In Fleet St
Walking between Spitalfields and the West End, Fleet St has emerged as a favourite route in recent years, because the detail of this magnificent thoroughfare never ceases to fascinate me with new interest – and so I spent a morning wandering there yesterday with my camera to record some of these sights for you.
Alsal Watches
Royal Courts of Justice by George Edward Street, opened 1882
This marker at the entrance to the City of London was unveiled in 1880 and is the work of Horace Jones, architect of Tower Bridge and Smithfield, Billingsgate and Leadenhall Markets
Hoare’s Bank from Hen & Chicken Court
Hoare’s Bank founded in 1672
Clifford’s Inn founded in 1344
Entrance to Middle Temple, 1684
St Dunstan-in-the-West
Angels at the entrance to St Dunstan-in-the-West
Statue of Queen Elizabeth I that once stood upon the west side of Ludgate, demolished in 1760
Sixteenth century statues of King Lud and his sons that originally stood upon the east side of Ludgate
Old King Lud
Removed in 1878, Christopher Wren’s Temple Bar now stands at the entrance to Paternoster Sq
Prince Henry’s Room over entrance to Inner Temple, 1610
St Brides by Christopher Wren, 1672, reflected in the Daily Express building by Ellis & Clarke, 1932
St Bartholomew House by Herbert Huntly-Gordon, 1900
Carving upon The George
Pulpit in St Clement Danes by Grinling Gibbons
Eagles in St Clement Danes
Statue of Dr Samuel Johnson
Looking east down Fleet St
Ah memories! I worked opposite the Law Courts in a building that survived the Great Fire in 1666. On the ground floor was the Wig & Pen Club, a restaurant used by journalists & members of the legal profession. Above, were our offices, it was impossible to pass on the stairs as they were too narrow, they also creaked mightily and were untouchable because of the listed nature of the building. Today, it is is an Asian restaurant.
Loved the photos
David
Good to take a stroll along Fleet Street again, thanks for the happy memories. Valerie
What a poignant photo of Dr Samuel Johnson – seemingly representing the learned and wealthy of times gone by and now – with today’s needy man, napping on the pavement, representing the outcast and poor of each and every age. It seems a cold cold existence for many.
Again I say – but for the grace of God, go I. Such wonderful black and white photography, gentle author.
From The Land Down Under on this sunny breezy Autumn afternoon.
My wife and I have spent many a happy evening chasing down Fleet St,on the way to the night’s entertainment and being overawed by the history and tradition of this splendid route.If the traffic stops for long enough you can hear the echoes of previous inhabitants reminding us that we are all just passing through.
Some exciting photographs — but: they aren’t really from yesterday, are they?? They seem to be somewhat older!
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Once again Gentle Author you’ve made our hearts race with these stunning black and white photos. This time of Fleet Street, one of London’s most fascinating and historic thoroughfares. Thank you for enlightening us daily and sharing your knowledge with us.
Exquisite photographs. I particularly like the one above the one of St Bartholomew House. Poignant, the one of Dr Samuel Johnson – both gentleman undoubtedly shaded by the London Plane trees. With Temple Bar shimmying amongst them, your photographic record tells me so much, with so few words. Thank you
I like seeing the time change on the clocks – so many of them; it is always so important to know what time it isn’t, as my Dad was always telling me – not time for supper, not yet time to leave for work, etc.
So much skilled and visionary labor went into all of this – the stone masons, the architects, the wood carvers, the clock-makers. And all those hidden places like Hen and Chicken Yard.
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Holey moley, did you just change that as I am writing, from King Charles II to King Lud? Very funny coincidence. I wouldn’t know either of them from Adam … You see he has a fish behind his head.
More truly superb photos from you, Gentle Author; as a photographer myself I have a critical eye and can scarcely believe that you first picked up a camera only a few years ago. You have a questing, inquisitive eye and a highly refined, elegant sense of composition. Love the reflection of the Law Courts in the watch shop window, and the rain-spattered trace of St Bride’s steeple at the Express building. The medium of black & white renders perfectly the nuances of light and shadow, texture and form.
Incidentally, the marvellous art deco foyer of the Express building is usually accessible over the Open House weekend in September. Also well worth a look in Fleet Street is the narrow mosaic-floored and mirrored interior of the Tipperary pub (refitted 1895). I have lived in London for 50 years, and Fleet Street remains one of my favourite thoroughfares for the surprising close conjunctions of architectural styles and the continuous flow of pedestrians on its narrow pavements.
What a fabulous array, layers, juxtapositions, context for each other, and for us – who’ve sometime walked or worked here, or watched the Olympic victory parade process – whatever, to think and feel again.
Thanks so much for those photos. I spent my working life as a journalist in Fleet Street and they brought back many memeories to this old hack now living in Florida.
Thank you for the picture of Hoare’s Bank. “My bankers are Hoares” – one of my favorite quotes from Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series.
lovely pics as always!
This area has always been a huge favorite of mine. So many happy memories wandering this area of London with hopefully a stop in one or two of the wonderful remaining Wren churches and always to the Temple Church and Dr. Johnson’s house, 2 touchstones for me. Wish for a tipple at El Vino’s or the Cheshire Cheese. Thanks for the lovely photos.
Wonderful photos. Love the chap walking into shot and the sleeping man under the tree, brilliant work. That area of Fleet St is so rich with history it would be quite easy to spend a day there.
I liked the picture of Dr. Samuel Johnson but who was the chap represented by the statue ?
Gary
Wonderful photographs…Thank You.
Love the photos, love the walk. Added to possible weekend pursuits! Thank you.
Wonderful photographs; thank you. Have you ever looked inside the bank opposite the Law Courts? It has very extravagant tiled decorations, some in the entrance area and different ones inside.
Wonderful shots & a great tour!
Stunning photos of somewhere I walk everyday. Next time pop into the office -I’m on Chancery Lane. Drinks is on me!