In the Footsteps of Winston Churchill

As the title of the blog says, I went on a walk titled "In the Footsteps of Winston Churchill." So unsuprisingly, the walk was about Churchill. It started from Embankment and ended at the Cabinet War Rooms by St. James's Park- so places associated with his public life versus his private life-although private life was discussed. Very interesting, even on a cold rainy day, though you can't really tell from the pictures.

St. Margaret's Westminster- Churchill got married here, it's by the Abbey

The Admiralty- so basically the Naval Department- Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty during the first World War (Unrelated side note: there are apartments here for a few of the government ministers-recently the fat former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had an affair with his Diary Secretary here, who ironically wrote about it in her diary- all of which was later published in one of the trashy tabloids. This happened just before I got to the UK)

A reconstructed Victory Garden in St. James's Park

These are the stables for the horses of the Metropolitan Police Department- the horses live on the first floor where the circular windows are

Craven Street which still has the original 18th houses- the one with the people in front of it is where Benjamin Franklin lived

An actual horse in front of Horse Guards-

Statue of Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square- a recent addition- this is shot from a side angle so that's why it looks a little odd.

City Gardens

Over the weekend, I went on a tour of the "Hidden Gardens" of the City, meaning the Square Mile. Surprisingly there are over 100 gardens in the City, some are fairly small though.

A steeple from a Wren church- the rest of the building was destroyed during World World Two
A bastion of the Old Roman Wall that is surrounded by the Barbican

A herb garden that has been planted withing part of the old Roman Wall

A garden square opposite the Goldsmiths' Hall

St Botolph's Church

View of St. Pauls

Another view of St. Pauls

Some of the old Roman Wall- most of what is visible in the photo comes from Tudor times

London in the High Middle Ages

On Saturday, I took a tour on London in the High Middle Ages- from about 1300 to the middle of the 1500s. Like last week's tour, most of the buildings from that period were burnt in the Great Fire in 1666. However, the City (meaning of course, the Square Mile and not greater London) is still governed exactly how it was in the Middle Ages, the livery companies or trade guilds elect the Lord Mayor and they meet in the Guildhall (some of you saw that when you were her, I forget who hasn't seen it). Of course now the livery companies aren't necessarily connected with the trade anymore, but they still own a ton of real estate in the City.

St. Lawrence-Jewry Church- across from the Guildhall-dates from the 1300s
St. Michael's Paternoster- there has been a church here since the 1200s. The present is a Wren church built after the great fire

The coat of arms of the Brewers' Livery company- obviously they made beer

Now the site of the Mercers' Hall- the weathiest of the livery companies. This is the site of the house where Thomas Becket was born- his father was a merchant

Lots of construction in the City at the moment-they are preserving the facade of this building and then building everything inside from scratch.

Statue of a spider that was recently erected in front of the Tate Modern

Anglo-Saxon London

On Saturday, I took a tour on Anglo-Saxon and early medieval London. Very little from that time period is still around, the Great Fire in 1666 destroying what little had been left. It was really interesting though to hear about the development of the city. We covered the area from Tower Hill to St. Paul's so just a few new pictures as I've been on several tours in the area.

Statues of saints on the door into All Hallows Church (it's the one by the Tower that Samuel Pepys saw the great fire from, I think I pointed it out while most everyone was here) The one in the middle is Mary while the other two are Anglo Saxon saints. The remains of the Anglo Saxon church can be seen in the crypt but no photos were allowed
The Skinners' Hall, one of the many livery companies in the City which were set up in early medieval times- the building now is Georgian I think

Fish statues and weathervanes on the top of the old Billingsgate Fish market- the location where they sold fish from Anglo-Saxon times to fairly recently- now moved to the South Bank I think. The building is on the river beside the Tower

The coat of arms for the Tallow-Chandlers, they made the cheap candles. The coat of arms comes from Roman Catholic times as you can see the head of John the Baptist- he was their patron saint before the Reformation

The statue of St. Paul by the cathedral- this marks the spot where people used to meet in medieval times- a religious building has stood on the site from at least Roman times, they think