government offices – as well as Wren, other famous residents included Inigo Jones, one of Wren’s predecessors as Surveyor of Works, and, during the Commonwealth, John Milton, while serving as Latin Secretary to Oliver Cromwell.

The location of Scotland Yard is these days commemorated in the name of Great Scotland Street and Scotland Place, just off Whitehall. There’s also an English Heritage Blue Plaque marking the site in Whitehall Place, although Wren doesn’t get a mention on that (it’s entirely devoted to the former police presence).

London pub signs – The Pyrotechnists Arms…

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Guy Fawkes depicted on The Pyrotechnists Arms sign. PICTURE: Matt Brown (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

A rather unusual name for a pub, this Nunhead establishment owes its name to the past history of the area in which it’s built.

The pub’s name apparently comes from the fireworks factory, Brocks Fireworks, which was built nearby in 1868.

The pub’s sign features images of Guy Fawkes and other Gunpowder Plot conspirators – apparently some believe Fawkes imbibed at an establishment in the area (though clearly not this one given it’s relatively recent origins).

The building originally dates from 1874 and underwent a refit in the 1930s, of which many features – including the bar counters – still remain.

The ‘Pyro’ is located at 39 Nunhead Green. For more, see https://www.facebook.com/thepyronunhead.

10 London locations related to Sir Christopher Wren…2. St Martin-in-the-Fields…

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The current Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. PICTURE: Javier Martinez/Unsplash

Not one of the many churches rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire of 1666, St Martin-in-the-Fields, located just to the east of what is now Trafalgar Square, is special to the great architect for very personal reasons.

For it was in this church that his first wife Faith (nee Coghill) and his first son Gilbert were both buried, having died within a few years of each other, along with his second wife Jane (nee Fitzwilliam).

Wren married Faith Coghill, a childhood neighbour and daughter of Sir Thomas Coghill of Bletchingdon, at the age of 37 on 7th December, 1669, at the Temple Church (it’s been suggested it was his appointment that year as Surveyor of the King’s Works that may have provided him with the financial security he desired before marrying).

Their first child – Gilbert – was born in October, 1762. But he died at the age of just 18-months-old. A second child, Christopher (Wren the Younger), was born in February, 1675 (he would go on to live a full life and follow in his father’s footsteps as an architect).

Faith died of smallpox on 3rd September that same year. She was buried beneath the chancel of St Martin-in-the-Fields beside Gilbert.

On 24th February, 1677, Wren married again, this time to Jane Fitzwilliam, daughter of William FitzWilliam, 2nd Baron FitzWilliam, and Jane Perry, in a private ceremony believed to have been undertaken in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall. The couple had two children together – Jane in November that year and William in June, 1679.

Tragically, Jane also died after only a few years of marriage of tuberculosis on 4th October, 1680. She was buried alongside Wren’s first wife and child in St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Wren was not to marry again – and for his long 90 years of life, he was only in the end married for nine.

The medieval church of St Martins-in-the-Fields was altered several times during its lifetime – including being enlarged and beautified – but it’s this earlier church that Wren would have known. The current church was rebuilt to the designs of James Gibbs in the early 1720s and was completed in 1726 after Wren’s death in 1723.

Interestingly, the first wife of Wren’s son Christopher – Mary – was also buried in the church in 1712 and a monument to her can still be seen in the crypt.

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.