A stroll around Smithfield Market & the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great

It was a gloriously sunny day in London and I’d spent the morning in a meeting near Smithfield Market but then found myself with some spare time between appointments, so what else was I to do but explore the area.

Smithfield is huge – it covers 10 acres, of which 6.5 acres are covered by buildings, it’s still a working market so there’s plenty of white vans and market bustle in the area, as well as some fine traditional pubs.

There’s a mix of architectural styles here too – some ornate dating back to 1860s – and not what you’d expect for a meat market and other parts more modern opening in 1963 following a fire which destroyed the original Poultry Market five years earlier.

The plans for the 1868 building included an underground area where meat could be unloaded from the trains as much of the meat sold at the market came to London by rail.  When the market was updated to meet EC regulations in the 1990s the underground area which is no longer the railway sidings became a car park.

Anyone can buy products or produce at Smithfield but the advice is to arrive before 7am to see it at its best - yes so I missed that by a country mile! On its website it says Smithfield is a “proper” market so shop around for the best price of the day.

As it was nearer to lunchtime than breakfast I headed towards Cloth Court to investigate what I’d caught a glimpse of as I walked to my meeting place earlier that morning.

Peeking through to St Bartholomew the Great

Yes, I’d seen Saint Bartholomew the Great which is one of London’s oldest churches; founded in 1123 as an Augustinian Priory, it has been in continuous use since 1143. And it’s still looking pretty good!

I particularly liked the well kept private Church House garden, which you could see peeking through the railings, the old ironmongery and the Goods Entrance sign:

The churchyard though, cooled by the canopy of trees was a great space to rest awhile away from the busy hubbub of the market just a few streets away.

 And as I left I marvelled at this exquisite gatehouse, which has its own fascinating history (read about that here on the Medieval London blog)

And if all this wasn’t enough, just along from the church is Founders Hall – three unplanned discoveries in one day!

Founders Hall belongs to the Worshipful Company of Founders, one of the oldest Livery Companies in London whose website says that a hall signified that a company had truly “arrived” and was a place “where it could transact its business” as well as hold meetings.

Today’s Founders Hall is a more modern building – built in the mid 1980s – and in a new location too, it was originally in Lothbury in the heart of the City of London where many of the Founders workshops were situated.

Founders were workers in brass and brass alloys or tinplate known as “Iatten” or “laton”, producing small cast articles such as candlesticks and pots and pans.

Founders Hall

And with that, it was time for my next appointment and lunch but first…

Did you know there really is a street called Little Britain?  There really is!

Postman's Park: A hidden treasure in the City of London

I worked in the City of London for thirty years and now that I'm not in the City everyday I've discovered this hidden treasure.  It’s less than a ten minute walk from where I worked and just over the road from St Pauls.  Amazing.

It’s also an amazing place and holds the Watts Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice built in 1900, but more on that later.

The gardens were opened in 1880 and are made up of the churchyards and graveyards of three nearby churches, and today it’s a quiet haven for office workers.  It got it’s name from its popularity as a lunchtime garden with workers from the nearby Old Post Office, so it really is a postman's park!

Like many of the City’s enclosed green spaces it has a tranquil feel – I was there just before midday and it was already starting to be a popular spot for people working close by to enjoy some fresh air with their sandwiches.

The planting also helps add an air of tranquillity with ferns and hostas and other shade loving plants.  Although there is some sun, there won’t be much – especially at the edges of the space – as it’s surrounded by tall buildings.  As well as the greenery there’s some brighter, more formally planted beds which bring some colour into the garden.

Towards the centre you find the Watts Memorial, which is a simple but moving memorial to ordinary people who died trying to save the lives of others.  Each porcelain plaque – made by Royal Doulton – records the act of heroism in sometimes quite stark language.

In the photo above the Thomas Griffin plaque reads:

Thomas Griffin

Fitters Labourer

April 12, 1899

In a boiler explosion at a Battersea sugar refinery was fatally scalded in returning to search for his mate.

There’s a full list of the plaques in Wikipedia here.  The last plaque added in the style of the Royal Doulton plaques is dated 2007 – the first addition for 78 years – to commemorate Leigh Pitt, and reads:

Leigh Pitt

Reprographic Operator

Aged 30, saved a drowning boy from the canal at Thamesmead, but sadly was unable to save himself June 7 2007

Further into the park there’s a reminder it was once a graveyard with these headstones now alongside one of the buildings on the boundary.

Outside the park there’s a old Police Phone which were for the use of both the police and the public in the days before police radios and mobile phones.

The park also hosts one of the 50 “Book benches” that are springing up all over London which is celebrating London’s literary heritage – this one is for Monica Ali’s Brick Lane for more information on the locations of other benches and trails, see booksabouttown.org.uk 

It was a fascinating place, made all the more fascinating for me because I’d worked so close by in ignorance for so many years!  I mean look at how close I'd been:

Where I worked is circled above, Postman's Park is underlined

The food, sights and smells of Borough Market

I spent a couple of hours wandering around Borough Market and the surrounding streets one afternoon last week experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of the market.  It was busy too with tourists and office workers alike... and yes, perhaps I tasted one or two of the delights on offer!

The first thing that caught my eye were these greenest of olives:

The trader explained these are picked young so they’re not as bitter and then are only lightly cured, which means they don’t lose their colour so much.  I couldn’t resist them and left carrying a small pot!

There’s many samples on offer throughout the Market, for me it was cheese next.  The smell of cheese as you walk around is strong and you know when the next cheese stall is approaching, it’s great!

This one stall asked customers not to taste their product – and tbh that was fine by me!

It's wheatgrass for smoothies

As well as cheese, bread, cured sausages, vegetables, fruit, meat and lunch there was plenty of fresh fish for sale.  Over the fish on each of the fish stalls hung plastic bags of water, which had me bemused:

Did you know?

These bags deter the flies, and aren’t as one of the traders joked for the free goldfish when you spend £100!  It’s a simple thing and it seemed to work – I’m not sure if it only works for fish – but I do wonder how this was discovered?!

Wandering over towards the Green Market area the smells of lunch intensified, as did the sounds of a choir practicing in the distance.  Here I succumbed to a Raspberry & Chilli goats milk ice cream – no pictures I’m afraid – well it was yum and a warm afternoon and I didn’t want to drop it!

I was on the look out for Borough Market’s new clock – I’d read about it on Twitter before my visit – but when I looked up I didn’t expect to see this on the London skyline!

Heading further along Clink Street I was at the Golden Hinde which is right next to the Old Thameside Inn – a favourite haunt for office workers looking for some sun after work.  The full-size reproduced galleon looks resplendent alongside both the old and modern buildings.

After a quick wander up to the Anchor Bankside to admire the view from there (another favourite riverside pub which featured in one of the Bridget Jones films), I headed back to Borough Market to have another look for their 

new Swiss clock

.  Unfortunately I still didn’t spot it and by the time I reached the new Market Hall to ask, it was shut for a private event. 

So I’ll have to leave that for another day – if you’ve been did you see the clock that was unveiled on 25 June?

As I was back in the market, I decided to have another look around and discovered more delights.  How beautiful and charming does this bike look, you wouldn’t think you were in the midst of a very busy city, would you?

My final tasting of the day was this Italian spreadable spicy salami – it sounds weird I know, but tastes divine.  I didn’t buy any – as I wasn’t sure it’d make it home intact – but I’m going back for some soon.  It’d be great on roast potatoes or pasta, or on its own!