With many City churches reopening after lockdown I have been enjoying popping into a few and re-acquainting myself with some of the interesting and surprising stuff therein: so I thought I’d share a few! All Hallows by the Tower can tell the whole history of the City from one building! Above are a Roman floor, a C7 Saxon arch made from Roman tiles and a Saxon cross. And if that isn’t enough, here is a stunning piece of carving by Grinling Gibbons. The above entry in All Hallows’ Register records the burial of William Laud(e), Archbishop of Canterbury, beheaded in 1645 (the word “Traitor” was ..read more

The Beatles were of course born in Liverpool, met in Liverpool and cut their teeth as a live band there (and Hamburg). But from early in 1963, once they had a recording contract and national fame, they were based in London. As Ringo says in the Anthology programmes, “If you are in our business, you go to London…it’s just a natural move”. Of course Abbey Road studios are well-known: EMI’s studios in St John’s Wood were renamed Abbey Road after the success of the eponymous album. Its fun to go and watch frustrated motorists being delayed by fans and tourists posing on the (now listed) crossing w ..read more

Today as you walk up Farringdon St from Blackfriars Bridge it is hard to believe that it used to be a river: the Fleet river was an important waterway which ran along this route until it was covered over in 1766 (it is still used as a sewer). One clue is in some street names off to the East: Old Seacole Lane and Newcastle St show where cargoes of coal from Newcastle were discharged. Street names on the other side of the street also give us some clues: Running North from the Thames was Bridewell Palace, built between 1515 and 1520 by Henry VIIIth as an impressive London residence: right nex ..read more