Farringdon And Paddington

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. THOSE IN GROUPS ACCESS GALLERIES THAT CAN BE VIEWED FULL SIZE.

This morning I scanned another dozen colour slides from the Streets of London series, produced in July 2004.

Clerkenwell Road EC1 7.04 1

Clerkenwell Road EC1 was featured on 15th January. These were probably pictured at the same time as the first ones. I swear I had no idea what was being advertised in the Jack posters. Intensive Internet research informs me that this was a magazine for gentlemen of a more intellectual bent than most. 2004 was its final year of publication.

Clerkenwell Road EC1 7.04 2

The church in the second shot is that of St. James. From about 1100 to 1539, when it fell foul of King Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, St. Mary’s nunnery stood on the site. Grafted onto the remains of the nunnery church in 1540, the place of worship, after several alterations, was rebuilt in the18th century, being dedicated in 1792. That is the building you see today. It is not, in fact, attempting to emulate the leaning tower of Pisa, but the width of this shot distorted the image so that I had to choose between the circular structure in the foreground and the more distant church to straighten.

Clerkenwell Road EC1 7.04 3

This view is a little further down the road. Here is a link to Susannah Hall’s website: https://susannahhall.com

Clerkenwell Close EC1 7.04

This young lady, pretty in pink, brightened up Clerkewell Close EC1

Farringdon Road EC1 7.04 1
Farringdon Road EC1 7.04 2

From its junction with Clerkenwell Road, Farringdon Road EC1 runs south to Blackfriars Bridge. It is Greville Street that climbs the hill up to Hatton Garden in the second picture.

Cowcross Street EC1 7.04

A public house has existed on the site of The Castle in Cowcross Street EC1 from at least the 18th Century. According to Wikipedia “it was once frequented by King George IV, who issued the landlord with a pawnbroker’s licence and handed over his gold watch to obtain some cash after losing money on a cockfight.”

Benjamin Street EC1 7.04

Both Cowcross Street and Benjamin Street EC1 lead to Farringdon Station. The BAR E S on the corner has lost a couple of letters. There is no truth in the rumour that Johnny Depp’s Sweeney Todd gave Alan Rickman a close shave in these premises.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omD3m-xwBWk&w=560&h=315]

South Wharf Road W2 7.04
Praed Strret W2 7.04

The 19th century Grand Junction Arms, as refurbished in the 1930s in Praed Street, dwarfed in 2004 by the development of Paddington Basin, at the end of South Wharf Road W2 was, I understand, closed possibly as recently as last year.

Junction Place/Praed Street W2 7.04

Junction Street W2 forms a corner with Praed St,

St Michael's Street W2 7.04

and St Michael’s Street runs parallel to it.

This evening we dined on aromatic lemon chicken; sautéed leeks, peppers, and mushrooms; boiled potatoes and carrots; and Jackie’s piquant cauliflower cheese. She drank Hoegaarden, and I drank Lion’s Lair Shiraz 2013.

 

35 comments

  5. The frilly ornate railing above the Castle and the Grand Junction Arms were beautiful sights, Derrick. I like the narrow point of the second sight. Too bad about taller buildings dwarfing it in 2004 and possibly its eventual closure.
    My favorite part of this was how hard it would be to straighten a building if another were leaning. I have challenges when I take pictures with angles and spatial aspects. 🙂

    Reply

  7. That first part under the JACK posters had me laughing, Derrick. And – as an aside – I think I am back to WordPress in full form. Do you agree? Have I escaped your junk folder?

    Reply
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