Lesnes Abbey, Bexley

The view across the Courtyard towards the Monk's Garden.

Lesnes Abbey.

In 1178, Richard de Luci founded Lesnes Abbey, probably as penance for his involvement in the death of the Archbishop Thomas Beckett, who had been murdered in Canterbury Cathedral, in 1170.

Richard de Luci was Lord of the Manor of Erith and Chief Justiciar of England, a post he shared with Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. Upon Robert's death, in 1168, Richard held the post alone until he stepped down in 1178. The Chief Justiciar was second only to the King of England, making it a powerful role.

Lesnes Abbey was dedicated to St Mary and St Thomas, the martyr, and belonged to the order of Augustinian canons whose duty it was to baptise, preach, give penance and bury the dead. Belonging to the Augustinian order the Abbey was never wealthy,  largely due to the expense of repairing and maintaining the adjacent river walls.

The Abbey was an impressive building, with huge columns supporting the high ceilings, while highly decorated tiles covered the floors of some of the rooms. 

Looking east along the Nave.

The most important areas of the Abbey were the church, the buildings around the cloister, the infirmary and the great court. It was in these areas that the monks (canons) lived and worked, looked after the sick, showed hospitality to guests, made contact with the outside world and carried out day-to-day administration of the monastery and its estates. These estates included the marshland that stretched north to the River Thames.

A spring-filled pond, situated close to the Monk's Garden, provided fresh water for the monastery.

Mosaics and Ceramics, Black Prince Road

Walking along Black Prince Road towards the River Thames you will pass beneath the main railway line out of Waterloo. Much like the tunnel, on Centaur Street, where the William Blake mosaics can be found, this tunnel has mosaics of the Black Prince, from throughout the ages. 

The south wall is home to six mosaics, five of which represent The Black Prince, while the sixth has an image of Muhammad Ali and represents the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.

The tunnel also has ceramic tiles showcasing the area's history with Lambeth wares of Doulton.

Walking with friends: Barbican to Tower Bridge... and beyond

Thursday March 27, 2025.

Having celebrated my birthday, yesterday, I was eager to use my day off to visit London. With my girls at school I roped in my friend, Gary, to join me for the walk.

I took a bus to meet Gary at Rickmansworth station, where we caught a fast Aldgate-bound Metropolitan line train to Barbican. 

Our first stop was a visit to Postman's Park and the G.F. Watt's Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, which Gary had never seen, before we continued our walk south towards St Paul's Cathedral.

Turning on to Foster Lane I spotted the two open blue doors and, after climbing the three stone steps, we found ourselves in a secluded courtyard. This courtyard, once part of a graveyard, is a public garden that is owned by the church of St Vedast-alias-Foster.

A tree acts as a centrepiece to the slabbed and pebbled space, with various potted plants and shrubs dotted around the space. Two white walls are in juxtaposition with the brick walls, while the covered arcade adds an almost Mediterranean feel to this tranquil space. A framed display of Roman pavement pieces along with various plaques adorn the walls, while a relief sculpture of Canon Mortlock, by Jacob Epstein, is affixed to another wall.

But, I was here to see a rather obscure brick. It is a mud brick, etched with cuneiform writing, that was unearthed in Iraq and is almost 3,000 years old. Strangely, there is no plaque or marker, so I had to do some research on this piece of ancient history, on my return home.

Just metres from this 'secret' garden we saw a London Plane tree, growing in the grounds of the former St Peter West Cheap Church grounds. This platanus x acerifolia tree is said to be the oldest tree in the City of London.

From here we continued our route, by following Cannon Street, to Eastcheap, before turning down Pudding Lane, passing the Monument, before reaching Lower Thames Street, where we visited the Church of St Magnus-the-Martyr.

The Church of St Magnus-the-Martyr is a wonderful Grade I listed church, which was one of the first buildings to be destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. Although this church dates from 1687, there has been a church here since the 11th century. 

Inside this church there is a model of the Old London Bridge, which was created by David T Aggett, a member of the Metropolitan Police who rose to the rank of Detective Superintendent in the Fraud Squad. He was also a keen model maker and this model of Old London Bridge took almost three years to complete. As he was also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, he donated the model to St Magnus Church, which is the Plumbers' Company church. As a little joke he placed a Metropolitan Policeman on the bridge, which people can seek to find when admiring the model.

Having found the Policeman and some of the other interesting parts of the model we explored the rest of the building, before leaving the church and continued our walk along Lower Thames Street.

We stopped at Tower Hill Market for a bite to eat, which we ate on the square outside All Hallows by the Tower. The sun, by now, had burnt away the fog and mist, causing the temperature to soar, as we made our way across Tower Bridge to the south bank.

'Charlie Chaplin Mosaic' by Southbank Mosaics

If you were to walk along Lambeth Walk you will discover four small mosaic of Charlie Chaplin, by Southbank Mosaics.

They are set into the wall of Chandler Hall, home of Southbank Mosaics, in two pairs. 

I like that the colours are muted, reflecting how most knew him from his films. I don't think that colourful depictions would have done the subject justice.

They were created by Southbank Mosaics, which is an open artisan studio and training centre, with an aim to make the concrete streets of the neighbourhood more attractive.

As a training centre they teach heritage skills, such as mosaic, and have set up over 250 installations throughout London. These include Blake's Lambeth, which saw 70 of William Blake's works turned into mosaic. These were then used to transform the tunnels, that lead out of Waterloo station, from dull, lifeless places into a welcoming free art gallery.

Walking around this area of the South Bank there are plenty of free mosaic and other public art installations to discover, so it is well worth seeking out what is on offer.

Walking with family and friends: Mile End to Old Street... and beyond

Regent's Canal.

Saturday October 12, 2024.

Keilyn and I set off from home at just after 09:05, for a short walk to Watford underground station, where we met my friend Steve. We boarded a train to Baker Street, changing to an Aldgate train at Finchley Road. We alighted at Liverpool Street and headed into the depths to catch a Central line train to Mile End, from where our walk would begin.

Leaving Mile End station we immediately headed to a small independent coffee shop, Coffee London, for some refreshments.

Across the road we noticed a mural and murals would become something that we would see a lot of on this walk, although we were yet to know this. 

With hot drinks in had we crossed Mile End Road, to check pout the mural, before we turned onto Grove Road and began our journey. 

Ahead of us was a railway bridge that carries the mainline from Liverpool Street over Grove Road. It is this mainline that we plan to follow back towards the City of London. However, this bridge was severely damaged on June 13, 1944, when the first V1 'flying bomb' to fall on London destroyed it and severely damaged homes on nearby Antill Road, to the east, and Burnside Street and Belhaven Street to the west. The latter streets were later demolished and a small park is now in their place. Walking through this park we could hear skittering sounds in the undergrowth, which turned out to be mice that seemed unperturbed by our presence as they darted from tree to tree. 

The path led us to the Regent's Canal, where we spotted three metal portraits by the towpath, so we went down to investigate. One of the metal statues was of a Towpath Horse, which were essential to pull boats along the canal, bringing trade and business to the area. The second was of Sylvia Pankhurst, who was a leading member of the suffragette movement and who worked tirelessly for better living conditions in the East End. The final statue is of Ledley King, an East Ender who would go on to play for Tottenham Hotspur FC and represent England at the World Cup.

We then crossed the Regent's Canal and found ourselves entering Meath Gardens, from its southeast corner. This landscaped garden was opened in 18 and has a children's playground, a fitness gym and basketball and football facilities. There is also a large Black Poplar in the centre of the gardens which has been here since the 1840s, making it one of the oldest trees in the area. 

Meath Gardens has an interesting history, too. It originally began life as one of the eight private cemeteries that sprung up in the 1840s. However, Victoria Park Cemetery, which opened in 1846, was so poorly run that it couldn't make money in this poverty stricken area. By 1856 it had fallen into such a state of squalor that calls for its closure soon rang out. It finally closed to burials in 1876, after 1000,000 interments, the majority of which were children. Nearly all of the monuments and gravestones were cleared and the grounds landscaped, with it opening as Meath Gardens in 1894. The bodies were never removed.

Continuing our walk we crossed beneath the mainline and continued west along Bancroft Road, before heading back under the mainline to Three Colts Lane. We crossed Vallance Road, where I took a photo of some newish houses that stand on the spot of some now demolished homes, one of which, 178, was home to Ronnie and Reggie Kray. A little further and we reached 'The Carpenter's Arms'. once the local pub of the Krays.

From here we headed north along St Matthew's Row where we spotted various mosaic designs, affixed to the walls of William Davis Primary School, and a Watch House, opposite, attached to the grounds of St Matthew's Church Gardens. 

This is a much larger Watch House than the one I had previously seen in Rotherhithe. We soon found ourselves on Bethnal Green Road which followed westward, before turning down Chilton Street and onto Cheshire Street. Here trendy cafes and vintage shops filled both sides of the road, which brought us out to Brick Lane. 

On Sclater Street a few market stalls were beginning to unpack their wares, so we stopped for a browse. Keilyn picked up a small 'bum bag', while I purchased two old London bottles and a couple of whisky miniatures, one of which I gave to Steve. Sclater Street soon rejoined Bethnal Green Road and we found ourselves beside Shoreditch Boxpark.

We headed south, along Shoreditch High Street, before heading west along Great Eastern Street until we reached Leonard Street. It was here that we stopped for some refreshments at 'The Griffin'.

'Project Blake' by Southbank Mosaics

As you walk east along Royal Street you will pass below the main railway line from Waterloo. Along the walls of this tunnel are mosaic, based on designs and poetry of William Blake.

William Blake lived all but three years of his life in London, ten of which were lived in North Lambeth. 

The house where he lived, on Hercules Road, no longer stands, but a Blue Plaque marks the spot.

William Blake was largely unrecognised throughout his life, but became a highly regarded figure for his poetry in the years following his death.

He was also a prolific painter, with his 'Prophetic Works' being his best known and most controversial.

St George's Garrison Church, Woolwich

St George's Garrison Church.

I had read quite a bit about St George's Garrison Church and its history, but I had never been to visit it, until now.

As it is only open to the public on Sundays, unless for an exhibition or special event, it has always been difficult to find the time to get there. Fortunately, I was in the area as I had just visited Severndroog Castle, just down the road, which has a viewing platform that is only accessible on, you guessed it, a Sunday.

One of the church gates.

It was beautiful noon day as Keilyn and I wandered through the gates into the garden of this ruined church, the sun illuminating the gold mosaic above the altar, ahead of us. The canopy, above the remains, filtered the light making the whole place glow.

The canopy protecting the ruins.

The mosaics are stunning, with the St George mosaic being my favourite along with the Victoria Cross Memorial.

The mosaics glinting in the diffused light.

The walls, pillars and columns are all still in place creating a wonderful place to reflect.

Shepherdess Walk Mosaics

Shepherdess Walk.

Tuesday November 28, 2023.

I had heard of a mosaic project, within the London Borough of Hackney, and so decided to make a visit to it.

As it turns out there are two ways to access the mosaic. One is via Shepherdess Walk Gardens, which is fine, but the second, which I chose, is to take the narrow alley beneath houses and reach them that way.

The stairs leading to the narrow alley, from Shepherdess Walk, are stone and can get slippery with leaves and water, so I was careful of my footing. A small mosaic plaque, above the alley, lets you know that you are in the right place.

The narrow alley leads to an open green space, but it is to the left that the mosaics can be found, affixed to the walls of the surrounding homes, with two laid in the ground.

Besides a few parents with their small children, in the nearby park, I had the entire place to myself, allowing me time to take in the intricacies of these huge works.

Queenhithe Mosaic and an Anglo-Saxon Dock

Some of the detail on the mosaic.

One of those wonderful little things that I love about London are the surprising finds that you can discover.

One such discovery is the Queenhithe Mosaic which, having been installed in 2014, I have seldom seen or heard about. 

The 30 metre mosaic tells the timeline of London from Roman times to the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Well worn plaque.

What's more interesting than the mosaic, though, is the wall on which it is affixed. The wall surrounds the last remaining Anglo-Saxon dock... in the world. 

If you peer over the wall, especially at low tide, you can still see wooden remains, animal bones, pieces of clay pipes, shells, tiles and the typical flotsam and jetsam that is the hallmark of the River Thames. 

Looking into the Anglo-Saxon dock.

Below you will find a link to a video of the Mosaic.

Queenhithe Mosaic