A group of 15 Explore London 2 members went on a ‘City Wander’ in October, starting from Liverpool Street station and walking along Bishopsgate to take the lift up to The Lookout, which has panoramic views of the city, 50 stories up – and it is free!
Before making our way onto Cornhill and into St Michael’s church Cornhill, (one of the many very ancient city churches), we stopped for a coffee in the marvellous Leadenhall Market, which is built on the site of the east part of the 2nd century Roman forum. The current elegant structure dates from 1889 and was built by Sir Horace Jones in cast iron and stone. From there we noted the gold Gresham Grasshopper, which is an emblem of the family Crest of the influential Gresham family of merchants and then marvelled at the elegant Royal Exchange and the Bank of England buildings. Heading down Walbrook to Canon Hill station, we passed The Mansion House and 1 Poultry, a very unusual building that looks like a ship.
We made our way to Laurence Pountney Hill to view the two remaining merchants’ houses, which date back to 1703. These are considered to be the finest examples of these left in the City and are close to our lunch stop at The Olde Wine Shades. The Shades was a popular name for drinking dens in the 18th century, not for their shady clientele! We crossed Upper Thames Street to head down to the river, passing Fishmongers Hall, highly decorated of course with fish. We all admired from a distance The Monument in Pudding Lane, but decided the walk up all those stone steps would be too much! After heading towards Tower Bridge and The Tower of London, we turned up hill to make our way into All Hallows by the Tower. This is the oldest church in the City and in the crypt, you can appreciate a roman floor by the entrance, marvel at the Saxon arch and appreciate the font cover, crafted from lime wood. The guide there told us about the sword rests, which are unique to City of London churches.
Finally, we walked up Mincing Lane (the name has nothing to do with mince or pies but relates to myncheus – nuns – of Saint Helen’s Bishopsgate) to view Minster Court, a blend of gothic and art deco, which is nicknamed Dracula’s Castle. It is also where, in the film 101 Dalmatians, Cruella Deville resided.
Our last stop was in St Olave’s Church, where Samuel Pepys is buried. A wooden church stood here in the 11th century and was replaced by a stone building in the 13th century. The current church was built in 1450, but the 13th century crypt remains. The building was restored in the 1950s after Blitz damage.
We were lucky with the weather – a dry day – we covered quite a distance! Our wander was packed full of history, at every turn.
Maggie Reeve