Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are still given here. The entrance is flanked by two lovely magnolia trees, and the
interior has a particularly rich plastered ceiling in white and gold. It was in this church
that Bonnie Prince Charlie allegedly renounced his Roman Catholic faith and became
an Anglican, during a secret visit to London in 1750.
St Clement Danes
Strand • Daily 9am-4pm • Free •
T
020 7242 8282,
W
raf.mod.uk/stclementdanes •
!
Temple or Covent Garden
St Clement Danes
, designed by Wren, occupies a tra
c island in the Strand. Badly burnt
out in the Blitz (the pock marks are still visible in the exterior north wall), the church
was handed over to the RAF, who turned it into a memorial to those killed in World
War II. Glass cabinets in the west end of the church contain some poignant mementoes,
such as a wooden cross carved from a door hinge in a Japanese POW camp. The nave
and aisles are studded with over eight hundred squadron and unit badges, while heavy
tomes set in glass cabinets record the 120,000 RAF service personnel who died. The
church's carillon plays out various tunes, including the nursery rhyme
Oranges and
Lemons
(daily 9am, noon, 3, 6 & 9pm), though St Clement's Eastcheap in the City is
more likely to be the church referred to in the rhyme.
In front of the church, the statue of
Gladstone
, with his four female allegorical
companions, is flanked by two air chiefs:
Lord Dowding
, the man who oversaw the
Battle of Britain, and “
Bomber
”
Harris
, architect of the saturation bombing of
Germany which killed five hundred thousand civilians (and over 55,000 Allied
airmen commemorated on the plinth). Although Churchill was ultimately
responsible, the opprobrium was left to fall on Harris, who was denied the peerage
all the other service chiefs received, while his forces were refused a campaign medal.
The statue was unveiled somewhat insensitively, in 1992, on the anniversary of the
bombing of Cologne.
8
Twinings
216 Strand • Mon-Fri 8.30am-7.30pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm •
T
020 7383 1359,
W
twinings.com •
!
Temple, Chancery
Lane or Covent Garden
In 1706, Thomas Twining, tea supplier to Queen Anne, bought Tom's Coffee House
and began serving tea as well as coffee, thereby effectively opening the world's first
tearoom. A branch of
Twinings
, which sells limited edition long leaf tea, still occupies
the site and its slender Neoclassical portico features two reclining Chinamen, dating
from the time when all tea came from China. At the back of the shop is a small
museum
with a fine display of ornate caddies, photos of the Twining family and some
historic packaging and advertising.
Lloyd's Bank (Law Courts branch)
222 Strand • Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri 9am-5pm, Wed 10am-5pm •
!
Temple, Chancery Lane or Covent Garden
Much of the extravagant decor of the short-lived
Palsgrave Restaurant
, which was built
at 222 Strand in 1883, is preserved in
Lloyds TSB
's
Law Courts branch. The foyer
features acres of Doulton tiles, hand-painted in blues and greens, and a flying-fish
fountain that was originally supplied with fresh water from an artesian well sunk 238ft
below the Strand. The interior of walnut and sequoia wood panelling is worth a look,
too, and features ceramic portrait panels. The Law Courts themselves stand opposite
(see p.142).
