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| Youth Hostel near St Paul's Cathedral |
Cross over the main road in front of St Paul's Cathedral using the pedestrian crossing and walk down Dean's Court. The house you see was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Continue walking down and take a right where you will see the Youth Hostel (in picture on right) which is a much grander building than it's Greater Marlborough Street sister and you will come to King's Wardrobe.
Wardrobe Place
These are now modern rent-able apartments. I dare to look at the rent prices here. In Medieval times, royalty would travel with all their servants and possessions including their portable bed (yes, you read that right), their bedding, jewellery and furniture. The Kings wardrobe would be an area where the Royal families possessions would be stored when residing in London.Blackfriars Monastery
Go back on yourself and continue past the youth hostel till you see the graveyard with it's sign St Anne. This used to be Blackfriars Monastery which was knocked down as part of the Dissolution during the reign of Henry VIII (1538-1540). The monastery, like many others, was like its own little town, including its own bakeries, dairy, brewery, tannery, blacksmith and hospital inside its own walls.The Dominican monks who lived at Blackfriars Monastery were used as a diplomatic service of Europe before Henry VIII it was here where the Pope sent monks hear the case regarding King Henry VIII wishing to end his marriage with Queen Katherine of Aragon. Following the refusal to terminate his marriage King Henry VIII sold the monastery buildings.
The Great Hall was bought by Richard Burbage who employed William Shakespeare. Most of the plays Burbage produced and Shakespeare wrote were performed at Blackfriars yard and not the Globe Theatre which had burned down. St Anne's church was burned in the great fire of London. The graveyard was in use until the 1830s due to an outbreak of cholera. It was at the same time huge cemeteries were built at the edges of London including Manor park, Highgate and another five cemeteries.
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Playhouse Square
Playhouse Square is a Grade I listed building. The Printing House housed the first steam printing press on this site. The Thunderer was the other popular name for The Times which stood out against corruption. The Times was the first paper to have it's own type face hence Times New Roman. Apothecaries Society - only people who had the right contacts and training were allowed in. The society protected their own trade and started off as a Guild. The Livery were uniforms. Even today Apothecaries have to take an exam in this building.
St Bridget was a Saxon saint which demonstrates how long a church has been on this site. Great Fire of London, 1666
In Sept 1666 London experienced the great fire of London. London's building were mainly built from wood. With an easterly wind it burned quicker than the usual fires London had experienced. No one knew how to stop it and it burned for 3 days. Most of the churches which had been burned down were rebuilt, mostly by Sir Christopher Wren. Read more about the Great Fire of London in my post here St Brides has the tallest steeple built in tiers style. It is also known as the journalists church. Even today a service/vigil is made for journalists captured/killed whilst on the job. There is also a museum downstairs.Printers of Fleet Street
When coming out of the church continue to Fleet Street which was the capital of printing from C16th til the end of the C19th. Stamp tax was used to clamp down on newspapers. In the early part of C19th taxes and censorship were removed. Literacy was going up in London due to Sunday Schools and by 1870 there were secondary schools so demand for print were increased. 700 titles were registered to be on Fleet street in 1939. Fleet street worked 24hrs, 7 days a week and was always a busy and loud place in London. Daily Express was owned by Lord Beaverbrook 1930s-1960s who introduced a few things to the world of newspaper publishing such as sports stories on at back page, a women's page, Rupert the bear, the first gossip column and the first cartoon strip. Few doors up you can see an art deco building owned and used by the Daily Telegraph. Both buildings were built by same architect. It's rather cool that the bridge below connects the two buildings which are now owned by Goldsmith Sachs.Both buildings are listed. There is an Art Deco entrance hall like an Art Deco cinema. King William I's nobles built their houses on Fleet Str and the Strand to be between the money (City of London) and the power (Westminster). Lord Salisbury lived in Salisbury Square, Lord Dorset lived in Dorset Square etc.
Samual Richardson wrote Clarissa and Pamela and lived in the red brick building above. People in London lived in the city until first world war until buildings were needed for war planners etc. Ladies fashion monthly magazine Jane Austen subscribed to magazine was printed in Salisbury Square to use the fashions for her novels.
In the building the printing machines were housed at the bottom of the building. Dispatches were on the floor above with chutes for the parcelled newspapers into vans.Paper storage were on the floor above Dispatches and above Paper storage were where the journalists and photographers work. The Depositors were on the top level. There would have been a distinct smell of ink and the whole area would experience the constant vibrations and noise of the printing presses.
Magpie Alley
Magpie Alley is an interesting place to visit as it shows the history of Fleet Street using painted tiles including stories of Caxton showing his first printing specimen to King Edward IV at the Almonry. It's covered and well lit so it's a great way to avoid the rain. It also shows how Charles Dickens made use of printing by writing weekly clips of his famous stories always ending in a cliffhanger.
Dr Samuel Johnson is famous for writing the first English dictionary. The dictionary took 7yrs to write/print and at the end of it the printer is quoted at saying "thank God that's over", I really don't blame him.
Opposite Dr Johnson's house is a statue of his favourite cat Hodge sitting on dictionary. His favourite food was oysters which were a common cat food at the time. Hodge is patron saint of Guides. The House is now a museum which you can visit. It is set up just as Samuel Johnson would have lived in it.
Did you know?
Gough Square no.1 used to be the Association of the Correctors of the Press which was a union of people who proof printed material. Many men worked there including ex-classic scholars, priests many other eccentrics. It's all gone now as we have spell checker.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub
The Cheshire Cheese was where Dr Johnson and journalists frequent. It seems to be filled more with tourists nowadays but it's still worth a peek inside.
It was famous for it's steak ale oyster and fat 50llb pie even though I wouldn't recommend the pies there now. I took my parents there and we all suffered food poisoning. Inside the Cheshire Cheese you will see that the benches are divided into panels. Charles Dickens and Dr Johnson frequented this pub (as they did many others). The pub once had their own parrot and when it died it had it's own obituary in the Times.You should follow me on twitter here.
