The City of London Thoroughfare with Four Names

So which road am I on? Peter's Hill or Sermon Lane?

If you cross the London MillenniuM Footbridge, heading north, then you will find yourself on Peter's Hill. Continuing north, crossing Queen Victoria Street, you continue on Peter's Hill... or, do you?

You see Peter's Hill never came this far north, stopping at Knightrider Street, which itself has been shortened. Now, Peter's Hill joins with Sermon Lane, Knightrider Court and St Paul's Vista, all of which have signs stating these names. So, what is going on here?

Historically, Peter's Hill, Sermon Lane, and Knightrider Court were three separate, ancient streets. The former two were merged into one continuous route, primarily known as Peter's Hill, to create a wide approach to the London MillenniuM Footbridge, when it was developed in the late 20th century.

The City of London, however, chose not to eliminate the historic names entirely, so all three names were kept for different sections of the newly integrated route, leading to the current mess where maps, from different companies, label the same thoroughfare with different names. 

The sloped Sermon Lane with the stepped Peter's Hill.

Today, Sermon Lane is to the west of Peter's Hill and is now a sloped walkway, which separates it from Peter's Hill. This makes Sermon Lane more useful to those with mobility issues, pushchairs and such, as Peter's Hill (St Paul's Vista) has many granite steps.

Walking with Keilyn: Brunel Museum to Rotherhithe... and beyond

Keilyn ready to visit the Brunel Museum.

Saturday April 27, 2024.

Another Saturday saw Keilyn and I take another trip to London. Specifically to visit the Brunel Museum, but then to explore the area.

Our trip began the same way as usual; Metropolitan line to Finchley Road and then on to Bermondsey.

Our first stop, on reaching Bermondsey, was to grab a coffee and hot chocolate, which we purchased from the Servewell Cafe, before continuing along Jamaica Road to Southwark Park. The forecast said that rain was due at around 14:00, so we decided to visit Southwark Park before it began.

Keilyn at the Southwark Park Bandstand.

We visited the bandstand, before passing the bowling green, crossing Carriage Drive, where we discovered the Caryatids of Rotherhithe Old Town Hall. 

The Caryatids of Rotherhithe Old Town Hall.

From here we entered the Ada Salter Garden and then made our way around Southwark Boating Lake, before heading back towards Jamaica Road and King's Stairs Gardens.

Southwark Park Boating Lake.

From here it was a short walk along Saint Marychurch Street to the Brunel Museum, passing the historic Mayflower pub along the way.

Brunel's Engine House plaque.

To our surprise the Brunel Museum was deserted, so we had the entire place to ourselves for our entire visit. After purchasing our tickets, Keilyn was issued with a clipboard with two sheets of questions about the museum and the history of the Thames Tunnel, called 'The Brunel Detective Trail'.

Keilyn 50-feet down the Thames Tunnel Shaft.

Our first stop was to the Thames Tunnel shaft, from where the tunnel's construction began. After being ushered in to this cavernous shaft, with its bare brick and smoke-coated walls, we were left to explore on our own. At the bottom of the shaft Keilyn and I took a seat and watched a 4-minute video, that was set on a continuous loop, that explained the reasoning, construction and effect the Thames Tunnel had on London and the world. As we watched the video we could hear, and feel the London Overground (The Windrush line, from Autumn 2024) rumbling past beneath our feet.

Some of the artefacts on display.

One New Change: Viewing Area

Reflecting on St Paul's Cathedral. 

Sunday July 31, 2022.

One of the major developments over the last few decades, which enhances the appeal of London, is the new buildings that include viewing areas, nearly always on the roof, that allow free access for the public to see London from a different perspective.

Looking across at St Paul's Cathedral.

So it was that after a visit to the Museum of London, I took Erin and Keilyn to the top of the One New Change building, via its glass lifts, to see the view.

'Ariel' by Boris Anrep with the Barbican towers in the background.

From its location opposite St Paul's Cathedral it is this iconic building that you see while travelling up in the lift, and the first thing you see when you walk onto the viewing area.

With dusk fast approaching London takes on a new light.

The panoramic view allows you to see The Shard and along the River Thames to the London Eye and more. On clear days you can see the Crystal Palace transmitting station radio mast.

The Shard, Crystal Palace transmitter, London Eye and St Paul's.

But, for a truly great experience, sunset offers some amazing photo opportunities, which I hope to take the girls to see, later in the year.

Sunset.

There is also a mosaic and stone carvings to admire, towards the northwest of the viewing area.

'Ariel' by Boris Anrep (1883-1969).

'St George Combatant' by Sir Charles Wheeler (1892-1974).

Suitably impressed with the views Erin, Keilyn and I made our way to the lifts and headed off on the next part of our walk.

'Ancient of Days' by William Balke

Urizen in William Blake's 'Ancient of Days'.

Sunday December 1, 2019

From Thursday November 28, 2019 (what would have been William Blake's 262nd birthday) to Sunday December 1, William Blake's 'Ancient of Days' painting, was projected onto the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

It was a cold afternoon as I, my two girls and my mum made our way along the South Bank towards the Tate Modern, and a spot where we would be able to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Arriving at the Tate Modern, we headed up to the viewing platform, which offered a more unobstructed view than from the riverside, but was far colder. After taking a few photos of the skyline, in the still light afternoon, we decided to take some shelter inside the cafe area and warmed up.

Just before 16:15, as the winter sky darkened, the painting began to emerge against the backdrop of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. The colours, becoming more prominent with each passing minute. With the wind picking up we headed down to the riverside, which, despite its openness, was less cold. Go figure.

A few more photos of the dome, the painting, the various boats and bridges were taken, before we headed back towards the South Bank Centre, in search of some hot food and a drink.

From Thursday November 28, 2019 (what would have been William Blake's 262nd birthday) to Sunday December 1, William Blake's 'Ancient of Days' painting, was projected onto the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. 

St Paul's Cathedral

A Monument to Worship, for all time.

Friday August 5, 2016.

Of all the iconic buildings in and around the Unfinished City, St Paul's Cathedral, quite possibly, stands head and shoulders above the rest. It is a building with such rich history and great architecture that it is one of the most visited buildings in the world. 

However, to my own dismay, it is a building that I have yet to see the interior of. 

Hopefully I can rectify this next year.

Walking with family: Borough Market to St Paul's Cathedral... and beyond

Friday June 28, 2013

After dropping Erin at 'Busy Bees Nursery', Emma, Keilyn and I headed to London’s 'Borough Market', for lunch. Keilyn slept for pretty much the entire journey on the Metropolitan line, but woke as we changed to the Jubilee line. After a ‘toilet’ stop at London Bridge Station, we headed into Borough Market. 

The Market area, and Market itself, have gone through some major changes in the last few decades and finally the work is complete. The Market seems more spacious and appears to be a bit bigger. After a good look around, I settled on a ‘Boston’ double burger with red onion and rocket for lunch, while Emma had a hot Bap. 

With the crowds growing and the temperature rising, we decided to head over to the North side of the River Thames, which is something we rarely do as we prefer to stay on the South Bank, where it is a lot more pedestrian friendly.

Once we had crossed London Bridge, we headed along Cannon Street towards St. Paul’s Cathedral, popping in to the odd shop here-and-there. One of the best shops we went into was ‘Hardy’s Sweet Shop’, on Ludgate Hill. The shop has a myriad of jars full of ‘quarter’ sweets and lots of other hard-to-find sweets and candies. I bought some chewy nut caramels and Emma bought some Root Beer, amongst other things. 

We then continued on our merry way along Fleet Street and on to The Strand, heading for Trafalgar Square. The Square itself was surprisingly quiet, considering how nice the weather was and that this is where many of the tourists end up. So, after a brief stop, we decided to walk up Haymarket and then turned on to Regent Street.

Walking with friends: Len's 50th Birthday

The birthday boy.

On Thursday 8th September, 1960, Len Erdwin was thrust in to this world!!!

On Wednesday 8th September, 2010, Len Erdwin was thrust upon London!!!

Saturday 4th September, 2010.

Len's birthday week began on Saturday 4th. Len had finished work on the Friday and was looking forward to a well deserved week off and a good day out on the Wednesday, to celebrate reaching 50. He arrived at my house at about 10am on the Saturday, while Emma and I were picking up his 'surprise.' Luckily Emma's brother, Adam, was at the house tiling the bathroom floor, so Len could get in. When we returned from collecting his 'surprise' we had to quickly hide it so that Len wouldn't see it. After a bite to eat, we left 'the boys' to it while we went to see Alysha in 'Hello, Mister Capello.'

On our return, from the play, it was decided that Len should have his surprise.

Adam kept Len busy in the garden while Me and Emma got things ready.

When we were sure that Len had his eyes shut, we carried it out in to the garden. Stuck it on the table and told him to open his eyes. As he opened his eyes he was silent and he just stared at it. I truly thought we had screwed up. It was then that he finally threw his arms out and said how happy he was.

(The 'surprise' was a birthday cake in the shape of a guitar. The lettering on the cake said, 'Len 50' and all around the base, on the icing, were musical notes and guitar shapes. It also read, 'Elvis 1935-1977'. The cake was based on a similar cake that Len had received for his 21st Birthday, which had also been an 'Elvis Cake.' My thanks go to Denise Cox from Tapestry Cakes, Watford for her excellent work. You're a Star.)

Once Len had got over the shock of the cake, and we had taken many photos of it, Len decided we should all try some. It tasted as good as it looked, if not better. A few more beers and cake and it was a great start to Len's Birthday week.

Wednesday 8th September, 2010.

Len and Swany arrived at my house at about 8:30am.

After a coffee I handed Len his birthday present. A black zippo lighter with a portrait of Elvis Presley on it. He seemed to like this present, too.