Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Central London

  • London – City of London – London Mithraeum

    London – City of London – London Mithraeum

    A few years ago I went to the Cavern Club in Liverpool and was moderately disappointed to discover that it’s not quite in the same place as the original. In 1973, British Rail decided that they must definitely have the site of the Cavern Club (although they were prepared to build elsewhere if they were given some extra money to pay for their costs) and so they compulsorily purchased it, filled it in, then decided they didn’t want it. An attempt was later made to excavate the site which wasn’t entirely successful, so the current Cavern Club is sort of where the old one was with some of the same bricks.

    And, I mention this tangential story because this is what has happened to the London Mithraeum. Not British Rail this time, but Legal & General and the construction of their far from beautiful Bucklersbury House. It would have been possible to redesign the building and keep the Roman finds, but the Government announced it would cost £500,000 and they weren’t spending that. However, it shouldn’t be under-estimated just how interested Londoners were, it attracted unprecedented interest for historic remains and the site was being opened three hours earlier than anticipated in its last week, such were the number of people who wanted to see it. These were challenging times for London in the mid-1950s where much was still being rebuilt following the war, so there was a great deal of positivity when this Roman structure was being uncovered.

    The end result was that they shoved out the Roman remains into the street and called it a compromise. Perhaps less a compromise and more of a sell-out. There was talk of just destroying the site entirely, so the option chosen did at least save the stones. Anyway, Bucklersbury House has now gone and been replaced by a lovely new building designed by Fosters & Partners. And it’s in the cellar of that new building that this temple now resides once again.

    The hole that was dug for the Legal & General building. There’s a lot of history, including some interesting video of people there in the 1950s, at the official web-site at https://www.londonmithraeum.com/about/. Given the quantity of information there, I’ll just borrow a little of their text to ensure my history is correct.

    “The site lies over the course of one of London’s lost rivers, the Walbrook. Nearly 2,000 years ago when Londinium was founded by the Romans, this river marked the limits of their first settlement. In the 3rd century AD, nearly 200 years after the founding of London, a Roman Londoner, built a temple to the god Mithras on this reclaimed ground, next to the river.

    The mysterious cult of Mithras first appeared in Rome in the 1st century AD. It spread across the Empire over the next 300 years, predominantly attracting merchants, soldiers and imperial administrators. Meeting in temples which were often constructed below ground, these were private, dark and windowless spaces. The mythological scene of Mithras killing a bull within a cave, the ‘tauroctony’ is at the heart of the cult, and its full meaning is subject of much speculation.”

    But, going back in this story a little bit, there’s a ground floor entrance to the new Bloomberg Building which gives access to a museum and public space. The first surprise was seeing my friend Steve, who had coincidentally booked the exact same time to visit the same location. And there was one other person (who we didn’t know) booked for this time, as although the tickets are free, they need to be pre-booked at the moment. And we chose the right day to book our tickets to visit, as changing tier restrictions meant that this was to be its final day of opening for the moment.

    This is the first part of the experience. I’m not sure they call it an experience, but it’s a word that perhaps adds an extra dimension to a visit, so I’m using it. The staff member who welcomed us gave a spirited explanation of it. The other person vaguely looked at it and walked off, whereas Steve and I decided we would make an effort to look at it and pretend to understand it. I’m not sure that we did, and I did think this would be a handy spot for a cafe. I’m not sure that’s what the artist had intended me to think, but there we go.

    Some of the finds are now on display, although 14,000 items were found, so I’m not entirely sure where the rest are. Going downstairs, and before getting slightly lost, we found the second part of the museum, where there are some screens giving more of the site’s history.

    And, this is the centrepiece of the attraction located down another flight of stairs. I understand there’s usually some form of audio-visual experience for visitors before entering here, but for reasons unknown, the current health situation makes that impossible.

    And another photo of the Roman remains with visitors being able to walk around the outside. I couldn’t help be distracted by the neatness of the stones, it all felt too polished and modern. And the reasons for this are clear, namely that when they moved it to an outside location and slightly crudely rebuilt it, much of the original was lost in terms of the mortar and indeed its authenticity. Eric Morecambe’s line is often quoted, but there’s an element of truth to say that “there are all the right stones, but not necessarily in the right order”.

    There’s an article in the Sphere on 23 October 1954 with a photo of a wall being built, subtitled “workmen are rebuilding the lower walls with the stones made by Roman masons”. I’m not convinced that there was complete archaeological rigour going on with the rebuilding, although this seems to have been glossed over a little in the telling of the temple’s story.

    But, I have no complaint with the efforts made by Bloomberg, they’ve restored some dignity to this site after some rather casual and off-hand treatment of it over the last few decades. The web-site they’ve created is informative and useful, with the reviews of the museum nearly all veering towards the very positive. And there’s been some magic put back to these stones, in whatever order they’ve been relaid. A visit isn’t likely to take much more than thirty minutes, but I’m glad that I got to see this site at Walbrook.

  • London – City of London – The Telegraph Pub

    London – City of London – The Telegraph Pub

    Firstly, thank you to Fuller’s for my free drink, which will of course influence everything else that I now write….. This is one of what I consider to be their upmarket pubs, located near to Moorgate and likely popular with city workers when there are any workers in the city…..

    The lighting wasn’t ideal for these photos, but a shot of the interior.

    And the bar area.

    My free drink was a pint of London Pride, which was entirely acceptable. I treated myself to the cheese and onion crisps, which seem to be sold throughout the Fuller’s estate, although I wish they’d stock Brannigans. Not that they can because Brannigans have been discontinued, which I find very annoying indeed. And I’ll try not to complain about this savage decision from KP Snacks too often.

    The pub is a bit tucked away and visitors to London are unlikely to just stumble upon it, unless they get a bit lost. It had around ten customers on Friday afternoon, none of whom were dining, but the food menu was available. This is quite an expensive pub for food and drink (unless you get a free pint) and I found it just a bit formulaic. Given the history of the area, it’s all a bit sterile for my liking. The building itself is though new, built in 2003, replacing the Butlers Head pub which was demolished in 2002. The staff were though friendly and helpful, so the welcome seemed authentic and genuine.

    Anyway, since this was rather a cheap visit for me, I can’t complain.

  • London – Central London – Farringdon – Hoop and Grapes

    London – Central London – Farringdon – Hoop and Grapes

    I had a little visit here as it’s a pub in the Good Beer Guide that I haven’t visited before, a rare survival of an historic licensed premises which was nearly demolished in the 1990s. It’s fortunate that it has survived, it’s got some history as being a location for where Fleet marriages took place and it’s also built on a former burial ground.

    The welcome was a bit stilted with the staff member looking at me confused that I’d come into the pub. At a guess I’d say that anyone coming into a pub and standing by the entrance, where it says to wait, is probably a customer and might need assistance. Anyway, I was seated and when I asked what real ales they had and was told a list of their lagers, which isn’t quite the same thing.

    I went for a half a pint of Spitfire and it puzzled me, as the pub must surely have enough volume of this beer to ensure it doesn’t taste off, but this pint was only just on the right side of me sending it back. At the prices charged, I thought it should have been better, especially from a Shepherd Neame pub since it’s their beer.

    The rest of the service was much better and was from a different staff member (who I think was the licensee), so there was more engagement and interest in me as a customer. Not that I really needed any interest, but it made me feel more welcome. The pub was clean and organised, with a nice olde world charm. The pub was also following all of the rules, two multi-household groups came in and admitted they weren’t in the same household, with one asking the licensee to turn a blind eye. I’m not sure that’s a very fair thing for a customer to do, but the staff member apologised and turned them away.

    I liked the building and the service ultimately was fine, but I’m not sure that there was anything else of interest here beyond the history and heritage. But, it was a pleasant location for a drink and it was relatively busy during the early evening. The pub normally has a good reputation for food, but they’re offering a reduced menu at the moment, mostly curries and snacks. The downside was that it felt like a Greene King pub, but I won’t digress down that line of thinking….

  • London – City of London – Faceted Column by Stephen Cox

    London – City of London – Faceted Column by Stephen Cox

    Unfortunately, I fear that my art knowledge has let me down here, as this is probably an amazing work. However, I thought it was World War Two bomb damage initially, until realising it was too new. It has though been put here deliberately and has graced the pavement of Finsbury Square since 1999. I don’t like it as I can’t understand what it is, but I’m sure many do.

  • London – City of London – London Liverpool Street – Fur das Kind

    London – City of London – London Liverpool Street – Fur das Kind

    I’ve wanted to take a photo of this numerous times before, but there have always been people sitting either on the sculpture or perched on the seat like thing next to it. Since London is suffering from a lack of visitors and workers at the moment, the railway station is quiet and there were few people around at all.

    The sculpture is designed by Flor Kent and not by Frank Meisler as I had thought, although he designed the sculpture on the main concourse and the one in Gdansk. They commemorate the same thing though, the Kindertransport which saved thousands of Jewish children from death. Unfortunately, the transports were brought to a halt by the start of the Second World War, but the lives of 10,000 children were saved.

    Originally this sculpture was placed on the main outside concourse of the railway station, but just the girl, which is a life size cast of one of the survivor’s grand-children. Along with the girl was a large perspex case of actual items that had been brought over by the children. Today, the figure of a child has been added and the case is no more, and they have been placed in the railway station as a reminder that this is where many children came on their rescue mission. I’m not sure that it’s best placed by the entrance to the underground station as it’s easily missed because of the people who often stand in front of it.

    There are other similar sculptures across Europe which note other parts of the journey that children went on. It’s a very emotive piece and a reminder of what went on here.

  • London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    I haven’t grumbled about anything in a while, so now feels appropriate. I received an e-mail on behalf of Hard Rock Cafe saying that they had a 50% offer which was off all food in their Oxford Street location in London. This is a very good offer, as Hard Rock might be a little expensive, but that makes it quite a reasonable expedition to get food at half price. I’ve been to around ten Hard Rock Cafes over the years, with the service in Atlanta and Krakow being outstanding, and my visit a few months to Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest was also perfectly enjoyable.

    Anyway, after being quite interested in this offer, it was then noted that solo diners were excluded from taking part. So, group sizes of 2 to 6. I don’t much like this at the best of times, but it’s vaguely understandable as solo diners don’t make as much money. But, nor do three diners at a table for four. And, judging from recent reviews, Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street is not exactly busy. Which is evident from their deluging food out at half price.

    I remember doing some work for a certain Italian restaurant a few years ago which was how to make solo diners welcome. This was marvellous, there are people who are on business trips, who might be lonely, key workers or just people who want to get out of the house. Ideally, the welcome should be positive and engaging for all of those, especially somewhere upbeat such as Hard Rock Cafe which can offer that friendly feel.

    Or, they could be like the management at Hard Rock Cafe in Oxford Street who puts two fingers up at solo diners. Unimpressed.

    Anyway, moving on, I can write about the rather lovely brewery I’ve just been to.

  • London – Thames Photos

    London – Thames Photos

    Back in London today, giving me an opportunity to take more night-time photos by the River Thames, a little further downstream the river than last week.

  • London – River Thames City Walk

    London – River Thames City Walk

    And another walk led by the formidable Des (the one with the bag swung nonchalantly over his shoulder) and I deliberately booked a later train back to Norwich so that I could come on this. That’s dedication…. I was fortunate that someone on the walk kindly explained how I could use my phone to take photos at night, there was a setting that I never bothered to explore. Anyway, that means I could take photos and below is the result of that experimentation.

  • London – City of London – Police Call Box

    London – City of London – Police Call Box

    This police call box, which is no longer in use, is located where Aldersgate Street joins St Martin’s Le Grand. It was installed here in 1935 and the listed building record notes that it’s a relatively rare survival. It’s a chunky piece of iron and although bits have dropped off, the instructions for use have apparently remained. They were once a handy way of alerting the police to an incident and there was no charge made for using them. They were taken out of usage in the 1960s and most were destroyed, but a handful still remain in the city.

    The police box from the side, which has recently been painted a much lighter shade of blue that it had previously. This is deliberate as paint analysis was done on these boxes and it was discovered that this was closer to the original colour scheme.

  • London – City of London – First Metropolitan Drinking Fountain

    London – City of London – First Metropolitan Drinking Fountain

    OK, so I admit that this isn’t the most interesting content ever, a photo of a water fountain at the junction of Holborn Viaduct and Giltspur Street. But I like it, so here we are….

    It’s the first fountain to be erected by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association. It was placed nearby in 1859 and had to be moved to its current site in 1867 when Holborn Viaduct was constructed.

    The association was established in 1859 by Samuel Gurney, a banker from what is now Barclays, as he wanted to ensure that members of the public could access clean water. It was initially known as the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, but changed its name in 1867 to show that it was also concerned with animals. During the mid-nineteenth century it had become known that beer was safer to drink than water, which wasn’t going down entirely well with the temperance movement.

    The association still exists, now known as the Drinking Fountain Association, with its original intentions intact, of providing water fountains to encourage water consumption.