A lack of time as well as human nature means that we all know the immediate area surrounding our workplaces very well and beyond a few hundred meters less so. Once the working day is over and maybe after some well earned bar time, we go home. What we tend not to do is explore much beyond half a mile from our workplaces. The City of London’s history led to it being constructed originally within walls. The City’s physical location with the Thames on the South, the Tower of London to the East, the residential areas of Islington and Camden to the North and the Temple Bar dividing the City from the legal district to the West all add up to it being a defined area which gave rise to it becoming known as the Square Mile.
Having worked in the City of London for some years I firstly became interested in the history and started by tasking myself with discovering in addition to the financial markets where I have always worked, the physical markets which have been a key part of the City for hundreds of years but which have now moved out to less expensive areas with easier access through better transport links. Smithfield, the meat market is the last one near the City to close; Billingsgate the fish market moved 30 years ago to Docklands and is now about to move further still Eastwards; Spitalfields the fruit and vegetable market became a vibrant restaurant, bar and boutique centre at the same time; Leadenhall Market also a meat, vegetable and dairy market went the same way but a bit more recently.
It would take too long to list even the highlights within the list of City of London churches which number 48 plus a further 8 which are designated as ruins. Instead and in line with where I started this piece, as an example of expanding one’s horizons, if one takes a short walk from the City of London just across London Bridge and beside the lively Borough Market, stands Southwark Cathedral which is overlooked given it being sandwiched between busy railway lines and the Thames.
So next time you want to discover an atmospheric area of bars and restaurants, the best food market in London and last but least one of the very best Cathedrals, head over London Bridge!
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