Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
though the synagogue's magnificent array of chandeliers makes it very popular for
candle-lit Jewish weddings. Close by Bevis Marks, just past Creechurch Lane, a plaque
commemorates the even larger
Great Synagogue
of the Ashkenazi Jews, founded in
1690 but destroyed by bombs in 1941.
St Katharine Cree
86 Leadenhall St • Mon-Fri 10.30am-4pm • Free •
!
Aldgate
he church of
St Katharine Cree
, completed in 1631, is a rare example of its period,
having miraculously escaped the Great Fire of 1666. It's a transitional building with
Neoclassical elements, such as the Corinthian columns of the nave and, above, a
Gothic clerestory and ribbing. At the east end is a very lovely, seventeenth-century
stained-glass Catherine-wheel window. The church was consecrated in 1631 by Bishop
Laud, and the “bowings and cringings” he indulged in during the service, were later
used as evidence of his Catholicism at his trial and execution for heresy in 1645.
11
London Metal Exchange
56 Leadenhall St • Mon-Fri noon-1.30pm & 3.30-5pm • Free •
T
020 7264 5555,
W
lme.com •
!
Aldgate
The only place in the City where you can still witness the human scrum of share
dealing - known as “open-outcry” - is at the
London Metal Exchange
, where metals
- and even plastic - but not silver, gold or platinum are traded. The dealing takes place
within the Ring, with each metal traded in five-minute bursts - to visit the public
viewing gallery, you must phone ahead.
St Botolph-without-Aldgate
Aldgate High St • Tues 11am-3pm, Thurs 10am-3pm • Free •
T
020 7283 1670,
W
stbotolphs.org.uk •
!
Aldgate
St Botolph-without-Aldgate
was
designed in the 1740s by George Dance the Elder,
and stood beside Aldgate, one of the old City gateways, now commemorated by a
modern, wooden, latticed “palace on pillars” which stands close by. The church's
bizarre interior, remodelled last century, features blue-grey paintwork, gilding on top
of white plasterwork, some dodgy modern art, a batik reredos and a stunning, modern
stained-glass rendition of Rubens'
Descent from the Cross
on a deep-purple background.
Situated at the edge of the East End, this is a famously campaigning church, active on
issues like gay priests and social exclusion.
Monument
Fish St Hill • Daily 9.30am-5.30pm • £3 •
T
020 7626 2717,
W
themonument.info •
!
Monument
In the 1670s, Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren's
Monument
commemorating the
Great Fire of 1666 (see p.452) used to rise above the rooftops. No longer so prominent
on the skyline, this plain 202ft Doric column, crowned with spiky gilded flames,
nevertheless remains the tallest isolated stone column in the world; if it were laid out
flat it would touch the site of the bakery where the fire started, east of Monument. The
bas-relief on the base depicts Charles II and the Duke of York in Roman garb
conducting the emergency relief operation. The 311 steps to the gallery at the top
- plagued by suicides until a cage was built around it in 1842 - once guaranteed an
incredible view; nowadays it's dwarfed by the surrounding buildings.
St Magnus-the-Martyr
Lower Thames St • Tues-Fri 10am-4pm •
T
020 7626 4481,
W
stmagnusmartyr.org.uk •
!
Monument
Not far from the Monument is another Wren edifice, the church of
St Magnus-the-
Martyr
,
whose octagonal spire used to greet all travellers arriving in the City across old
London Bridge. Now it stands forlorn by busy Lower Thames Street, though the
Anglo-Catholic interior holds, in T.S. Eliot's words, “an inexplicable splendour of
Ionian white and gold”. In addition, there's a wooden pier from an old Roman wharf
in the porch, and a great model of the old London Bridge in the vestry.
