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Fleet Street Historic Pub Crawl 2009-11-22 The Street of Shame Pub Crawl Explore the wonders of Fleet Street, the birthplace of the newspaper. The purpose of this ‘crawl’ is to not only enjoy a pint or two in some of London’s finest hostelries, but to soak up some of the grand architecture and interesting buildings of the area. (Note: this is the City of London and many pubs close at the weekends.) Fleet Street was of course the home of the newspaper industry and most of Britain's daily's were printed here until the 1970's & 80's, then slow exodus eastward towards Docklands began. Printing was established here long before the papers, Caxton's apprentice, Wynkyn de Worde, moved his printing press here in 1500. Start : Royal Courts of Justice & The Old Bank of England Next to the Victorian Gothic Royal Courts of Justice, (also known as the High Court) is the Old Bank of England. Here are two buildings connected by development of the area in the late 19th century. An old pub called the Cock Tavern was demolished to make way for the court, which was completed in 1882, and the Law Courts Branch of the Bank of England built in 1888, no doubt built to house the salaries of lawyers. Opposite the Law Courts are two interesting buildings, the George pub, which is not included on this walk, but has some fine ‘brewers Tudor’ architecture made to look ancient but is early 20th century. Just a little further east is Lloyds’ Bank, worth a peek through the door to see the amazing tiled entrance hall. Okay let’s get back to the business in hand. The Old Bank of England is a new pub. It was converted in 1995 and London brewer, Fuller’s, spent vast some sums of money making it into the sparkling sensation that it is today. The old vaults are used as the cellar and the precious beer is stored behind steel doors. One story tells of days spent drilling through the walls to install the pipework. Look for the old banknotes mounted around the walls. The building is in the Italianate style and would look at home in Rome. (Closed Saturday and Sunday). Outside the pub is Temple Bar Memorial topped with a large menacing looking Griffin. This is where Temple Bar (designed by Wren) used to stand, an illustration of it can be seen on the memorial base. On state occasions the monarch has to pause here to ask for the permission of the Lord Mayor of London to enter the City. You don’t need it. Leave the Bank and turn left On the south side look out for the Wig & Pen, now a Thai restaurant, but former home to the famous club for lawyers and journalists. The jettied half of the building (on the right) is the only building in the Strand to have survived the Great Fire. It was built in 1625. On the right you will see the slender Ye Old Cock Tavern, a reincarnation of the Cock that use to stand on the site of the old bank. The Cock crossed the road and much of the old pub’s contents were re-housed in the new pub. One artefact, a carved fireplace is situated on the first floor of the pub, although it’s sometime roped off, ask if you can a have a look at it. A fire destroyed a lot of the artefacts in 1990 but thankfully the carving survived. Cross Fetter Lane, where the Great Fire stopped. On the corner of Fetter Lane is St. Dunstan’s in the West Church. Note the clock, it dates from 1671 and was the first public clock with a minute hand. Wait for the strike each quarter and hour. To the right is a small statue set in the wall; it is of Queen Elizabeth I and is the only statue known to have been carved in her reign. Walk on the left side of the street and turn left into Johnson’s Court and make your way to Dr. Johnson’s House at 17 Gough Square, home of the journalist and lexicographer. He is most famous for the writing the first comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1746. Johnson’s circle of friends, also know as ‘the club,’ included David Garrick (actor), Joshua Reynolds (painter), Oliver Goldsmith (writer) and Edmund Burke (writer and philosopher). Johnson’s life was faithfully recorded by James Boswell, the best known of Johnson’s biographers. With Johnson’s house behind head for Wine Office Court; here find one of London’s most historic public houses, The Olde Cheshire Cheese, built in 1667. Enter through the door beside the list of monarchs whose reign this old pub has served, the step worn down over the centuries. The dark and atmospheric rooms are intoxicating. This was a well know tavern even in the eighteenth century and it is almost inconceivable that Johnson and his pal’s didn’t drink and dine at the Cheese, indeed a chair on display is supposed to be his own. They would have known the Chop Room, where traditional English roasts can still be enjoyed. The black panelled room to the right has an open fireplace; the seat to the right of this was a favourite of Charles Dickens who worked in Fleet Street. In his ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Sydney Carton takes Charles Darney to dine ‘up a covered way, into a tavern…..where Charles Darney was soon recruiting his strength with a good plain dinner and good wine.’ Explore upstairs, if it’s open. The creaking, winding staircase has a warren of rooms off it, most are dark panelled and some a little spooky. Under the ground floor are the crypt like bars below, reputed to be the vaulted cellars of a Carmelite monastery. Having soaked up the atmosphere and a pint, leave via Wine Office Court and return to Fleet Street, turn left. Opposite is The Tipperary, said to be London’s first Irish pub. It has a ring of authenticity unlike most ‘Oirish’ theme pubs in London. Good Guinness served, obviously. Carry on down the hill. St. Paul’s Cathedral is now in clear view up Ludgate Hill. Cross the road and look for a small pathway signposted to St. Bride’s Church. This is the journalists church. Follow the pathway along the railings and enter the Old Bell, look back at St, Bride’s. This remarkable church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was one of the first to be opened following the Great Fire. It is the latest of seven churches known to have been built on this site previously. The church was gutted by fire during the Blitz but its famous tiered steeple, said to have inspired the tiered wedding cake, survived the conflagration. The Old Bell Enter the Old Bell, which was also built by Wren for his masons. This is a lovely old pub and has had additions and alterations over the years. The decorative front was added in the mid 1800’s as part of a wine and spirit merchant’s shop. The Old Bell was once owned by brothers Henry and Richard Baker, who owned many of London’s famous pubs in the late 1800’s and were renowned for their redevelopments; thankfully the Bell was spared when the brothers pub empire crashed. For much of its life it was a watering hole for printers and journalists, but now is attracts office workers and lots of tourists. Notable items include unusual three-legged stools and the beautiful coloured glass window on the Fleet Street side. Leave the Old Bell by the back door and cross Bride Lane, enter the The Crown and Sugar Loaf. This is a new Victorian pub, carefully created by Yorkshire brewer Samuel Smith. The one room pub is a superb example of what can be done with commitment and large amounts of cash. The only original feature is the bar counter. This is only one part of the pub though; the other half is the Punch Tavern (originally the Crown and Sugar Loaf), its entrance in Fleet Street. It was named after the satirical magazine whose employees used to frequent the pub. The Punch has some excellent examples of Victorian glazed tiles and superb illustrations of Mr. & Mrs. Punch in the hallway. The Punch Tavern was jointly owned but a ‘falling out’ resulted in the pub being divided and run as two separate entities. See the Punch Tavern entry for the full story. Leave the Punch Tavern and head for Ludgate Circus, admire St. Paul’s Cathedral at the top of the hill before turning right into Queen Victoria Street. Head for the river. At the roundabout, on the left hand side, is one of London’s most extraordinary pubs, quite unique and without comparison, the The Black Friar. The Black Friar is a masterpiece of British pub art. It was built in the late 1800’s and refurbished in the early 20th century as a sort of tongue in cheek folly, taking its theme from the monks who occupied this site several hundred years earlier. This pub has to be experienced, so set aside a good amount of time to appreciate its riches. Consider too that if it had not been for a bunch of conservationists, including a poet called John Betjeman, this pub would have been demolished in the 1960’s. Here ends the tour. |
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