A walk through the Square Mile
“I’ve been walking about London for the last 30 years, and I find something fresh in it every day.”– Walter Besant
“London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London.”– Peter Ackroyd
One of my favourite walks, amongst many, is within what they call the City Mile. The oldest part of London. There is a difference. London is made up of the City of London, and Greater London. The former is the area, established and occupied by the Romans, as far back as 200 AD and surrounded by the remnants of original walls and gates, for example Bishopsgate, close to Liverpool Station.
The City of London also protected the many livery companies, or Guilds, of which 110 still exist today. Most begin with the …worshipful company of … and these guilds aim to provide apprenticeships, control on wages etc, and great networking for those in the same profession. A trip around the guilds is a great idea.
Do you know where this church is? The steeple is said to inspire the traditional three-tiered wedding cake.
What I also love, meandering down these narrow alleys, roads that turn and reveal another surprise, a square, a statue, a new building beside an old one, are the street names. It is alleged that all the streets, are streets and not named roads, but this can be debated. Yet, the streets gives one a clear idea of the times lived all those years ago. Streets with name like poultry street, fish street, pudding lane, cheapside, ironmongers street, love lane, critchfield street, hanging alley and Seething lane to name a few. Then we have street names like Cock Lane and Piss Alley. A few more dubious names were changed by the Victorians.
The City of London has been burnt, bombed, blasted and re-built over the centuries. New glass skyscrapers loom over heritage Georgian and Victorian buildings, it remains the financial trading area of London.
Did you know that Lloyds of London was once a ‘coffee shop?’ Coffee shops were in abundance in the 17th century and there is are wonderful stories about these coffee shops and how they developed into large industries which has very little to do with coffee.
‘Beyond Tomorrow’ by Karin Jonzen (1972)
In this square mile of London, one can still find remnants of the original Roman wall. The dragons of Saint George are signs of where the City mile begins and greater London extends. Sprinklings of churches, a magnificent Cathedral, tombs and graves, gardens and great characters that all played their part in the history of London. Some good, some not so good, most just trying to avoid the plague, sickness, prison and persecution. A cauldron of smells, sights and layers and layers of living.
St. Pauls Cathedral.