Secret City: lesser-known attractions
The City has many hidden treasures. For those who like to stray from the beaten track, we’ve listed here ten lesser-known gems.
1. Memorial to heroic sacrifice at Postman’s Park
Ordinary people; extraordinary deeds. Known as the Watts’ Memorial Cloister, this small corner of Postman’s Park commemorates the selfless acts of everyday heroes who lost their lives saving others. It is comprised of a wall of 53 hand-lettered Doulton tiles which tell the stories of those who may otherwise have been forgotten. The brainchild of eminent Victorian painter G F Watts (1817-1904), the memorial was featured in the film Closer and is located under the sheltered area of the park.
Where? King Edward Street EC1 – park open daily, 8am-7pm or dusk (whichever is earlier).
2. The London Stone
This ancient stone is regarded as one of London’s greatest relics yet its history and purpose are still shrouded in mystery. It is widely believed to be the point from which the Romans measured all routes across Britain; it has associations with the Druids and is featured in works by Shakespeare, William Blake and Charles Dickens. However, it is probably best known for the myth that is attached to it. "So long as the stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish," says the proverb. Brutus (the Trojan) was the legendary founder of London and the stone is thought to be part of an altar built by him.
Where? The stone is caged in a wall at foot level at 111 Cannon Street EC4, opposite Cannon Street station. It can be viewed 24 hours-a-day. Find the London Stone on our interactive map or visit Wikipedia for more information.
3. The Grand Staircase – St Bartholomew’s Hospital
Founded in 1123, St Bartholomew’s is one of London’s oldest hospitals. On the Grand Staircase in its North Wing are two little-seen – but large and impressive – paintings by the artist William Hogarth. Born in the City, Hogarth gave his services free-of-charge to the hospital. While this may have been out of a sense of philanthropy, it was also because the job allowed him to attempt a picture in the grand historical style (something he had not done previously and was rarely to attempt again). Completed between 1734 and 1737, the paintings depict two biblical stories relating to the care of the sick and injured – they are The Good Samaritan and Christ at the Pool of Bethesda. It is widely believed that Hogarth used patients from the hospital as his models and, while there is no documented evidence to confirm this, the realism of the portraits suggests it is likely.
Where? The painting can be glimpsed from a doorway at the back of the St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum; the only way to get a closer look is to take the St Bart's Hospital Tour which takes place at 2pm every Friday.
4. Bunhill Fields
Just outside the City boundary is Bunhill Fields, a burial ground of surprising and significant interest and one that is reputed to be the largest unconsecrated cemetery in Europe. A site for burials for over 1,000 years, it was set apart as a common cemetery for plague overspill in 1685, but not used for this purpose. Thereafter, a Mr Tindal leased it and converted it into a burial place for dissenters. Many notable nonconformists are buried there, including William Blake and his wife Catherine; Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley; Daniel Defoe, and John Bunyan. By the time it closed for burials in 1854, it had become final resting place for around 123,000 people. Just across the street is the tomb, chapel and house of John Wesley, an especially famous nonconformist and founder of Methodism. It is said that Wesley aligned his chapel so that it would look straight to his beloved mother's grave.
Where? The entrance to Bunhill Fields is on City Road EC2; on Wednesdays at 12.30pm throughout June and July you can take a guided tour; the tour costs £5.
5. The Harold Samuel Collection: and Flemish 17th-century paintings at Mansion House
The Harold Samuel collection, comprising 84 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings, has been described as the finest private collection of such works to be formed in Britain over the past century. It includes paintings by such masters as Frans Hals, Nicolaes Maes and Jacob van Ruisdael, acquired by Lord Samuel for his personal pleasure and to hang in his home at Wych Cross. The collection was bequeathed to the City of London in 1987 to be hung permanently in the Lord Mayor's residence, Mansion House.
Where? Tours of Mansion House take place every Tuesday at 2pm (£6 adults, £4 concs). For further info, read about the tour in our Guided Walks and Tours section.
6. Saint Ghastly Grim
In The Uncommercial Traveller, Charles Dickens nicknames the churchyard of St Olave Saint Ghastly Grim: “It is a small churchyard, with a ferocious strong spiked iron gate, like a jail. This gate is ornamented with skulls and cross-bones, larger than life, wrought in stone; but it likewise came into the mind of Saint Ghastly Grim, that to stick iron spikes a-top of the stone skulls, as though they were impaled, would be a pleasant device. Therefore the skulls grin aloft horribly, thrust through and through with iron spears.”
The stone skulls are still there, grinning down on passers by and sending a shiver down the spines of those unfortunate souls who – walking this quiet City street at night – chance upon them for the first time.
Where? St Olave, Hart Street
7. The Black Friar
Built in 1875 near the site of a 13th-century Dominican priory from which the area (and thus pub) takes it name, the Black Friar looks strangely interesting from the outside (with its mosaics and statue of a rotund and jolly friar above the main door). However, nothing will quite prepare the visitor for the extraordinary interior. Somewhat reminiscent of an ornate medieval church, marble-clad walls, mosaics and bas-relief bronzes depict merry monks and carry mottos such as “don’t advertise, tell a gossip”. Begun in 1904, the décor is a forerunner to Art Noveau. It’s a real arts and crafts extravaganza with the intricacy of the work, humour of the subjects and sheer bizarreness of the whole thing making for an engaging pint.
Where? 174 Queen Victoria Street; read more about the Black Friar on the fancyapint? website
8. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
One of the few remaining old-style London pubs with tiny rooms, oak beams, narrow passageways and that wonderful gloomy pub charm. Rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, its vaulted cellars are thought to have been part of the 13th-century Carmelite monastery that stood there. It is said that regulars included literary giants Oliver Goldsmith, Mark Twain and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and it is famously mentioned in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Perhaps though, it is best known for its resident parrot, Polly. There seem to be two stories connected to her – one, that she swore a lot (perhaps mimicking bawdy customers) and that crowds flocked to hear her profanities; two, that on Armistice night in 1918, she imitated the popping of champagne corks some 400 times. Polly died in 1926 and her obituary appeared in (literally) hundreds of newspapers (probably due to the number of journalists that were customers, the pub being next to Fleet Street). Polly still inhabits the pub, stuffed and in a glass case.
Where? Wine Office Court at 145 Fleet Street; read more about Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on the fancyapint? website
9. Smithfield Market
For carnivores, there’s no place better than this world-famous wholesale meat market. Housed in a refurbished Victorian listed building, personal shoppers don’t always have to buy in bulk with many traders selling them anything from an individual leg of lamb or a chicken to a quiche or a packet of sandwich fillings. Beware though – it’s an early start. Being a wholesale market, it’s only open in the wee small hours (2.30-7am). If you’ve a stomach for tradition at that time of the morning, you can pop to the pub inside the market (as well as to a few others around) for a full English breakfast and a pint of ale. Open from 6am, the pub is decorated with pictures of the market through the ages.
Where? West Smithfield; 2.30am-7am, Monday to Friday only
Tours can be arranged on request to the Superintendent’s Office; call 020 7332 3092 or email smithfield.market@cityoflondon.gov.uk
10. St Dunstan in the East
A victim of bombing in WWII, this Wren-augmented church (he designed the steeple) was pretty much left an empty shell. In 1971, the City of London Architects and Parks Departments set about creating a magical garden within its ruins. Imaginative planting has restored the Gothic feel, with climbers wrapped about its window frames and its north and south walls providing the perfect backdrop to dramatic and colourful flowers and shrubs. Widely thought to be the most beautiful of the City’s public gardens, St Dunstan in the East won a Landscape Heritage Award in 1976.
Where? St Dunstan’s Hill