July – Skyscrapers and city churches: 1000 years’ difference!

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 by claresimons1

View across the River Thames to the City

These might not be popular with everyone, but I love these buildings! And most of all, I love the stark contrast between their 21^st Century looks and the medieval and classical designs of the city churches. As mentioned in previous posts, I love the way the Walkie Talkie (the squarish one) peeps into my pictures, so, as I still can’t go inside churches yet, I thought I’d try to get some photos of churches with these big boys lurking in the background. It was quite a challenge to get the right shots. Here are four for July, plus a couple of other interesting ones. Information about all the buildings mostly obtained from Wikipedia*

St Margaret Pattens and the Walkie Talkie

Hard to believe that 100 years ago the church would have been the tallest building!

St Margaret Pattens: Founded 1067, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren 1686 – 1688. The original church was destroyed in the Great Fire, but this one was not damaged in the Blitz. The name is probably derived from pattens, wooden-soled overshoes which people wore in the muddy London streets. But why name a church after shoes? Because it has associations with the Livery Company, the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers. The church is designated a Grade 1 listed building as are all the City churches, meaning that they can’t be demolished or altered in any way, inside or out.

The Walkie-talkie: 20 Fenchurch Street, completed 2014, Architect: Rafael Vinoly. Architectural Style: Neo-futurism. Floor Count: 35, plus the 3 storey ‘Sky Garden’ which is free to visit, but you have to book in advance. There’s a restaurant and coffee bars and a lovely garden of tropical plants, plus panoramic views of London. The building was originally proposed to be 200m tall (it’s actually 160m) but there were concerns about its visual impact on St Paul’s and the Tower of London. Even after its height reduction there were complaints from heritage groups, resulting in a public inquiry but this ruled in the developers’ favour and in 2007, full planning permission was granted. In 2015, the Walkie Talkie was awarded the Carbuncle Cup for the worst new building in the previous 12 months. What do you think?

No 1 St Andrew Undershaft and The Gherkin

No 2 St Helen Bishopsgate and The Gherkin

St Andrew Undershaft: founded in 1147, survived both the Great Fire and the 1940s Blitz. The current church was built in 1532, I would LOVE to have seen the surrounding streets in those days! Its name comes from the shaft of the maypole which was set up in Spring each year opposite the church for Mayday revels. It was removed and destroyed in 1547 by a mob who saw it as a ‘pagan idol’.

St Helen Bishopsgate: founded in 1210 as a nunnery, St Helen of the Benedictine Order. The church also survived the Fire and the Blitz but in both 1992 and 1993 the church was badly damaged by IRA bombs set off nearby, including the destruction of all the stained-glass windows. Since then the church has been restored and improved: ‘a more flexible, open space, lighter than ever before and yet retaining all its ancient grandeur.’ So it says on their website, I’ll have to go inside when we’re allowed again!

The Gherkin: 30 St Mary Axe was the former site of the Baltic Exchange which was completely destroyed by that IRA bomb in 1992. Completed in 2003, Architect: Foster + Partners, Architectural style: Neo-futurism. Floor count: 41 storeys. Originally the London Millennium Tower was to occupy the site, which would have been the tallest building in Europe, but Heathrow Airport objected to the disruption that such a tall building would have on their flight paths. A word about the street name: St Mary Axe was a church demolished in 1561 and the name derives from the being associated with the Worshipful Company of Skinners who used axes in their trade. The sign of the Axe was said to have been present over the church. Further interesting fact: true Londoners pronounce the street name ‘Simmery Axe.’!

I like this picture of St Andrew Undershaft and the Scalpel. The Gherkin can just be seen reflected in its windows

The Scalpel: 52 Lime Street, is built on a site formerly occupied by Prudential House and Alianz Cornhill House. Completed in 2018, the architect was Kohn Pedersen Fox and the floor count is 38. No architectural style cited but I’m guessing neo-futurism. The name ‘Scalpel’ was coined by the Financial Times due to the building’s ‘distinctive angular design’. This building has a pointed top but also a dark triangular roof lower down, which if seen from the train on a sunny day, looks like a ‘play’ button! Lime Street is also home to the distinctive Lloyds of London building (and also it appears, a local Lloyds branch!)

St Katherine Cree (in the foreground) has the distinction of being photo-bombed by three modern skyscrapers!

St Katherine Cree: Founded in 1280, replaced by this Jacobean building in 1628, the name derives from ‘Crichurch’, an abbreviation of Christchurch. This is a guild church, rather than a parish church, designated by an Act of Parliament, no less, to ‘serve and minister to the non-resident, daytime population of the City’. There are several of these churches and this one is the Guild Church to Finance, Commerce and Industry, not surprising really. In practice, this means that the church is open on weekdays offering on different days, Holy Communion and prayer for healing, Bible study, talks with church wardens, a ‘Not on a Sunday’ service, and Lloyd’s choir practices. At the present time, some off this is being offered online, according to the notice board.

The Cheesegrater: 122 Leadenhall Street, also known as The Leadenhall Building. I walked right underneath this without realising what it was, easily done. Completed in 2013, architect Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. The floor count is 48 and the architectural style is post-modern structural expressionism, looks neo-futurism to me. It is said that the City of London’s Chief Planning Officer, Peter Rees, on seeing a model of the concept ‘told Richard Rogers I could imagine his wife using it to grate parmesan’. Not ordinary cheddar, mind. As the Gherkin and the Shard had already been given nicknames, The Cheesegrater continued the trend. It makes Tower 42 sound boring, doesn’t it?

2 Extras:

Better views of Minster Court and St Olave’s Church

Minster Court: Three buildings onMincing Lane and Mark Lane. Completed in 1992 and designed by architects GMW Partnership, it has been described as post-modern gothic. Personally, I don’t like it, but it certainly has a dramatic, Gotham City look to it. The exterior was used as Cruella De Vil’s haute couture fashion house in Disney’s 1996 live action remake of 101 Dalmatians, and No 3 Minster Court is the offices of the London Underwriting Centre.

St Olave’s Hart Street: This little church has a literary history, being the burial place of diarist Samuel Pepys and his wife, who worshipped here, and named by Dickens as ‘one of my best beloved churchyards.’ The poet John Betjeman described St Olave’s as ‘a country church in the world of Seething Lane’ (a nearby street.) The present building is 1450 and described as ‘Perpendicular Gothic’, although it doesn’t seem to bear any resemblance to post-modern gothic!

St Mary-at-Hill: Founded in 1336, but there is evidence of a church on the site in 1177, according to ancient documents. The church was severely damaged in the Great Fire, not surprising as the starting point of the Fire was Pudding Lane, two streets away. It was skilfully rebuilt by Christopher Wren who managed to retain the medieval walls. The church serves the Parish of Billingsgate and has strong links with the famous Fish Market, formally situated at Billingsgate Quay down the hill at the waterside. A Fish Harvest Festival is still held annually at the church!

The Shard: Also known as The Shard of Glass and formerly, London Bridge Tower. Situated on the Southbank, it is the tallest building in the UK at 95 floors and was completed in 2012. The architect was Renzo Piano and the style is neo-futurism. The story goes that entrepreneur Irvine Sellar wanted to redevelop the Southwark area and met the Italian architect for lunch in Berlin, to discuss plans for a new building. Piano expressed contempt for conventional tall buildings and sketched a spire-like sculpture emerging from the Thames on the back of a menu. I wonder how many other buildings started as a doodle on a random piece of paper? Probably most of them!

*A Final Word: I’ve loved doing this month’s blog; the challenge of getting the right photos, walking the lately almost deserted streets of the City and marvelling at the contrast of ancient stone and modern glass and steel. Today I donated £10 to Wikipedia, I couldn’t do this without the vast knowledge, seemingly on absolutely every subject, on their site. It’s been fascinating, hope you enjoyed reading it too.

June – Abbeys and Priories in the English Countryside

Posted on June 29, 2020 by claresimons1

Yet again, the lockdown has caused me to be creative about the boundaries of our capital. This month I’m looking at four of the abbeys and priories around Surrey, and one beyond. It’s amazing to think that these huge structures once dominated the English landscape, before their demolition in the 1530s and 40s, as part of the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry III. This happened when Henry created the new Church of England (of which he was head, of course) and confiscated land, property and money belonging to the Catholic monastic orders, of which there were hundreds. In the 1100s, 1 in 50 men and women took holy orders and lived a simple, secluded life in one of these establishments, so when they were seized by Henry and demolished, the upheaval must have impacted many people. Although the abbeys were extraordinarily rich establishments, owning vast amounts of land and valuables, their lowly inhabitants wouldn’t have benefited from this wealth. However, these buildings were safe havens for the poor, sick, destitute and persecuted; an early version of the Welfare State perhaps?

The abbeys and priories that remain fall into 3 categories (in my opinion): Completely intact – smaller priories that were not demolished but were saved and converted to parish churches, mansion houses or places of learning. Partially intact – usually with the valuable lead roof removed, but some of the walls standing, including my favourite, Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire (pictured). Yes, I do realise that North Yorkshire is stretching it a bit for London!

Unusually for N Yorkshire, the temperature last July when this was taken was 35 degrees!

And thirdly, there are several, like Merton Priory below, which are basically just a footprint!

Merton Priory

When plans were made to build the Savacentre (now Sainsburys) in Merton, the extensive foundations of Merton Priory were discovered. The rooms of the Chapter House are now permanently preserved in the pedestrian tunnel under Merantun Way in a small museum. In normal times you can view the protected foundations, but because of Coronavirus, it’s closed to the public at the moment. Founded in 1117, Merton Priory was one of the greatest monastic houses of the Middle Ages. It was demolished in 1538 and its materials were taken away to build Nonsuch Palace in Cheam (ironically, also demolished.) The foundations became buried and forgotten, until 1986, when they were uncovered. I like the fact that the Priory was founded in 1117, demolished in 1538, 421 years later, then rediscovered in 1986, 448 years after that. I think there’s some sort of poetic justice there.

This is a photograph of some of what you can see in the Museum

If you know this area, you can see from the footprint how big the whole complex would have been. Amazing, and somehow sad to think that the rest of it is buried under a Sainsburys superstore, a KFC, a Pizza Hut and a carpark; and Merton Abbey Mills by the Wandle.

I think this is my favourite picture, a CGI of the Abbey in situ, with pylon behind. Imagine seeing that on your way to the shops!

Waverley Abbey

This abbey is a property of English Heritage and the website says that this is the first abbey of the Cistercian monks (from France) to be built in Britain. It was founded in 1128 and rebuilt in the 13^th Century, following flood damage from the nearby River Wey. This was another large complex of buildings and included fishponds and farmlands; the monks were self-sufficient and also sold their produce. Following dissolution in 1536, it was granted to Sir William Fitzherbert, the treasurer of the King’s household. It was dismantled and the stone used for local building works including nearby Waverley House, which is now a Christian conference centre and head office of CWR.

This is the vaulted refectory (dining hall) which has an atmospheric, gothic feel. It’s been used as a setting for several films: Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Hot Fuzz; Into the Woods; The Huntsman: Winter’s Tale, and loads more, plus some TV productions.

Dormitory………………………………………and Dining Hall

Newark Priory

This one, an Augustine Priory, has a beautiful setting, again in the middle of floodplain of another part of the River Wey, which still floods regularly today. You might question why they were built in such a vulnerable place, but they needed to be near a supply of flowing water, and there is evidence that the monks undertook water management and altered the river channels for fishing. Unfortunately, it’s situated on private land, so it can only be seen as glimpses through the trees from the Wey path. It was established in 1189 and disestablished in 1538. The Prior was pensioned off, a good outcome for him for often they were ‘let go’ as we might say today, with nothing. The valuables were sent to the Tower of London and the building fell into ruin with some of the stone being taken away to repair local roads. It’s now listed as a Grade 1 Ancient Monument, which means it can’t be altered in any way, ever. A dawn service is held in the ruins on Easter Sunday at 6am, run by local churches.

This is about as close as you can get, but the walk alongside the peaceful River Wey makes it a worthwhile visit

Lesnes Abbey

A bit further East and closer to London, in the London Borough of Bexley, lie the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Founded in 1178 by Richard de Luci, the Lord Chief Justiciar, which was similar to a modern Prime Minister. It is said he established it as a penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, in which he was involved. This was an Augustine Abbey and the duties of the monks were to ‘baptise, preach, give penance and bury the dead.’ It’s situated in the ancient Lesnes Abbey Woods and its walls have been partially restored so the visitor gets a good idea of its size and purpose. Although it was clearly a very large complex of buildings, it never became a large community and was one of the first to be disestablished in 1534. As with the others, the stone was used for local buildings. It’s now a free to visit public park and is on the wonderful South East London Green Chain Walk.

Loving these arches, they’re not original though!

That’s the end of the pictures, but I want to say a couple of other things about the abbeys/priories and their inhabitants. It’s tempting to think that people were much more ‘Christian’ 900 years ago; they were certainly more ‘religious’. You have to remember firstly, that the church had a lot of power and wealth, and therefore control over others; and secondly that people were very superstitious in their beliefs. Young men and women were encouraged to enter holy orders, believing that their reward for a life of poverty, chastity and obedience would be in the next world, not this one. That said, most monks and nuns lived productive, rewarding lives: caring for the sick and offering hospitality; growing produce and rearing livestock for themselves and to sell; managing their own lands and financial affairs. Also, abbeys provided a safe haven; monks were not expected to fight in battle (these were violent times!) And lastly, although they ate a meagre, spartan diet, they would not starve if famine came to the area, as many farmers and labourers would. At a time when all life was precarious, except for the very rich, the monastic life might have seemed the best option!

May – the Things People Say

Posted on May 30, 2020 by claresimons1

I’m still having to be creative about posts due to the lockdown; hope you like this selection of words I’ve seen on notices, posters and plaques around the capital (visited before the lockdown, I hasten to say) and more locally, revealing more of God’s presence on our streets (see also January).

Prayer for Workmen at Lambeth Palace

No apologies for repeating this picture from January. I love that the Archbishop of Canterbury specifically said a blessing over all the workers on the building site at Lambeth Palace, how many other building sites get a blessing, do you think?

Sign outside St Botolph Aldersgate

This sign emphasises that, though the church building is wonderfully old, with so much history and beauty, the most important thing is that Jesus is present now and has been for 1,000 years. It makes me think of everyone who has worshipped here down the ages. I wasn’t able to go inside but it’s on my list of places to visit when lockdown ends. (It’s a very long list!)

John Wesley Conversion Plaque

Amazingly, this huge bronze plaque is situated right outside the Museum of London, you can’t miss it! I talked about this in my Museums in March post; John Wesley and his brother Charles were active in the church: doing good works among the poor and leading Bible studies. But I’m guessing they did not realise that God’s love could be personally assured for each individual. I love the way it says ‘In the Evening I went very unwillingly to a Society……’ (presumably a Bible study group of some sort!) While he was there, John ‘felt my heart strangely warmed’ – the Holy Spirit was convicting him of his sin, but at the same time, assuring him that Jesus had forgiven him and saved him ‘from the Law of Sin and Death.’ Not often you see a testimony outside a museum, I love it!

Sign at St Mary-le-Bow, EC2

Inclusive Church believes that the suffering caused by discrimination is the same, whatever its reason. ‘IC’s unique interest and expertise is in recognising the experience of being “outside” because of the process of discrimination……(it) confronts the generic problem of discrimination within the church. It does this by promoting an inclusive view of the scriptures and appealing to the values of social justice.’ From www.inclusive-church.org.uk Brilliant stuff!

Chaldon Church, near Old Coulsdon

One of the benefits of lockdown is exploring and visiting places nearer to home. This gorgeous country church is reached by crossing Happy Valley and some crop fields, and then along a country lane. And still has a Croydon postcode! The Vicar has had the brilliant idea of providing wood discs and pens for people to decorate or write a message to hang on the yew tree. These are a few of my favourites.

Museums in March

Posted on March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 by claresimons1

The world has changed since I started writing this post. You won’t be able to visit these museums for a long time, and that’s a shame, because they are all well worth a visit, not least because each one shows the impact of Christianity on London and its people in different ways for nearly 1000 years. I’ve included their websites so you can learn more about them if you want.

I’ve chosen five London museums which have a Christian connection. Three of these tell the story of people simply obeying what they believe God has told them to do, resulting in worldwide recognition and huge changes in social and health care. Two had less of a global impact, but both gave rise to movements which changed the social and spiritual thinking of their day. I’m putting them in date order, from 1080 to 1867!

Museum of the Order of St John

Everyone’s heard of St John’s Ambulance Service, but did you know that it has its roots in an ancient order of monks and knights, nearly 1,000 years ago?

A group of monks founded a hospital in Jerusalem around 1080, to care for pilgrims who had become sick while travelling on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They were known as the Hospitallers and they claimed they had been told by God that 1. They should care for all people, regardless of race or faith, and 2. They should care for individuals as if they were caring for Christ Himself. They became a military order during the Crusades (not engaged in combat but doing admin and medical duties), when they became the Knights of the Order of St John. The Order moved to Cyprus, then Rhodes, then settled on Malta. You can go and explore for yourself the following 800 years of St John’s history! The interesting thing to note is that because the Hospitallers believed ‘each patient represented Christ Himself’, they focused on provided the best care that they could, pioneering some very advanced practices: quarantine for people with infections, well-aired clean rooms, each patient to have his own bed and the dignity of hospice care for the dying. Cutting edge stuff for nearly 1,000 years ago!

Address: St John’s Gate, St John’s Lane, Clerkenwell EC1M 4DA. www.museumstjohn.org.uk

Nearest Tube: Farringdon

Promotional Poster from the First World War

Bart’s Hospital Museum

‘Bart’s is the oldest hospital in Britain still providing medical services which occupies the site it was originally built on’ (Wikipedia). It was founded in 1123 by a courtier of Henry I, named Rahere, who was also a priest. On pilgrimage to Rome he fell ill and is said to have had a vision of St Bartholomew, who told him to establish a priory and hospital in London, specifically, at Smithfield, just outside the city walls. On his return to England, Rahere did just that, telling his master the King about his vision and his divine calling to build a hospital and priory on the site of the King’s Market at Smithfield. The King graciously agreed and Rahere built and subsequently became the leader of the priory of St Bartholomew. And then chroniclers of the time began recording miracles occurring in the priory: a lame man was healed at the altar, a woman had her ‘feeble’ limbs cured, a man who was mute began to speak again. Yet more healings took place in the adjacent small hospital, which grew in size, as people heard about the miracles, and the hospital gained a reputation for excellence in more conventional medicine! I like the way God doesn’t only do the miraculous but works with servant-hearted and willing people. A few hundred years later, King Henry VII, who was busy dissolving monasteries all over the country, granted ‘to the Mayor and Commonalty of London and their successors for ever the Hospital of St Bartholomew, its church and other properties.’ So that’s why the hospital (rebuilt several times) still stands in the same place after nearly 900 years. It became one of the first medical schools in the country, a training facility for surgeons. The museum is very small but charts 900 years of history. (Incidentally, the ‘King’s Market’ nearby became the famous Smithfield Meat Market!)

Address: Museum & Archives, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield EC1A 7BE

www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/bartsmuseum

Nearest tube: Farringdon, Barbican, St Pauls

The Museum of Methodism & John Wesley’s House

A brief history: John Wesley was born in 1703 and his father Samuel was a nonconformist minister, whose two sons followed him into the priesthood. John and Charles became known as ‘Methodists’ because of their methodical way of studying the Bible. Interestingly, this was a derogatory term used by others, but the Wesley boys liked it, so it stuck. The actual name of their study group was ‘The Holy Club’, hmm, I can see why they preferred ‘Methodists.’ The group also placed importance on social action, working among the poor, especially the homeless and children, and prisoners, who at the time had to rely on people on the outside for food, etc. The Wesley brothers definitely had compassion for others, and an interest in the Bible but didn’t seem to apply the message of the Gospel to themselves. Then in May 1738 John had a ‘conversion experience’, during a church meeting: ‘I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt that I did trust in Christ….and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death’. Charles also experienced God’s love for himself and became a great hymn writer. John embarked on what today we would call a preaching tour, travelling across the country on horseback, stopping at villages and towns and speaking to people about God’s love for them in the open-air (unheard of at the time.) Amazingly, he travelled 4,000 miles per year and preached 40,000 sermons in his lifetime. He famously said, ‘The world is my parish’. The Museum of Methodism has a brilliant introduction video narrated by Huw Edwards from the BBC, which really brings Wesley’s story to life. You can also visit the Methodist Chapel and Wesley’s beautiful Georgian house, all on the same site. Again, I won’t say any more, you have to see for yourself!

Address: Museum of Methodism, 49 City Road, London EC1Y 1AU

www.wesleysheritage.org.uk

Nearest tube: Old Street, Moorgate

Statue of Wesley at the Museum and Chapel

Florence Nightingale Museum

Florence was born into a wealthy family in 1820; she and her sister were bought up to be fashionable and educated young ladies. Educating Florence meant she grew up with an enquiring mind, discussing philosophy with her father and excelling in Maths. That wasn’t what her parents intended, in those days young ladies were not supposed to use their accomplishments for a future career. Florence became interested in nursing, and at 16, she clearly felt God’s call to serve him. When she told her parents that she wanted to become a nurse, they were horrified, because ‘the stereotype of nurses at the time was of drunken women with loose morals who nursed the sick because they weren’t fit to do anything else. The only other kind of nurses were nuns.’ (Premier Christianity). A world away from the graduate profession of today! But, through her parents, Florence came into contact with independent, career-minded women; also because of the fashion of the idle rich for continental travel, she had had the opportunity to visit well-run German hospitals, with trained, competent nursing staff. So you could say Florence’s parents were responsible for her wanting to become a nurse, and eventually they agreed she could train.

After training, Florence was appointed as Matron-in-Charge of ‘The Institution for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen’ in London, but in 1854 she accepted an invitation to lead a team of nurses to Scutari, Turkey, where Britain had just entered the Crimean War. The conditions in the military hospitals were atrocious, with more soldiers dying in hospital than on the battle field. This wasn’t just due to appalling sanitary practices, but also appalling admin! Florence, with her talent for administration as well as being a highly competent nurse, set about organising hygienic nursing practices, recording information and organising supplies. She took an interest in the soldiers’ mental and spiritual health, and even paid for more nutritious food for them from her own pocket; basically, she cared. Florence Nightingale’s desire to serve God, her compassion for the sick and her exceptional administration skills, radically changed how hospitals were run. The exhibits and displays in the Museum trace Florence’s life story and show how nursing has developed in the last 200 years. I love that the new NHS hospital to be housed in the Excel Centre in Docklands, is being named The Nightingale.

Address: Florence Nightingale Museum, St Thomas Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road SE1 7EW

www.florence-nightingale.co.uk

Nearest station/tube: Waterloo, Westminster

The Ragged School Museum

The Ragged Schools were established by Dr Thomas Barnardo in 1860. He was born in Dublin in 1845 and said of himself that as a child he was ‘selfish and thought that everything that was not his should belong to him’. (Wikipedia). As he grew older, he changed dramatically and as a young man, he wanted to make up for his selfish attitude. He went to London to train as a doctor with the intention of going to China to become a missionary doctor. The hospital where Thomas trained was The London, in Whitechapel in the East End, one of the poorest areas of the country. Thomas saw disease and poverty every day, sick and malnourished adults, and children as young as three playing in the dirty streets. He walked among the people, reading to them from the Bible to try to give them hope, but he realised he could and should do more. He abandoned his plans to go to China and never completed his medical training, instead setting up his Ragged School. In Victorian times, there were no free schools, even at an elementary level, and Thomas realised that a child would never be able to change their circumstances without access to education, and the cycle of deprivation would continue. Any child who wanted to, could attend his school, they received a hot meal in addition to what we would call today basic literacy and numeracy. Thomas struggled to get the children to listen and even to sit still, but he persevered and gained their trust and respect. Then one day by chance, Thomas found out that almost all the children at the school were homeless and was shown a group of boys sleeping on the rooftop of a building, huddled together for warmth. Thomas was horrified and set about raising funds for a Boys Home, a place of shelter and safety, food and warmth. His first Home had 25 places and was quickly filled to capacity. Then came another turning point in his life: one winter’s night he had to turn a boy away from the Home. The next morning, in the lane beside the house, he saw two men carrying the body of a boy, the one he had turned away. He had frozen to death in the night; Thomas was heartbroken. He vowed never again to turn anyone away and had a large sign put up above the door: No destitute child ever refused admission. Eventually there were 96 Children’s Homes, caring for over 8,000 children. The work of Dr Barnardo’s Homes continues today, simply known as Barnardo’s. Their work has changed from providing residential care to adoption and fostering services and social care. The Museum is delightful, housed in the original school with the classroom, kitchen and laundry furnished as they would have been in the 1860s, and also an exhibition of local history.

Address: Ragged School Museum, 46 – 50 Copperfield Road, Mile End E3 4RR

www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk

Nearest tube: Mile End, Limehouse DLR

The original school was in this building

Romantic Religious Ruins – as it’s February

Posted on February 26, 2020March 20, 2020 by claresimons1

There are some beautiful ruins right in the middle of London, you just need to know where to look. The best thing about them is that they’ve been left in their romantic ruinous state and nature has been allowed to take its course, surrounded by the concrete, glass and steel of 21^st Century London. I think the contrast between ancient and ultra-modern adds to their charm. Sometimes you can even climb on their walls! All these sites are free to visit. I’ve included their addresses and nearest tube, in case you fancy a visit.

St Dunstan’s in the East

This is St Dunstan’s-in-the-East, now a public garden, one of Time Out’s top Romantic Venues in London. The church has had an unlucky history: severely damaged in the Great Fire, rebuilt twice and finally bomb damaged in the Second World War. In 1967 the decision was taken not to rebuild it but to create ‘one of the most beautiful gardens in the City of London’. The lovely fairy-tale tower escaped bombing, and I also love the arched windows, it’s a wonderful space to sit and relax. Outdoor church services are held here, and it’s also used as a setting for plays when that gothic look is required. The Walkie Talkie building peeping over the wall provides a 21^st Century touch!

Address: St Dunstan’s Hill, London EC3R 5DD

Nearest Tube: Monument/Tower Hill

Christchurch Greyfriars

Turn left out of St Paul’s Station and you’ll come across another of the City Gardens, Christchurch Greyfriars. The original site of the Franciscan church of Greyfriars was established in 1225 and was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666. A new church, designed by Wren, was completed in 1704, but this was destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1940; the fate of so many City churches. As with St Dunstan’s, the Tower of the rebuilt church escaped bombing and has remained pretty much intact, which I think adds to its charm. The square wooden frames with the climbing plants are situated where the original stone pillars were. Near the church is the site of Christ’s Hospital, founded by Edward VI in 1552. Not actually a hospital but a school built to house, feed and educate needy children. The school still exists in Horsham. Interesting fact: In previous centuries, hospital meant school and hospice meant a place of refuge, very different from today’s meanings.

Address: King Edward Street, London EC1A 7BA

Nearest Tube: St Pauls

St Alphage London Wall

This is the one you can climb on: St Alphage. I think this is my favourite because it’s right next to the Roman London Wall, parts of which are nearly 2,000 years old. The walls of the church we see today are the remains of the tower, dating from the 14^th Century, all other parts of the church were destroyed in the two World Wars. However, bombing uncovered the remains of the Roman Wall behind the church, previously hidden by more recent buildings, how amazing is that? I love the location of this church, an oasis of ancient in the modern City buildings. I would love to travel back in time 1,000 years just for a glimpse of London as it was then. The adjoining churchyard was built over, thank goodness they left the church alone!

Address: St Alphage Gardens, London Wall Place EC2Y 5EL

Nearest Tube: Moorgate

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of the Bishops of Westminster, now with gardens laid out in the grounds

This is all that remains of the palace of the powerful bishops of Winchester, one of the largest and most important buildings in Medieval London. ‘Founded in the 12^th Century by Bishop Henry de Blois, it was built to house the bishops in comfort when staying in London on royal or administrative business.’ So says the sign at this site. This is another of the historic buildings that could have easily been completely demolished in subsequent centuries but was revealed when the Southbank area was redeveloped in the 1980s. This area is packed with historic interest: nearby is the Anchor pub on Bankside where Pepys watched the Great Fire burn in 1666; there’s a replica of the Golden Hinde; the Clink Prison Museum; and the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Address: Clink Street, Southwark, London SE1 9DG

Nearest Tube: London Bridge

Next Month: Museums in March

Christian London

Posted on January 31, 2020May 17, 2026 by claresimons1

Christian London – Introduction

I love London, I love history, and I’m a Christian, so I decided to do a Blog about Christian London, past and present. Equipped with my 60+ Oyster Card (thanks, Mayor of London), I’ve spent a lot of time wandering the capital and have found that Christianity is alive and well and living in London! Yes, God is here and always has been: in churches, charities, in people and ordinary places. There’s over 1,000 years of Christian heritage in the City, which spread outside its ancient walls as London grew.

So…this is how it’s going to work. Each month I’m going to take a different theme: e.g. buildings/people/churches/places/museums, with a current or historic Christian connection, which I have personally visited, and give my own, sometimes quirky perspective on. There will be 4 or 5 each month, depending on the number of Sundays in the month, totalling 52 by this time next year. That’s the plan, anyway.

First, some acknowledgements.

Tired of London, Tired of Life: One thing a day to do in London; and London: The Weekends start here: 52 Weekends of things to see and do (Virgin Books) are two wonderful books by Tom Jones (not the singer!) about anything and everything that can be visited in London, much of it free. Other ‘What to do in London’ books are available!

Open House London weekend: held on the third weekend in September; all types of buildings in the 33 London boroughs open their doors for free visits, including churches and synagogues. If you’ve never visited, I recommend you go this year!

http://www.london-city-churches.org.uk There are at least 50 church sites in the Square Mile, these are mostly open to the public and each has its unique story and characteristics. It’s encouraging to see how much these churches have done and continue doing to serve their communities. Some have been involved in social action for 1000 years!

So here goes, hope you enjoy my exploration of Christian London……

January – A Parish Church, a Palace, a Park and…some Plants

Walking down from Waterloo Station towards the River, past the London Eye, the London Dungeon, the Shrek Experience, a variety of eateries, and the other tourist draws, you go under Westminster Bridge and it feels like a different part of London. With St Thomas’ Hospital and Evelina’s Children’s Hospital on the left and the Houses of Parliament across the River on the right, there’s a sense of heritage and history, goodwill and peace. A 15-minute stroll brings you to Lambeth Pier, not included in my ‘things beginning with P’ heading, but which I do have something to say about later. Cross the road and you reach….

A Palace – Lambeth Palace has been the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for 800 years. (I thought Justin Welby was looking old….) The oldest remaining part of the palace is the Lollard’s Tower (1435) which was used as a prison in the 17^th Century. And there’s this Tudor gatehouse which gives the palace its imposing frontage.

When I walked down Lambeth Palace Road to look at other parts of the Palace, I found it was covered with hoardings as the palace’s library is being refurbished. I was a little disappointed until I noticed what’s written on the hoardings:

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The Middle Aged Traveller

Posted on February 7, 2018March 11, 2018 by claresimons1

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NZ…… and HK

Introduction

This Blog is a sort of diary/journal about our trip to Hong Kong and New Zealand. It’s not a Travel Guide, just our experiences of these places: things we saw and heard and did and how we felt about them. We travelled to Hong Kong on 27th December, stayed for two nights, and then went on to NZ for a further 14 days. We loved every moment, and our only regret is that we couldn’t stay longer. Each entry describes our day, finishing with my three best/worst things about that day. I sometimes struggle to think of three worst things, that’s how good it was!

First, a little information about New Zealand: it’s in the Southern Hemisphere so its Summer is November to March-ish. There are two Islands, the North Island is sub tropical, the top of which is approx. 35 degrees off the Equator, while the South Island is mountainous so it’s cooler, rainy in Summer and snowy in Winter. The Maori name of NZ is Aotearoa which is translated as ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’. We experienced quite a lot of the Long White Cloud…..

History: the Maoris first colonised the Islands in the 1100s and Europeans in the 1700s. The two people groups signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 recognising British sovereignty, and New Zealand gained independence from the UK in 1947; the Queen is the Head of State. The population is approx. 4.7 million, about 75% are European descent, 14% Maori. (This is mostly from Wikipedia, by the way). The fusion of cultures is fascinating and beautiful, I wish we could have spent more time exploring it. As I keep saying to myself, next time……

Day 1, 27th December: Weird, but in a good way

What’s weird is doing a long haul flight 2 days after Christmas. While everyone else is enjoying that indulgent post Christmas slump, we leave the house at 8am and are driven through a snow storm to Gatwick International Airport to start our adventure. C and K have kindly chauffeured us, so after bag drop, we treat them to breakfast (our first of three brekkies in less than 24 hours). Gatwick looks Christmassy in a business-like ‘we are an international airport operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year’ way. We say our goodbyes to C and K…..fast forward to finding our seats (in Economy, this trip is costing a lot of money) and prepare ourselves for an 11 hour flight, all ready to leave…..and then the Captain announces that we can’t take off because the plane has to be sprayed with de-icer. The whole plane, not just the windscreen. This is supposed to take 20min and we watch with interest via the outside camera, as orange liquid is sprayed on the wings and the whole fuselage, which takes ages (well, actually 45 minutes.) And we’re off…..not much to say about a long haul flight except for the great in-flight entertainment and the yummy food. And the best thing ever, noise blocking headphones! I got a set for Christmas and they really do cut out most of the noise and have better sound quality than the airline ones for movies and music. So 2 and a half films, some music, a little sleep, 2 meals (including another breakfast) and 11 hours later…..we’re in Hong Kong!

3 Best things: 1. We’re leaving Winter behind. 2. Noise blocking headphones. 3. Great films/food

3 Worst things: 1. Delay in taking off. 2. Not enough sleep. 3. Arriving at 7 am, but for us, it’s 11pm.

Day 2, 28th December, Part 1: Sleepless in Kowloon

Cost of train from Hong Kong International Airport to Kowloon Train Station: £7.50 each. Cost of Shuttle from Kowloon Train Station to Hotel: Absolutely nothing! Arriving at the station, we just have to find our Hotel (Metro Park Kowloon) from a displayed list and go to the pick up point for that hotel (K5) where an electronic display tells you when the next bus is due. The K5 bus reminded me of the Kingston bus numbers, no other similarities between Kowloon and Kingston noted! We travel through the unfamiliar streets, enjoying the culture shock, but being a bit too tired to really appreciate the jumble of sights and sounds. Arrive at Metro Park, posh looking hotel in an ordinary street of cafes, mini supermarkets and shoe shops – a bit like having a hotel in Penge High Street. By now it’s about 10am and not surprisingly, our room is not yet ready. We can have a Superior room, ready now, but it will cost us…..we decide to go and explore for a couple of hours, even though it’s really 2am for us. We leave our cases and coats and go out into the street, where the temperature is a pleasant 24 degrees C.

Kowloon is on the mainland and is less touristy than Hong Kong Island. It’s more the industry and manufacturing side, while HKI is the financial and tourist district. We find ourselves in the middle of a steel manufacturing area, there are people welding and hammering, which does look a bit out of place in a narrow and busy shopping street. It’s also the Garment District, where clothes are made and then sold at the nearby Ladies Market. We also notice a huge YMCA building which apparently is also a budget hotel, favoured by families. We’re now starting to get hungry again…..and along the main street what do we see but that shining example of globalisation, MacDonald’s. Time for our 3rd breakfast, and I’m falling sleep over my Egg MacMuffin and coffee. Then it’s back to the Hotel, where after a few more minutes, thank goodness, we are allowed access to our room. And joy of joys, a proper flat bed, don’t bother unpacking, just kick shoes off and zzzzzzz. And I’m going to leave it there, this is night time for us! Part 2 of 28th December next time.

Metro Park Hotel’s Festive Lobby

Our Room – A welcome sight zzzzz

Day 2, 28th December, Part 2: Lights and Lasers, Sound and Symphony

Crashed out for about 4 and a half hours, wake up and it’s still only 4.30, how long is this day going on? Feeling refreshed, we head out to the Tsuen Wan MTR Underground train line and for 45p each we travel three stops to the Harbour area, which is arty, touristy, fun and……crowded. The 1911 Census recorded a population of 7,300. It’s now 2.1 million, making Kowloon one of the most populated places on the planet. All 2.1 million seem to be down by the Harbour this afternoon! We get our first sight of Hong Kong Island with its huge skyscrapers, just starting to show off its neon lights in the smog and fading light of late afternoon.

We explore the waterfront for a while and then pop into the Tourist Information to find out how to go about buying tickets for the Star Ferry to the Island tomorrow. While we’re there, we make an exciting discovery: at 8 o’clock that evening there will be the last performance of 2017 of ‘A Symphony of Lights.’ This is a light and music show, with lasers shone from the tallest buildings on the Hong Kong side and projections onto a large curved wall on the Kowloon side. All accompanied by music from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. We have about 2 hours to wait, so we visit the ferry terminal, a shopping mall and the Cultural Centre, which consists of an Art Gallery and Concert Hall. A couple of shows I’d like to see, but it’s not possible this time round. Then time for something to eat, and we find a cheap and popular fast food restaurant. You choose your dish from pictures and a description and queue up to give its number and letter (luckily, in English) to the cashier, pay, and then queue up again with your receipt to pick up your meal. The only problem was, we had to collect our meals from two different counters, our drinks from another counter, and it all got very confusing, being shouted at in Cantonese and trying to understand what we were supposed to do. Sat down with our meals, but I’m pretty sure we ate what each other had ordered……Back to the waterfront, and we manage to get a spot with a fantastic view of the light show and projections. The buildings across the water look amazing, lit up with huge Christmas decorations and powerful green lasers reaching over to our side. And the projections are of a dragon flying through mythical islands and skyscrapers, fireworks and fields of flowers. With the dramatic music, it’s beautiful and oriental, and in the warm evening air, at last we’re feeling we’ve arrived on a different part of the planet. The show finishes, the crowd applauds rapturously and we make our way to the taxi rank, too tired to take the train. We show the name of the hotel to our driver and speed off through the night. Now, we’re not sure what the route looks like above ground, but it does seem to be taking quite a while. We stop at an unfamiliar building which the driver insists is Metro Park, maybe it’s a different entrance? We get out of the taxi uncertainly, and look up at the sign, yes, this is the Metro Park Hotel, but not the Kowloon one! Our driver has gone, so we hail another taxi and finally get ‘home’, having shelled out more than we intended on taxi fares! It’s 10pm, at last the night’s in the right place!

3 Best things: 1. Easy, cheap transfer to Kowloon Station and the Hotel. 2. Cultural and Waterfront area. 3. Symphony of Lights Show

3 Worst things: 1. Jet lag – so tired! 2. Our room wasn’t ready (that’s not a complaint). 3. Being taken to the wrong Metro Park Hotel (that is a complaint).

Day 3, 29th December: The Peak, I ‘heart’ you!

After a proper night’s sleep, time for a yummy breakfast, a truly international meal. Chinese (of course), Japanese, Full English, Continental breakfast, Danish pastries and more. Then it’s off to Hong Kong Island via the Star Ferry for the princely sum of 32p each! The crossing takes about 10 minutes and halfway across you can see the tall skyscrapers looming up on both sides.

First impressions of HKI are of a larger version of Canary Wharf, all glass and steel and shiny marble walls and pavements. We walk along a high level glass corridor which ends at a HUGE shopping mall, lovely if you like shopping, I don’t! Eventually we decipher the signs to the bus station and catch the No 15 to Victoria Peak, known locally as just The Peak. This is a mountain which overlooks the waterfront of HKI, a ‘must see’ tourist spot. The bus negotiates scary hairpin bends up the mountainside and we see huge skyscrapers in the valley below with their tops on a level with us, halfway up the mountain. We pass some prime real estate in a private gated development, super posh and they have their own bus stop! The only slightly annoying thing about the bus ride is the extreme air conditioning, everyone else has come prepared with coats on – and it’s 27 degrees outside!

Once at the top, the views are breath taking. There’s a circular walk right round the top so there are brilliant views on all sides. Hong Kong has the highest percentage of people living and working above the 14th floor. It must be strange to spend your day living in the sky. After a leisurely stroll taking lots of photos we visit The Sky Terrace (very crowded) for an expensive light lunch, we then join the queue for another ‘must do’ experience: the cable railway (or tram, as it’s known) which goes straight down the mountainside at a 45 degree angle. Our tickets say ‘The Peak, I ‘heart’ you!’, which is very cute. A scary few minutes, going very fast backwards, pinned to our seats and we find at the bottom that the tram stop is also the bus stop, so we get the No 15 back to the waterfront where we wander round an installation of giant fish constructed from scrap metal, and then find a Starbucks at the base of one of the skyscrapers and chill for a while…..we decide to head back and instead of the ferry, we take the Underground to the stop nearest our hotel, because it’s much quicker. Once we get back to the Metro Park, we feel a little weary after a day in the sun, so we get some snacks, including custard tarts, not something you would associate with Hong Kong, but they come highly recommended as a local delicacy. Night, night, flying to Auckland tomorrow!

3 Best things: 1. Trip on the Star Ferry. 2. Views from Victoria Peak. 3. Tram ride down the Peak.

3 Worst things: 1. Uber cold air con on the bus. 2. Over-priced lunch. 3. That we don’t have longer in Hong Kong..

Middle Skyscraper is 100 storeys high!

Scrap metal fish with glass corridor behind

Crazy Tram ride

Shark and Escalator

Victoria Peak

Day 4, 30th December: Tai Chi and Pop Up McD

Another delicious breakfast which will hopefully keep us going most of the day. The last day of our Hong Kong Stopover, I’m so glad we did this! Our flight to Auckland is at 6pm, so we have almost another full day here. We catch the K5 back to Kowloon Station after breakfast, why, I hear you ask, when our flight isn’t til 6pm? Because we can check our cases in at the station and they will be transferred to the airport and, at the correct time, loaded onto the correct plane! I was at first a little unsure of leaving the cases on a big pile somewhere in the station and trusting that they would be put on the correct flight. Of course, it’s much more sophisticated than that! There’s a check in desk, you present your e-ticket and passport, put your case on the scale, the clerk prints the label and your case gets sent on its way on the conveyor system behind the desks. So, exactly like the airport.

We can get back to downtown Kowloon on foot so we follow a walkway from inside the station through a maze of a permanent construction site until we reach the beautiful Kowloon Park. This is a large green space, surrounded by the ever present huge skyscrapers, with tropical plants, fountains and ornamental lakes, complete with flamingos. There is also an aviary, play parks, exercise areas and an empty swimming pool. I don’t know why it’s empty, the air temp is 26 degrees, perfect for a dip and interestingly, there are a few Westerners sun bathing round the side! We are starting to feel the heat so we sit down at some picnic tables next to a sort of McDonalds hut, which sells only drinks and ice creams. Refreshed with a cone and a drink, we sit and watch the world go by, which in this case, is a troop of boy and girl scouts of all ages, who seem to be doing some sort of treasure hunt. They run past in small groups, suddenly getting very excited at the sight of a flag attached to a lamp post, writing in their notebooks and running on. There seem to be hundreds of them, a constant trail of chattering kids, shouting with joy when they spot the flag. I would love to know what the message is on the flag, but unfortunately it’s meaningless to me! Moving on, we find a group of ladies doing tai chi, they are quite far away and I feel it’s a bit intrusive to get closer for a photo. It’s fascinating to watch so I sneak a pic anyway (from a distance.) Lastly we visit the Cultural Centre, a museum with a fascinating history of the Hong Kong region, including pre- and post-colonisation by the UK. The most interesting part is the photos of the changes in the waterfront area over the last 200 or so years, unrecognisable now.

Time to go back to the station after a lovely day. We walk back via the enclosed walkway, which seems to have got longer and more twisty and turny. We feel rather disorientated because we thought we were on an elevated walkway when suddenly a lorry turns into a gap in the huge fence in front of us, we are actually at ground level. It’s hot, dusty and noisy and we’re glad to reach the air conditioned shopping mall/station complex. We pass an ice rink where families are enjoying a Saturday afternoon skating session. Take the fast train to Hong Kong International Airport where we count our remaining cash and find we have HK$28 left, roughly £2.80. Our last purchase in Hong Kong is a large cappuccino to share (from McDonalds, which seems to have featured a lot in the last 56 hours.) An hour later our flight is called, goodbye Hong Kong, it was great! Hope to see you again one day!

Three Best Things: 1. Checking luggage in early at the station. 2. Exploring Kowloon Park. 3. 56 hours in Hong Kong on HK$1,000 (£100) – they said it couldn’t be done!

Three Worst Things: 1. Hot, noisy, dusty walk through construction site. 2. Bumpy onward flight. 3. That’s it!

WP_20171230_12_19_39_Pro — Fountain with distant skyscraper

WP_20171230_11_50_32_Pro — Toucan in the Aviary

WP_20171230_11_40_41_Pro 1 — Tai Chi Ladies

Walk the Wandle

Posted on October 21, 2016 by claresimons1

Photos of the Wandle

Part 3 Morden Hall Park to Plough Lane, Wimbledon

The ‘rose’ garden in Autumn; the tiny entrance to Morden Hall Park

Watermills at Morden Hall Park; millstones; Morden Cottage

Fake Cow at Deen City Farm

The Watermill still operates!

Random White Wooden Jug; signpost to Death Valley aka Wandle Meadow Nature Park

Part 4 Plough Lane to THE THAMES!

The Great Barrier Store; Friendly ‘No’ sign

The Wandle Pub; A view from a Bridge

King George’s Park, Wandsworth, another lovely urban space

Top and Bottom Right are the view from A3 Bridge, present and future

The Wandle meets the Thames…and we are on the Wandle Trail AND the Thames Path!

Walk the Wandle

Posted on October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 by claresimons1

Photos of The River Wandle

Introduction

The Source?

Part 1

Waddon Ponds April 2016

Former Mill & Owner’s House; Mill workers’ cottages; dog enjoying Beddington Park Wandle (I got permission for pic)

Beddington Park; Elm Pond

Mill Lane Carshalton

Part 2

Mill Owner’s House; Tanneries cottages (sorry about the car and wheelie bin!)

Grove Mill (now posh flats); fisheries cottages

Beautiful Watermeads (forget you’re in Merton)

Ravensbury Park

Walk the Wandle

Posted on October 19, 2016 by claresimons1

Part Four: Plough Lane to THE THAMES!

My Wandle Guide book says there is a roughly surfaced path but it’s now a ‘proper’ path. What can we spot? Firstly, in a tiny field on our left is a horse, looking a bit lonely. And there’s a huge electricity pylon with wires going across the River to a massive electricity substation. A little later there are some 1930s factory buildings with ‘saw-tooth’ roofs. These are zigzag shaped roofs with glass panels facing north so that factory workers would get enough natural light in winter, but not direct sunlight in summer. On the left, if you look up you can just see a huge stack of those metal barriers used at events such as Royal Weddings, Marathons, etc. If you’ve ever wondered where they come from, now you know – Wimbledon. Towards the end of this part there is a narrow strip of land with allotments on it, can you spot the shed that’s tumbling into the Wandle?

As you might have guessed, there were once several mills on this stretch of river. The most famous was Garrett Copper Mill, hence Garrett Lane, which manufactured brass items and copper utensils. Apparently the mill here was ‘a monster, allegedly Europe’s second largest at one time.’ I’d LOVE to see that! There was also a chamois leather mill and a silk weaving works. There was also Garrett Print Works, but apparently that’s a different Garrett (bit of a coincidence if you ask me.) Modern industries have sprung up here: Car showrooms, light industry, DIY retailers, etc.

Next we come to Trewint Street which is in Borough of Wandsworth, the Garrett linseed oil mills stood here. The Wandle Guide Book says: ‘There is a proposal to open a new section of riverside path northwards from Trewint Street Bridge – this would save a long and unattractive diversion along the main road.’ It can’t come too soon! On the Bridge there’s a sign about the proposals, which points out that a sign saying ‘No’ isn’t very welcoming! Now we have to turn left to reach Garratt Lane; this is the second worst part of the Trail, I think. Follow this busy road under the railway bridge, then left into Penwith Road, which has a pub called The Wandle on the corner to remind us where we are. Here we cross the River and turn left into Strathville Road. Straight ahead we can see the River from Duntshill Road; several Wandle history books show this view at different times. This is of course an area bursting with mills in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries: parchment making, cloth printing, and ‘flock’ making; this is the manufacture of old rags and textiles into paper. There’s a road called Flock Mill Place nearby.

Now, instead of following the Trail along this road to King George’s Park, we can turn right into a brand new development of flats and then right again into Riverdale Drive, and we’re back on the River! Here we can see a former mill building, now tastefully converted into apartments, a lovely weeping willow and a vibrant green bridge! The path leads to the Park which is yet another lovely big green space in the heart of south London. With the Wandle on our right, it’s a pleasant walk up to Kimber Road, passing a Fitness Centre and a skate park. Crossing into the upper part of King George’s Park, after a few hundred yards we can turn right onto a brick footpath over the River, which was the site of Henckell’s Iron Mill. The Wandle Guide says: ‘There were water powered mechanical hammers and giant shears which could cut through iron bars two inches thick.’ We are back in Garrett Lane, but not for long, turning left into Mapleton Road, back to the left bank and heading back to the Park. This now becomes a recreational area: tennis courts, children’s playground, lake with a fountain. Exiting the park into Buckhold Road, we turn left with the huge Southside (formerly Arndale) Shopping Centre on the right, and Wandsworth High Street (A3) ahead, the VERY WORST part of the Trail. The noise and fumes of four lanes of traffic are such a contrast to our leisurely riverside stroll, but now we cross the road and turn right into Wandsworth Plain with its terrace of houses dated 1723, one of which has a sundial. The time is only correct when it’s GMT, not British Summer Time! We can’t get anywhere near the River at this point, but under construction on the site of Young’s ‘Ram’ Brewery is a retail/housing/leisure area, these always look more attractive in the advertising poster, don’t they?

At the end of Wandsworth Plain we cross Armoury Way (confusingly the A3 again) and turn into The Causeway, where we can walk beside the now wide, fast flowing Wandle and a deep noisy weir. Very different from the gently tinkling sound of the infant Wandle. As well as the highly successful Young’s Brewery (this has been a beer brewing site since 1576) there was once a flour mill and a ‘Brazil’ mill, nothing to do with nuts but for grinding Brazil wood to make a powder for dyeing cloth. Following the path until it crosses Bell Lane Creek we reach The Spit with its Blue pointy triangle sculpture. We can now see the Wandle mouth, a few more yards and we’ve made it! Yes, we’ve followed this beautiful River through four London Boroughs, some lovely parks, peaceful nature reserves and fascinating heritage sites. I’ve enjoyed researching, walking and writing about it, hope you’ve enjoyed reading this Blog.