Located in Islington, the Caledonian Park Clock Tower is a local landmark and among all that now remains of the 19th century Metropolitan Cattle Market.
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Located at the south-western end of the Houses of Parliament, the rather grand Victoria Tower was built as part of Sir Charles Barry’s 19th century redevelopment of the site in the Gothic Perpendicular style.
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This tower is a survivor and was originally part of the rebuilt Church of St Olave, Old Jewry.
The medieval church, which was apparently built on the site of an earlier Saxon church, originally dated from 12th century. Its name referred to both the saint to whom it was dedicated – the patron saint of Norway, St Olaf (Olave) – and its location in the precinct of the City that was largely occupied by Jews (up until the infamous expulsion of 1290).
The church, which is also referred to as Upwell Old Jewry (this may have related to a well in the churchyard), was the burial place of two former Lord Mayors – mercer Robert Large (William Caxton was his apprentice) and publisher John Boydell (who apparently washed his face under the church pump each morning). Boydell’s monument was later transferred to St Margaret Lothbury.
The church was sadly destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 but it was among those rebuilt under the eye of Sir Christopher Wren in the 1670s. It’s from this rebuilding that the current tower dates.
At this time, the parish was united with that of St Martin Pomeroy (which had already shared its churchyard and which was also destroyed in the Great Fire).
Wren’s church was eventually demolished in 1887 as moves took place to consolidate church parishes under the Union of Benefices Act – the parish was united with that of St Margaret Lothbury and proceeds from the sale were used to fund the building of St Olave, Monor House. It’s worth noting that a Roman pavement was found on the site after the church demolition.
The tower (and the west wall), meanwhile, survived. The tower was subsequently turned into a rectory for St Margaret Lothbury and later into offices.
Interestingly, the Grade I-listed, Portland stone tower is said to be the only one built by Wren’s office which is battered – that is, wider at the bottom than the top. It’s topped by some obelisk-shaped pinnacles and a weather vane in the shape of a sailing ship which was taken from St Mildred, Poultry (was demolished in 1872).
The tower’s former clock was built by Moore & Son of Clerkenwell. It was removed at the time of the church demolition was installed in the tower of St Olave’s Hart Street. The current clock was installed in 1972.
Carrying rather a gruesome name, this rectangular-shaped tower sits over a gate leading from outer ward into the inner ward in the Tower of London.
The tower, which once controlled the watergate before the outer walls were constructed, was originally known as the Garden Tower due to its location adjoining the Tower Lieutenant’s Garden.
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We’ll kick off a new series next week, but, in the meantime, here’s a recap…
1. Queen Elizabeth’s Oak, Greenwich…
4. The Royal Oak, Richmond Park…
Located in the heart of Mayfair are some of the oldest – and most valuable – plane trees in London.
London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) – believed to be a hybrid of the American Sycamore Platanus occidentalis) and the Oriental Plane (Platanus orientalis) – were widely planted across London in the 18th century due to their resistance to pollution.
These grand old trees are believed to have been planted in 1789 by MP Edward Bouverie, who lived at 13 Berkeley Square.
Among the 30 or so plane trees in the Grade II-listed park is one known variously as the ‘Victorian Plane’ or ‘Berkeley Plane’.
It was reportedly assessed under the Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees system in 2008 as being worth $750,000, a price tag which is understood to have made it the most valuable tree in Britain at the time.
The tree was one of the original 41 Great Trees of London.
Said to be the oldest of its species in the UK (and a contender for the oldest tree in London), this holm oak (Quercus ilex), also known as a holly leaved oak, is believed to be more than 500-years-old.
The site was the home of senior clergy for much longer – Waldhere, the Bishop of London, first bought the site in 704 AD. And over the years, Fulham Palace and its gardens have evolved significantly with some of the current structures dating from Tudor times.
The Bishops of London left the palace in 1973 and it’s now managed under a trust which was established in 2011.
It’s possible this immense evergreen oak, which is native to the Mediterranean region, was among a number planted in the mid-16th century during the tenure of Bishop Edmund Grindal (about 1553 to 1559).
Bishop Grindal is known to have had a keen interest in the garden and who is credited with introducing the tamarisk tree to England and growing grapes which were sent to Queen Elizabeth I.
It’s also possible the tree was planted during the later tenure of Bishop John Aylmer (1576 to 1594).
The oak, which was coppiced many years ago extending its life, is among the original 41 trees awarded “Great Tree” status in 1988.
WHERE: Fulham Palace Gardens, Bishop’s Avenue, Fulham (nearest Tube station is Putney Bridge); WHEN: 10.30am – 5pm daily; COST: Free; WEBSITE: https://www.fulhampalace.org
Not one but five trees located in Kew Gardens, the “Old Lions” are five of the oldest trees in the garden.
Kew’s first curator, John Smith, is credited with first using the term to describe the trees.
They include a Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum) which was planted in 1762 after having been brought back to London from China by London nurseryman James Gorden.
There’s also the oldest of the maidenhair trees (Ginkgo biloba) in the garden, one of several grown by Gorden in 1758. Originally planted in the Duke of Argyll’s Garden at Whitton, it was transferred to Kew in 1762 following his death by his nephew Lord Bute, and is thought to be one of the first of its species to be grown in the country.
The Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis), located next to the Orangery, also apparently come from Whitton, brought to Kew in 1762, while the Caucasian elm (Zelkova carpinifolia) was planted in 1760 and is the only survivor of a group of three, the other two lost in storms in 1987 and 1990.
The last of the five trees is a Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) tree, also known as the false acacia tree. It was planted in the gardens in 1762 and was also transplanted from the Duke of Argyll’s Garden at Whitton.
WHERE: Kew Gardens (nearest Tube station is Kew Gardens); WHEN: 10am to 7pm (see website for seasonal changes); COST: From £20 for adults; from £18 concessions; from £9 young person (16 to 29 years); from £5 for children (4 to 15 years); see website for ticket categories WEBSITE: www.kew.org.
Nations, including the UK, have just marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy at a range of locations in France and England. But did you know London has its own “D-Day tree”?
The tree, a Ginkgo biloba or Maidenhair tree, is located outside number 22 in Grosvenor Square in Mayfair (on the corner with Upper Brooks Street). It was planted in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
As well as the tree itself, the landings are commemorated with plaques around the base which provide the date of the landings and its code-name, Operation Overlord.
The location apparently relates to 20 Grosvenor Square being, for a time, the headquarters of Dwight D Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force launched on D-Day. There’s a plaque on the building commemorating his tenure.
In fact, the number of Americans working in the square – at locations including the US Embassy – led to it being known colloquially as ‘Eisenhower Platz’).
The tree was planted by the City of Westminster.
Note: There seems to be some conflicting information, not the least on a plaque in Bushy Park about Eisenhower’s connections with Grosvenor Square and Norfolk House in St James’s Square. We’ll be investigating further to clarify.
Standing on a Barbican walkway is the remnant of a tree believed to be at least 500-years-old which fell during a storm January, 1990.
The now hollowed-out stub of the beech tree (Fagus Sylvatica) had previously been located in the woodland known as Burnham Beeches, in Buckinghamshire – a woodland which was purchased by the City of London Corporation in 1880.
But what apparently sets this tree out from the others at Burnham Beeches is that it is believed famed German composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1808-1847) used to sit under its then leafy branches while staying nearby during his several visits to England.
He is said to have done so to gain inspiration for his compositions and among the works he is said to have composed while here is some “incidental music” for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (although it has been suggested this might not actually be the exact tree under which he sat).
The tree and its plaque were installed in 1993 by the Barbican Horticultural Society and unveiled by conductor and composer Carl Davis.
There is now a replacement “Mendelssohn’s Tree” in Burnham Beeches which was planted in 2005.
WHERE: Barbican, off Aldersgate St (nearest Tube station is Barbican); WHEN: Anytime; COST: Free; WEBSITE: N/A.
While there’s been gardens here dating back possibly as far as the middle of the 12th century when the Templars established a preceptory here, these two trees have a more recent historic (and royal) link.
The gnarled black mulberrys (Morus nigra) in the Fountain Court were planted here on 20th June, 1887, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
There were actually four mulberry trees planted to mark the occasion – which was celebrated with a grand dinner in the nearby Middle Temple Hall – but these two trees are the only survivors, the other two having been removed in the 1970s.
Both trees are these days leaning on supports.
Estimated to be more than 750-years-old, the tree known as the Royal Oak is located near Pen Ponds and Richmond Gate.
This massive English oak (Quercus robur), which is hollow, doesn’t have any direct connections to royalty but it did survive the felling of trees which took place in Richmond Park and across the south-east of England so King Henry VIII’s navy could be built.
That may have been thanks to the King himself, who wisely passed a law to spare every 10th tree in the park for future seed.
While the park had been used by King Henry VIII as a hunting ground, it wasn’t until 1637 – during the reign of King Charles I – that it was first enclosed.
The tree, which is said to be one of 1,400 “veteran trees” in the park, was pollarded for several hundred years which helped create its shape – this is a method of pruning which removes the top-most branches to form a denser head (and creates wood which can be used for a variety of purposes).
WHERE: Near Pen Ponds, Richmond Park; WHEN: 24/7 pedestrian access; COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/richmond-park
Located in Danson Park in Bexley, south-east London, this tree is another of those in London which has been awarded “Great Tree” status.
Estimated to be around 200-years-old, it was planted in what was originally the grounds of the Danson Mansion Estate.
Danson House, a Palladian villa, was built by Sir John Boyd in 1766 for his second wife Catherine Chapone and designed by Sir Robert Taylor, the architect who also designed the Bank of England.
The Charter Oak of Bexley’s name comes from the charter which changed Bexley from a Urban District Council to the Borough of Bexley. It was presented to the first municipal council by Lord Cornwallis underneath the oak in 1937.
The oak’s significance is underlined by its presence on the Borough of Bexley’s coat-of-arms.
Visibly deteriorating, in 2017, “revolutionary geo-injector technology” was used to decompact the soil around the tree and feed its roots, successfully extending the tree’s life.
WHERE: Danson Park, Bexley (nearest railway stations are Bexleyheath and Welling); WHEN: 24 hours a day; COST: Free; WEBSITE: https://www.bexley.gov.uk/discover-bexley/visitor-attractions/danson-house-and-park/house
Said to be among the oldest still living trees in the City of London, the Cheapside Plane stands in what was once the churchyard of St Peter Cheap.
The church itself was destroyed in the Great Fire of London but how long this leafy tree, which stands more than 70 feet high, has occupied the site remains a matter of some conjecture.
A City of London tree trail puts the age of the tree – which stands at the corner of Wood Street and Cheapside – at 250 years (records held by the City say the tree was originally purchased for sixpence).
Over the years, this landmark tree – which has stood silent witness to everything from the 1854 cholera outbreak to the bombs of the Blitz – has garnered considerable attention appearing in various media, such as the Illustrated London News, and even, so say some, a 1797 poem by William Wordsworth (although some say the poem doesn’t refer to the tree at all).
The tree, which stands behind protective black iron railing, is the only one in the City of London listed among the “Great Trees of London” and planning laws protect it from over-development of the surrounding buildings.
Spring is upon us, so we thought it an appropriate time to consider some of London’s greatest natural assets – its trees. But, as well as being significant for their environmental impact, each of these trees (or, in some cases, the remains of them), are significant for historic reasons (we’ve previously mentioned a couple including what’s believed to be the oldest tree and the unusual – and sadly now deceased – Hardy Tree).
First up, it’s the tree known as Queen Elizabeth’s Oak in Greenwich. Thought to date from possibly as far back as the late 13th century, this tree survived until the 19th century before its carcass finally fell to the ground during a storm in 1991. It has lain in Greenwich Park ever since.
The tree, which is located at the end of what is now Lover’s Walk close to the Maze Hill Gate, was located in the grounds of Greenwich Palace (also known as the Palace of Placentia) and was there when King Henry VIII resided at the palace.
In fact, it’s said that he and Anne Boleyn danced around the oak while courting, and (and here’s where the name comes from) that Elizabeth, their daughter (and later Queen Elizabeth I), picnicked under its canopy (some accounts suggest she actually picnicked in the tree’s hollow – but still then upright – trunk).
Following the creation of what is now Greenwich Park, the hollow tree was apparently used as a prison for those caught illicitly on the grounds. They were secured behind a heavy wooden door fitted to the trunk (a park keeper’s lodge was built nearby in the 17th century; it was demolished in the 1850s).
The tree, one of 3,000 in the park, had died in the 19th century and was reduced to an eight metre high stump, partly supported by ivy, when it was blown over by the storm in June, 1991.
A replacement oak, which was donated by the Greenwich Historical Society was planted nearby by the Duke of Edinburgh on 3rd December, 1992, to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 40 years on the throne.
A ring analysis carried out on the tree found in 2014 it dated back to at least 1569 but with the core missing a precise date of germination couldn’t be found. Estimates, however, place the date of germination to the last 13th or early 14th century. The analysis placed the tree’s death to between 1827 and 1842.
The tree is marked with a plaque and both it and the new tree are surrounded by an iron railing.
WHERE: Queen Elizabeth Oak, Greenwich Park (nearest DLR station is Greenwich); WHEN: 6am to 8pm daily; COST: Free; WEBSITE: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/greenwich-park.
This is an expanded version of a post first made in 2017.
Time for a quick recap before we move on to our next series…
1. The Church of St Alphege London Wall…
2. St George’s Garrison Church…
4. Spitalfields Charnel House…
We finish with one of London’s more unusual ruins – in that it was actually designed to be one.
Located in Bromley Palace Park – once the home of the Bishops of Rochester and now the grounds of the Bromley Civic Centre – is what appears to be the remains of a medieval church or building.
But the “ruins” actually only date from the Victorian era and were created as a folly for the first private owner of the house.
The ruins, which are Grade II-listed, consists of a brick turret which features a rounded arched window in the Norman style with some raised zig-zag decoration above it and an arched arrow squint. The arch rests upon what is believed to actually be early medieval capitals with a late 12th century column on the left.
The folly, located at the south-western corner of the bishop’s palace grounds, was created in about 1865 on the orders of merchant Coles Child, who bought the house in 1845, and may have been created, along with other garden features, by the company of James Pulham.
Tradition says it was constructed from medieval remnants found in the moat of the bishop’s palace.
WHERE: Bromley Palace Park (Civic Centre Grounds), Stockwell Close, Bromley (nearest rail station is Bromley South); WHEN: Office hours; WEBSITE: https://bromleyparks.co.uk/portfolio/bromley-palace-park/
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.
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
Located within the outer walls of the Tower of London are the remains of some early 13th century fortifications built by King Henry III.
These include the foundations of Coldharbour Gate which once adjoined the south-west corner of the White Tower as well as the western wall of the Inmost Ward which ran down to the Wakefiekd Tower.
The gate was defended by two cylindrical turrets while the Inmost Ward Wall has arrow loops installed, allowing archers to fire down on attackers who had breached the outer fortifications.
The gate was later used as a prison. Alice Tankerville, who was charged with piracy on the River Thames, became one of the most famous prisoners housed there when, despite having apparently been chained to the wall, she escaped with the help of two guards in 1533 (she was recaptured just outside the Tower).
The gateway was demolished in about 1675 and lead from the roof taken to Greenwich where it was redeployed at the Royal Observatory.
Much of the wall was hidden away behind later buildings but was re-exposed after being bomb damaged during World War II.
Not much remains to be seen today but the foundations do evoke a sense of the royal palace in times past and serve as a reminder that the buildings we see at the Tower today are not all that has existed here.
Other ruins at the Tower of London include the remains of the Wardrobe Tower, which lies at the south-east corner of the White Tower. It is thought to have dated from 1190 and incorporates the base of a Roman bastion.
WHERE: Tower of London (nearest Tube station Tower Hill); WHEN: 9am to 5.30pm (last admission 3.30pm), Tuesday to Saturday; 10am to 5.30pm (last admission 3.30pm) Sunday to Monday; COST: £34.80 adults; £17.40 children 5 to 15 (family tickets available; discounts for online purchases/memberships); WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/.
There’s many remnants of the Roman and later medieval wall which once surrounded the City of London – the towering section at Tower Hill near the Tower of London no doubt the most famous.
But there are several other stretches of the stone and brick wall left which evoke a sense of the structure it once was and the defensive role it played in protecting Londoners – among them is a substantial section of the wall located in Noble Street on the city’s western side.
The 80 metre long section of Roman and later medieval remains includes two internal turrets on what was the west side of the Roman Cripplegate fort (built between 120 and 150 AD) as well as a substantial bastion located at the southern end of the site.
The highest fragment of the Roman wall can be seen opposite Oat Lane, near the southern end of the site, while the highest section of the wall – which stands some 4.5 metres high and is mostly medieval – can be seen at the northern end of the site.
As well as reflecting the City’s Roman and medieval history, this section of wall also evokes a sense of the horrors of the Blitz.
Projecting eastward on the inside of the wall are party walls from World War II bomb-damaged and later demolished homes which once fronted onto Noble Street.
WHERE: Noble Street, London (nearest Tube stations are Barbican and Bank; WHEN: Anytime; COST: Free.
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