Tanner Street Drinking Fountain, Bermondsey

In the corner of Tanner Street Park, behind low iron railings, there is a drinking fountain with a remarkable history. This is the Tanner Street Drinking Fountain.

This drinking fountain began its life as a turret at the top of tower of St Olaf's Church, Tooley Street.

Henry Flitcroft designed the church, which was constructed with Portland stone, in 1737. By the early 20th century the church had fallen into disrepair and so, in 1918, permission was granted to demolish part of the church. However, a stipulation was attached:

"...that provision should be made for the preservation of the tower thereof and for the maintenance of a portion of the site of the old church and of the old churchyard as a public open space and for the perpetuation of the name of St Olave in connection with such site."

Subsequently, the riverside area around Hay's Wharf was being developed and, as such, a request was submitted to demolish the tower.

A fierce Parliamentary debate ensued. Eventually permission was granted to demolish the tower, on the condition that Bermondsey Borough Council use some of the proceeds from the sale of the church land, in Tooley Street, to establish a recreation ground in nearby Tanner Street. Also, as an acknowledgement of the original church, the turret/cupola should be retained as a drinking fountain.

Eventually the drinking fountain fell into disrepair and, during the upgrading of Tanner Street Park, was restored in 2018, by Southwark Council.

'The Golden Boy of Pye Corner'

"This boy is

in Memory Put up

for the late FIRE of

LONDON

Occasion'd by the

Sin of Gluttony

1666."

At the corner of Cock Lane and Giltspur Street you will find this unassuming golden statue. Once you have seen and understood the meaning of the statue, you will never look at it the same way again.

Back in 1666 it was close to this spot, on Pye Corner, that the Great Fire of 1666 was finally extinguished.

A newspaper cutting.

At some point, possibly in the Victorian era, a fig leaf was added to the statue, due to complaints from passersby. This newspaper cutting tells some of the story.

But why a golden statue of a chubby boy?

An inscription, below the statue, reads as follows:

The boy at Pye Corner was

erected to commemorate 

the staying of the Great

Fire which, beginning at

Pudding Lane, was ascribed

to the sin of Gluttony

when not attributed to

the Papists, as on the

Monument. And the boy was

made prodigiously fat to

enforce the moral. He was

originally built into the

front of a public house

called 'The Fortune of War',

which used to occupy

this site and was pulled

down in 1910.

'The Fortune of War' was

the Chief House of Call, 

north of the river, for

Resurrectionists in body

snatching days. Years ago.

the landlord used to show

the room where, on benches

round the walls, the bodies

were placed, labelled

with the snatchers'

names, waiting till the

surgeons at Saint

Bartholomew's could run

round and appraise them.

So, this statue represents God punishing the sin of gluttony, as the fire started at Pudding Lane and ended at Pie Corner. 

London's Gas-fuelled Lamps

A guest post by 

Keilyn J. A. Morrissey.

A gas-fuelled lamp in Green Park.

In 1792, William Murdoch became the first man to put the idea of producing gas lighting from coal into practical use, when he installed gas lighting at the company's offices as well as lighting his home by this method.

It would be another fifteen years before the first recorded public street lighting, powered by gas, was demonstrated. This was in Pall Mall, London, on January 28, 1807. In June of that year, a line of gas street lights was illuminated by Frederick Albert Winsor, a German inventor, to celebrate the birthday of King George III. Each one was fed with gas pipes made from the up-cycled barrels of obsolete muskets.

In 1812, Parliament granted a charter to the London and Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, the world's first gas company. Less than two years later, on December 31, 1813, Westminster Bridge was lit by gas-fuelled street lamps. 

The cost of gaslight was up to 75% lower than oil lamps or candles, which accelerated its development and deployment. This cost-effectiveness, combined with its convenience and brighter illumination, drove the rapid adoption of gas lighting in public spaces and eventually in homes, contributing to advancements during the Industrial Revolution. 

By 1859, gas lighting was to be found all over Britain and close to a thousand gasworks had sprung up to meet the demand for the new fuel. Indoors, the brighter light that gas provided enabled people to read more easily and for longer. In turn, this helped to stimulate literacy and learning.

There are approximately 1,300 gas-fuelled lamps left in London, with roughly 270 of these found in Westminster. These lamps are lit and maintained by a small team of professional 'lamplighters' employed by companies such as British Gas, or through specialised firms such as William Sugg & Co.. 

The lamps require regular maintenance, with each lamp being serviced every fortnight. Their mechanisms need to be wound every fortnight and adjusted for the seasons. This is carried out by a small team of dedicated professionals, often with a background in gas engineering, who are responsible for the upkeep of the lamps. This includes checking and replacing mantles and polishing the glass on every lamp.

While some lamps still use manual winding and require a 'lamplighter' to be present, many modern gas lamps use clockwork mechanisms. Some lamps feature a permanent pilot light that automatically boosts at night.

London's oldest surviving gas lamps are found on Birdcage Walk. 

Ragged School, Southwark

The Mint & Gospel Lighthouse Mission was created in 1888, in a small building on what is now called Ayres Street. It then moved to premises on Clenham Street. However, this building was in such a poor state that The Ragged School Union and Shaftesbury Society provided them with a new building on Union Street.

This building was opened in 1907 and was set up as a charity to help disadvantaged children.

In 1840, the London City Mission used the term 'ragged' to describe the 570 children who used the five schools that they had established. The term 'ragged' referred to children who often wore ragged or worn-out clothing, no shoes or lacked the clothing to attend any other school.

In 1844, the London Ragged School Union was formed with over 20 ragged schools across the city.

'MillenniuM Measure' by Joanna A. Migdal

The Scientific Instruments Makers MillenniuM Measure.

The MillenniuM Measure is the gift of the Court & Livery of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers of the City of London, in commemoration of the MillenniuM.

It comprises a 3-sided, 2-metre (2m = 2000mm) rule depicting two thousand years of history of the City, the Church and the craft of Scientific Instrument making.