DAY 5 The Heart of the City

Today's walk was in the insurance and banking district of the city. The "Heart of the City" London Walk was quiet on a Saturday except for ongoing construction. The guide said for a time during the COVID epidemic the only human street activity was by the construction crews.

Although the focus of the walk turned out to be modern architecture, there was a bit of history and some stories.  Samuel Pepys lived in the area.  He is known to historians because he kept a daily journal around the time before and after the great fire of 1666.  There is statue of him not far from where his house used to be - now the site of a luxury hotel.  Pepys' house did not burn down.  However, he did move almost all of his belongings away to a friend's country house. One thing he did not take along was a parmesan cheese. The cheese was considered as valuable as a bar of gold in those days and he chose to bury it in his yard rather than take a chance of it being stolen on the road!

Not far away is the entry to the St. Olave's Church cemetery on Seething Lane.  This church is mentioned by Dickens.  The church below is the only remaining Medieval church in the area. 

The rest of the walk focused on the unique buildings in this area with nicknames such as the Gherkin and Cheese Grater.  There was also the tubular Lloyds of London building. 

Of interest, the area here was known for a maypole and dancing around it on May Day. The pole came down when church authorities deemed dancing around it a pagan celebration.  However, the pole and its history is recognized by a building next door - shown in the picture below as the striped pole in the center against the wall. Our guide said many British students , especially rural ones, practice dancing around a maypole at their schools.