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