The Old City Of London
The City of London has long been a subject of fascination for me and these powerfully atmospheric glass slides of over a century ago from the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society Collection at the Bishopsgate Institute evoke the drama and mystery of this ancient citadel magnificently.
Join me on Bank Holiday Monday for storytelling ramble across the Square Mile, from the steps of St Paul’s through the narrow alleys and lanes to the foot of old London Bridge, in search of the wonders and the wickedness of the City of London.
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Ludgate Hill
George & Vulture
Throgmorton St
Apothecaries Hall
Goldsmiths Hall
Tower Bridge
Mansion House
London Bridge
Earl of Warwick
The Old Dick Whittington, Clothfair
Billingsgate Market
The Little Midshipman, Leadenhall St
Leadenhall Market
St Mary Woolnoth
Doors in Laurence Pountney Lane
St Michael’s Cornhill
St Mary Le Bow
Watchhouse Smithfield
London Bridge
St Margaret Pattens
The Pannyer Boy
St Paul’s Cathedral
St Helen’s Bishopsgate
Fishmongers Hall
Leadenhall Market
Mark Lane
All Hallows London Wall
Royal Exchange
St Paul’s Cathedral
London & Middlesex Archaeological Society Collection photos courtesy Bishopsgate Institute
My late husband worked on Ludgate Hill (top picture), and when Winston Churchill’s funeral in the 1960s travelled up on its way to St Paul’s, they all hung out of the office windows watching the cortege go up the hill. Even better, we had close family links to the Verger of St Paul’s at the time, who provided my parents with tickets (which I still have, plus their programmes) to be in the Cathedral. My dad was a huge fan of Churchill, and glad he managed to be at his funeral, ‘cos sadly my Dad died himself the following year from a sudden Stroke. He was in his mid 50s, and I was still in my teens.
Lovely photos! I’m familiar with all of these places. There is much to mourn the loss of… I miss the Throgmorton restaurant and bars. The George & Vulture is still there but Simpsons Chophouse is gone, and Leadenhall is no longer a proper marketplace. And Billingsgate is just offices.