Olympic Bell (London 2012)

The Olympic Bell, which Bradley Wiggins rung to signal the opening of the London 2012 Olympics, now hangs rather forlornly outside the London Stadium.

It is a monster of a bell that will, in all likelihood, hang hear for the rest of its days, never to be rung again. This seems to be a waste of a bell, to me, as a bell is designed and tuned to be rung.

Having never seen it up close I was shocked by the sheer size of it.

"Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises" - The Tempest

Brief History

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was commissioned to make the bell for the London 2012 Olympic Games, in September 2011. They finalised the design, kettering and tuning but found that no longer had the capability to cast such a massive bell. Controversially, they subcontracted the casting to Royal Eijsbouts, in the Netherlands. The Loughborough based Taylor's Bell Foundry, which had also tendered to the cast the bell, took exception at the bell being cast by a non-British company. 

The framework, from which to hang the bell, and the hammer mechanism, which alone weighed a half-ton, were made by various companies. In total there were twenty different companies, from three countries, that brought the bell to completion.

Watch House, Rotherhithe

This Watch House, on St Marychurch Street, was used by Watchmen in the 19th century. 

Constructed in 1821 it was built as a twin to the Old Rotherhithe Fire Engine House, just a bit further along Saint Marychurch Street.

It has a single floor, above ground, and a basement level, which contained a cell.

The Watchmen who were stationed here would patrol the local area in an effort to deter criminal activity. If a watchman found someone acting suspiciously they would be brought back to the Watch House, where they were kept in a cell until either being discharged or imprisoned.

This particular Watch House backs on to St Mary's Churchyard. One of the jobs watchmen were called upon to undertake was the protection of the dead. Bodysnatchers, or 'Resurrection Men' as they were known, who stole corpses for for medical research at Guy's Hospital, often visited graveyards in an attempt to find 'fresh' bodies.

The former burial ground is now St Mary's Churchyard Gardens, and the Watch House is now the Watchhouse Cafe. 

The building is Grade II listed.

Charles 'Charlie' Rouse, circa 1850.

Being a Watchmen was originally an unpaid civic duty for the local townspeople. Eventually it would become a 'profession', with Watchmen receiving a small sum for their time.

Their local parish would set down the routes that were to be followed, which they would patrol from 21:00 to 06:00. 

They were known to call out the time and weather every hour, check for fires, ensure that the village folk had locked their doors, among other things. Occasionally, townsfolk would pay the Watchmen a small sum of money to act as a walking alarm clock, waking those that had paid at a specific time.

There are still some similar Watch Houses in and around London. like the one above which is at St Matthew's Church Gardens, Bethnal Green.

Obelisk & St George's Circus

Walking through Southwark, along Borough Road towards Westminster Bridge Road, you will come to a junction where the aforementioned roads meet London Road. At the centre of the roundabout stands an obelisk. This is St George's Circus, and it has an interesting history.

Built in 1771, St George's Circus was London's first purpose built traffic junction. The original obelisk, at the centre of the roundabout, was affixed with four oil lamps to aid traffic in the evenings.

In 1897 the obelisk was removed and replaced with a clock tower, to honour Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. The obelisk was then erected in front of the Imperial War Museum, in what is now known as grounds of Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, in 1905, while the clock tower remained at St George's Circus until the 1930s, when it was demolished.

'Sunshine Weekly and The Pilgrim's Pocket' by Peter McLean

Walking along the Thames Path, through Rotherhithe, you will discover Cumberland Wharf. It is a small park with circular seating areas and plenty of trees. Below is Rotherhithe Beach.

In the northwest corner is a statue, erected in 1991, of a boy dressed in 1930s attire, his dog and a pilgrim father. Which makes sense, as it is close to this spot that the Mayflower set sail for Southampton, on September 16, 1620, before heading to the New World.

The statue depicts the ghost of a Pilgrim Father, William Bradford, then Governor of the New Plymouth Colony, looking in horror over the boy's shoulder at what has happened within the New World, since his death. 

The comic, called 'Uncle Pete and Kev's Sunshine Weakly' (I think this should have read 'weekly') depicts things like automobiles, aeroplanes, an eagle, cowboys, the Empire State Building, rockets, the Statue of Liberty and much more Americana. This comic did exist, from 1936-1940.

On the back of the comic are depictions of the Mayflower and the Pilgrim Fathers.

The dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier, stood on its hind legs, appears to be trying to look at the comic, too.

In the ghost's pocket are an A-Z dated 1620, a crucifix, a lobster claw, a Native American totem pole and more. But, no bible.

'Nature's Throne' by Paula Haughney

As Keilyn and I approached this grassy area, from a tree-lined path, we thought that we had discovered an ancient stone circle. And, in a way, we had. It just wasn't as old as we thought. 

There were ten etched granite stones, some of which had rusted metal fittings sticking out of them, while others had holes cut through them. Each was of varying height and shape, making each of them unique.

At the centre a massive 'throne' commanded attention, even though it was not as tall as the surrounding monoliths, it was considerably larger than the other stones.

After a good exploration, and having taken a seat on the throne, we left the area to continue our walk.

One of the ten stones that surround Nature's Throne.

This piece of public art is entitled 'Nature's Throne' and was designed by Paula Haughney.

A well-worn plaque, affixed to one of the granite blocks, states:

"Nature's Throne

by Paula Haughney

Opened by J.W.E. Jackson, J.P.

Chairman of the Authority

1st October 1990

Commissioned by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

through the Public Art Development Trust

Supported by the Countryside Commission

and Greater London Arts"