14. City Consorts Tour of the Smithfield Area, 24 July 2023

City Consorts including Eileen Bigg, Master’s Consort, plus London Guide and Information Technologist Sam Jacobs set off from Temple Bar for a leisurely wander between St Paul’s and Smithfield.  We looked at many memorials and statues which we pass every day but never really notice, often relating to locations of buildings which were destroyed if not in the Fire of London then in the Blitz, such as the Panyer Boy in Panyer Alley marking the site of an inn, and the Bluecoat memorial at Grey Friars in Newgate Street. 

There was a focus on the dark side of the city, as we passed the site of Newgate Prison and heard about various burnings and hangings.  We saw the watch house where vigilantes would keep guard against “Resurrection men” digging up bodies from the nearby graveyard, to sell on for medical research.

By St Bart’s is the memorial to William Wallace who was brought down to London to be hung, drawn and quartered, and his head tarred and placed on a spike.

The Smithfield area escaped the Great Fire so the mediaeval street plan survives intact. We saw the house which has been continuously occupied for the longest period – and indeed one of our members had actually stayed there as it’s now owned by the Landmark Trust.

We passed by the entrance to the Founders’ Hall at the back of the church of St Bartholomew the Great and by a few more twists and turns finished at the modern Butchers’ Hall for a sparkling drink on the roof terrace, followed by a most delicious afternoon tea in the dining hall.

Thanks go to our most informative guide Sam, Consorts Committee member Kimball and hostess Simone, Consort to the Butchers.