A Fascinating Walk: Liverpool Street To Borough Market

For this walk I have partnered up with Footways, a fantastic social enterprise that encourage walking as the best way to see and explore the city. They have an online map of interconnected, interesting and quieter walking routes through London but also have physical maps you can buy.

I used the map to walk from Liverpool Street Station to Borough Market. It was a lovely route with lots of incredible historical sights. Below is a map of what I saw and read on for the history behind the stops!

St Helen’s Bishopsgate

This medieval gem can be founded tucked amongst the skyscrapers. Dating from the 13th century, St Helen’s is a rare survivor of both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz. It was also, in the 1590s, the parish church of none other than William Shakespeare.

Make sure to look out for the cannon outside (likely 18th century and of French origin) repurposed as a bollard! Find out a little bit more about cannon bollards here.

Leadenhall Market

I then walked through the magical Leadenhall Market. Designed by Horace Jones, the current market building dates from 1881, but there has been a market on the site since the 14th century. The ceiling always astounds me.

Originally a meat market, it stands upon the site of the Roman basilica and forum built AD 70. This was the administrative centre of Roman London and you can actually see a section of its remains in the basement of a hairdressers at 90 Gracechurch Street.

London’s Smallest Sculpture

On Philpot Lane I saw London’s smallest public sculpture. It depicts two mice nibbling on a chunk of cheese and therefore is naturally called ‘Two Mice Eating Cheese’.

The story goes that a construction worker, working at height on a nearby building, noticed that someone had taken a cheeky bite out of one of his sandwiches. He accused a fellow worker and a fight ensued. Both tragically fell to their deaths in the tussle, only for it to be discovered that the sandwich had in fact been eaten by mice.

The sculpture is therefore said to commemorate this incident. As with all urban myths there is perhaps a grain of truth in there somewhere.

The Monument

I passed by the tallest isolated stone column in the world, aka The Monument. Erected in 1677, it was designed by Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren to commemorate the Great Fire of London and the rebuilding of the city. Atop the column is a flaming urn, which, if the column was laid on its side, would land at the spot where the fire started on Pudding Lane.

The column was also originally designed as a kind of giant telescope with a laboratory below for experiments. However, it was found to be unsuitable for this purpose due to the movements of the column from traffic or wind.

It is worth taking a moment to study the relief by Caius Gabriel Cibber on the base. It depicts the City of London represented by a female figure, as well as King Charles II and his younger brother, the Duke of York, directing the rebuilding.

St Magnus the Martyr

I then walked around the side of St Magnus the Martyr church. The current church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire, but there has been a church here since at least the 11th century.

It once stood at the point where the medieval London Bridge crossed the Thames and would therefore have been the first church travellers coming in from the South would arrive at. Outside the church look out for stones from the old London Bridge, as well as a section of Roman wharf.

st magnus the martyr london bridge stones — _{Stones from the old London Bridge in the churchyard of St Magnus the Martyr}

Southwark Needle

I then crossed over the modern London Bridge and walked past the Southwark Gateway Needle. Erected in 1999, it is a giant 16m spike made of Portland stone. There is an urban myth that it is a nod to the fact that the heads of executed traitors were once displayed on spikes atop the gatehouses to London Bridge.

However, the architect has confirmed that it is in fact a marker pointed towards St Magnus the Martyr church, i.e. where the old London Bridge once crossed the river.

Southwark Cathedral

I then passed by the stunning Southwark Cathedral. It is thought that there has been a religious community on this site since AD 606. It was known as St Saviour’s Church before becoming a cathedral in 1905.

The beautiful gothic cathedral saw significant restorations in the 19th century, including a complete reconstruction of the nave.

A fun fact about Southwark Cathedral is that since 2008 it has been known for its resident cat. The first was a stray cat called Doorkins Magnificat (an excellent name). The current resident cat, who I recently met at a talk at the cathedral, is called Hodge. He has 12.6k twitter followers, which is more than Southwark Cathedral has.

Borough Market

I arrived at Borough Market for lunch (a very nice massaman curry). There has been a market here going back to the 12th century with the current buildings dating from the 1850s.