Captain's Log

Queen Victoria

Today’s short walk would follow the River Thames’ south bank between Blackfriars and Southwark. I’d visit the location of where I first started my working career, in addition to other famous sites in the area. There would be a tour of the busy Borough Market, a potter past Southwark Cathedral and a pint at The George, before returning via the Millennium Bridge and St Pauls cathedral. 

Iron Man and Queenie were with me today and we set off from the Premier Inn a little north of Blackfriars Bridge. Our first stop was at the Victoria statue at the north end of the bridge. I doubt whether the statue gets many admirers since the great lady is stranded on an island separating two lanes of busy bridge traffic. She had three visitors today though. Last year I visited the council offices in Scarborough (see Scarborough South Bay Saunter) and found an identical statue mounted on a plinth outside those esteemed buildings. How do I know the two statues are identical? They were both taken from the same cast. In fact, there were 7 such identical statues of Queen Victoria that were made. These other ones are located at:  Derby Royal Infirmary, Newcastle Under Lyme, Aberdeen, Guernsey and Adelaide in Australia. I’ve decided to start ticking them off, although the Adelaide one might prove tricky. On the back of the Blackfriars' plinth it says: ‘Presented to the citizens of London by Sir Alfred Seale Haslam in token of friendship to themselves and loyalty to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.' Well, I suppose he did get a knighthood out of the transaction. 

God's Banker

We started to cross Blackfriars Bridge to the south bank. The view eastwards was hindered by the nearby Blackfriars Railway Bridge and westwards by the Thames curving southwards. There’s now a complex of high rise buildings at the south end of the bridge. I remember the bridge becoming famous in 1982 when the Italian banker Roberto Calvo was found hanged under the bridge with bricks in his coat pockets. He was nicknamed as ‘God’s Banker’ since he was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano which was closely linked to the Vatican. The initial coroner’s inquest recorded a verdict of suicide, but this was changed to an open verdict a year later. Many people believe he was murdered by the Mafia to punish him for stealing Mafia money that he was laundering for them. Calvi was a member of an illegal masonic lodge, Propaganda Due (P2) who referred to themselves as frat neri or ‘black friars.’  So, maybe it was something to do with the masonic lodge. If it was murder, then nobody has ever been charged with it. 

Park Street

We dropped down to the river side and started following it eastwards. The wonderful views over towards St Pauls and the City started to open up once we’d passed Blackfriars station. We approached the massive brick building that is now the Tate Modern. We’d pay a visit to the gallery later in the day (see Tate Modern Gallery). Just after the end of the Millennium Bridge, we headed away from the river and through a snicket between the Tate Modern and some high rise flats. This brought us to Park Street and the location of where I started my working career. The last time I paid a visit here was in 2019 when I was shocked to find bulldozers crawling across the rubble of the building in which I used to work. I was intrigued to find out what had been built in its place. It turned out that it was three high rise buildings. I surveyed the area to pinpoint where in this space I used to sit in my office, looking out of the window and watching the world go by on Sumner Street. It seemed this space was now occupied by the upper branches of a tree. This troubled me somewhat since I could see this would be problematic when it became time to hang my blue plaque. I guess they’d just have to place it on one of the adjacent buildings…or maybe attach it to the plinth of a new  statue of myself. I quite liked the idea of that. 

Theatres, Galleons And Cathedrals

We headed back towards the river. The area has certainly changed around here. It used to be worn out buildings and warehouses in the 1980s. It is all new offices, restaurants and residential buildings now. We reached the Globe Theatre and spent an hour taking the tour (see Globe Theatre) and then continued walking eastwards alongside the river. Amongst the canyons of new buildings we found the remains of the Great Hall of Winchester Palace. This was where the Bishops of Winchester used to hang out when they came to London. There’s only really a gable wall remaining, but this does contain the framework of an impressive rose window. Sir Francis Drake’s galleon Golden Hinde was moored ahead and we completed a tour of its claustrophobic decks (see Golden Hinde). Southwark Cathedral was just a short distance away. The building was pretty enough from the outside, but looked more of a church than a cathedral (it was given cathedral status in 1905). It’s been around in its Gothic form since 1220. 

Borough Market

The large Borough Market was just next door to the Cathedral and we had a mooch around its stalls for a while. There’s just about every food on offer that you can imagine if you like that sort of thing. There’s meats, cheeses, confectionery, fish, as well as the normal fruit and veg. There are lots of varied treats freshly prepared to be taken away. The place is both visually and olfactory interesting. There are plenty of signs warning of thieves and pickpockets and so it's worth checking the padlock and chain on your wallet. There was some discussion between Queenie and Iron Man as to whether a cheese purchase might survive 48 hours without a fridge. Iron Man reckoned that the Premier Inn bathroom was so cold that it could act as a freezer and so they bought some. We left the market and walked a short distance down Borough High Street before we dropped in at the historic George pub for a beer and meal. After that Iron Man employed his CAMRA credentials to sniff out The Rake on the edge of the Borough Market (both pubs are reviewed in London 40 Years Pub Crawl). 

Brothels, Bridges And St Pauls

We retraced our route westwards alongside the river. Just after the Globe Theatre I dragged Iron Man and Queenie over to a row of old  houses on a cobbled street facing  the river. I reckon they must have the best views in London from their living and bedroom windows…well, I suppose  if you could remove all the tourists walking along the river side. One of the houses has a heraldic sign hanging outside declaring it as The Deanery. I believe this to be the Provost of Southwark Cathedral’s lodging. I guess the job has its perks. Another has a sign on it saying that Sir Christopher Wren lived here during the building of St Pauls Cathedral. A postscript to this says: ‘Here also in 1502 Catherine Infanta Of Castille And Aragon, afterwards first Queen of Henry VIII took shelter on her first landing in London.’ All this seems admirable until later research showed that the house wasn’t built until 1710, the same year that St Pauls was finished. I guess Wren just lived nearby. The narrow alley next door is Cardinal’s Cap Alley and in the 1500s, this led the way to a notorious brothel. That must have been another perk of the Provost’s job. 

It was only a short hop from here to the Tate Modern where we spent many hours wandering around its amazing galleries (see Tate Modern Gallery). After enhancing our artistic education, we exited the gallery into darkness and a Baltic wind. Iron Man and Queen went off to fill their gizzards with Greek food, whilst I headed back to Blackfriars via the Millennium Bridge and St Pauls. Both sides of the river were lit up now and it was a wonderful sight as I crossed the bridge. The huge dome of St Pauls came into view and I headed along Peter’s Hill towards it. I reached the great building and marvelled at its architecture. I planned to climb to the top of its dome in a couple of day’s time. For now though, I headed back to Blackfriars for the culinary delight of a Premier Inn Meal Deal. 

It had taken a day to walk this short route. Tours of the Globe Theatre, The Golden Hinde, The Tate Modern Gallery and a stop for one or two pints along the way, had reduced our average walking speed somewhat. It is an ideal walk for calling in at these interesting locations. The views across the River Thames are the best in London.