London Walks are a great way to get the inside story of London from incredibly knowledgable guides who come from all walks of life and who have a passion for history. The walks last for about two hours and weave in and out of little laneways and what you think must be private spaces but which are not. They depart no matter how bad the weather.
On this particular freezing cold and windy Sunday afternoon we decided to explore Ancient London - Knights, Nuns and Notoriety! This walk is led by Sue who is a Freeman of the City of London, a rare award usually bestowed on royalty but in more recent times to others who excel in their field of interest and expertise.
The first was believed to be presented in 1237. Historically it allowed recipients to take their sheep over London Bridge without paying a toll! This greatly improved the profitability of the trip when they sold their sheep at the Smithfield Meat Market!!
Our guide, Sue, is also a history and arts lecturer and a Fellow of the Huguenot Society. Her delivery was interesting and colourful telling us of the incident of the head of a duke kept in a biscuit tin! Of the bursting of a well known William’s body which had to be scooped back into the coffin, and the disgraced prioress who had been sharing her bed.
Another tale whether tall or true was the tradition of having to open Sir Francis Bancroft’s coffin each year for a hundred years, to wish him well and serve him bread and wine!!
We heard of the tale of 13 knights performing three deeds of bravery, one above ground, one below ground and one in the water. We heard of the marking out of the southern boundary of the original City of London by a knight throwing a spear from the middle of the River Thames at low tide.
In the middle of this walk is revealed in an obscure square Devonshire Square also known as Cutlers Gardens, surrounded by modern offices which you would never even contemplate exploring as it seems private but we can go in by special arrangement for London Walks participants. Being a Sunday it was very quiet.
The Knight of Cnihtengild by Denys Mitchell, is made of beaten bronze, covered with stylised birds with blue crystals in their tails. It is quite stunning and apparently looks amazing lit at night.
This is the story behind the knights
There are segments left of the original Roman wall which surrounded Londinium. Although it was first settled in AD 47 the Romans didn’t build the wall until an estimated 190 and 225 AD. The Romans abandoned it in the 5th Century.
This surviving piece of the London Wall is behind the Tower Hill Underground Station.
Excavations and constructions in London often reveal items of archeological significance which generally are prized although some developers aren’t thrilled because of the delays they can cause. Those perceptive developers use the finds as a positive by highlighting the discovery and making a feature of it in their building.
Some other buildings we came close to are pictured below.
30 St Mary Axe is the proper name for this distinctive sky scraper in London known as the Gherkin.
St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate first mentioned in 1212
Surrounded by modern buildings, St Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, is a mediaeval church dating to 1210. Incredible history. It now serves the business people in the area holding many of its activities during the week.
St Helen’s at the left and on the right the extraoardinary Lloyds of London building where all the workings of the building are on the outside, the lifts, air conditioning pipes etc.
Next: Our five day visit to Sweden.
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