A Hidden London Secret.......St Dunstan In The East

Just a short walk from The Tower of London is the wonderful ancient ruins of The Church of
St Dunstan in the East. It's a building with quite a bit of history, having first been constructed back
in the Saxon days. And around 950 AD a Holy man by the name of Dunstan took it upon himself,
with a bit of help, to try and restore it.
It was then later destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. And shortly after that misfortune
Sir Christopher Wren stepped in and restored it even creating a new Church Tower which still
stands today, although the Church was destroyed once again during the Blitz in 1941. But thankfully
the Wren Tower survived leaving just a few standing walls with it's Gothic arched windows.
It was decided after that, that the Church would not be rebuilt and that a garden would replace
the central Church space, which was eventually opened up as a public space in 1967.

And yet it wasn't until I read a recent edition of the London Time Out magazine that I
discovered this secret hidden away place as they once again did a feature on such hidden
London gems. The article was titled 'Eight Properly Calm Places in London.'

While I was there on Saturday, visitors were flocking in and out all the time. And I counted
three model and two wedding photo shoots in the couple of hours I was there. In fact I
got roped in to help out on one wedding photo shoot where I was asked to hold up the Brides
long white veil for effect.
But I imagine it must get even busier in there during the working week as the grounds has
become a sort of lunch time refuge for the nearby City workers.

I imagine that in a few weeks that this place will look even more appealing as I noticed that
many of the large vine like leaves that surround those Gothic window arches, were slowly starting
to turn red.
And I did actually film a three and a half minute video on my phone but sadly had to
delete it as I hadn't left enough memory on it to stabilize the footage. Just wish they'd give
you more internal memory on these phones. So I'll probably return to the grounds and
re film it, but for a shorter time. 

Returning back home I couldn't resist passing The Tower Of London as well
as Tower Bridge.

For a warm early October day I was amazed at the huge crowds
of tourists and visitors that were roaming around The Thames
near Tower Bridge.

Below: The River Thames and The London Shard Building.

A LONDON CITY WALKABOUT

On Wednesday this week I managed a trip into the City, initially to visit an

original Tudor building called St Bartholomew's Gatehouse and it's adjoining 

Church. And having first seen an image of the Gatehouse and it's Tudor structure 

above on a Pinterest page, it was something I wanted to see for myself.

The long surviving Gatehouse (above 2 images) is a remarkable story in itself.

Originally just a stone Gateway built and constructed in 1240, it wasn't until 1595

that a two storey timber framed house with a small attic was built on top of the 

Gatehouse.

Amazingly the whole structure and gateway survived the Great Fire of London in

1666 thanks to it's sturdy supporting walls.

During the 18th century the owner of the building grew tired of it's original Tudor

design and proceeded to cover it over with a Georgian facade. But by 1917 the building

suffered damage during a German Zeppelin raid, which exposed it's original Tudor 

design. This of course prompted a full restoration of the building back to it's original 

Tudor roots which was fully completed by 1932.

More history on The Gatehouse can be found at HISTORIC UK

Above and below are a few images of the adjoining Church, The Church of 

St Bartholomew the Great.

And what I liked most about this historic building is it's raw exposed brickwork.

Perhaps a coat of internal paint and the whole building would have lost it's charm.

Originally a Monastic institution when it was first built, it eventually became a Parish Church

during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st.  And being London's oldest Parish Church, I was 

interested to read in it's online history page where it says that the Church attracts those of no 

particular Religious belief because of it's architecture and sense of history.

THE CHURCH OF ST BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT

Having left the Church I was just about to head back home when I caught sight of St Paul's Cathedral (below).  I realized that I was close to The River Thames. And so my short City walkabout suddenly became extended.

Above:  St Paul's Cathedral as seen from across the River Thames.

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren the building was built and completed in 1710.

Above:  A London red bus at London Bridge.

Above:  Looking across the Thames at London Bridge. And among a cluster of new buildings 

is The Walkie Talkie Building.

Above:  London's now familiar Shard Building designed by Renzo Piano.

Construction first started in March 2009 and the building was completed 

and officially opened on the 1st of February 2013.

Above:  The Shakespeare Globe Theatre.

After a brief visit to London in 1949, American actor and Director Sam Wanamaker was

disappointed to find just a blue plaque at the sight of the original Globe Theatre. And it was

this that fired up his great obsession to rebuild and recreate Shakespeare's Theatre as close 

to it's original specifications.

And despite all the local bureaucratic hurdles and the financial struggles, the building was 

completed in 1997.

Sam Wanamaker died in 1993 and did not live long enough to see it's full completion.

SAM WANAMAKER AND THE GLOBE THEATRE LONDON.

Walking further up along The Thames I saw this wonderful mural celebrating our greatest

English poet The Bard, William Shakespeare ( 1564 - 1616 ).

Southwark Cathedral which lies close to The River Thames is a place that has always been on

my list of places to visit in London. So I was surprised that it's doors were even open with everything

going on at the moment.

The clerk at the front noticed me clicking away with my camera and reminded me that it was free to walk

around the Cathedral, but that I must pay £2 upon entrance if I wanted to take pictures inside.

Apparently the Cathedral being so popular, it closes it's doors to the public on Thursday afternoons

allowing only film makers and film units, although there was a four man film unit there setting up their cameras while I was there.

And yet it's hard to believe that this grand building has been a place of worship for around a

thousand years with it first being a Convent in AD 606, a Priory in 1106 and by 1540 it became a

Parish Church. But it didn't become a Cathedral until 1905.

SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL