A Wonderful Blitz Survivor: The Vincent Street Fireplace

The Blitz was, of course, one of the great catastrophes in London’s history.

The bombing campaign of the Luftwaffe from September 1940- May 1941 intended to destroy infrastructure involved in the war effort but also to demoralise British citizens enough for them to push the government to surrender. If anything, it had the opposite effect.

Cities and towns across the UK were bombed but London, particularly the East End, took the brunt of the attacks with an estimated 30,000 Londoners losing their lives and around one million houses destroyed. 

Walking around the city today there are a few reminders of that period. Shrapnel damage, old air raid shelter signs or even camouflaged buildings are evocative reminders of that period in London’s history and give glimpses of the horror and destruction.

On Vincent Street in Westminster you will find another amazing survivor: a humble fireplace. 

The Fireplace

Walk along Vincent Street and you would not be blamed for missing the fireplace, set into a brick wall by the gate to a modern development.

It goes without saying that this fireplace has not always been outdoors. Before World War Two this was the site of a row of houses. 

You can see on this map of bomb damage below that the houses are coloured purple, meaning they were damaged beyond repair.

The large black circle indicates that this was also where a V1 bomb landed. V1 bombs were used from June 1944 and fired predominantly at London from Northern France. They were nicknamed ‘Buzz Bombs’ or ‘Doodlebugs’ due to the fact that you could hear the engine buzzing overhead before it cut out and started to descend.

V1 and the later V2 bombs were highly explosive and caused a huge amount of damage from 1944-1945. The D-Day landings and subsequent reoccupation of territory put a stop to these in the end. 

It is unclear therefore whether the houses on Vincent Street had been destroyed by Blitz bombs earlier in the war or later by the V1 bomb. Either way, the houses were destroyed, bar one small surviving remnant: the fireplace. 

Across the road are a few surviving buildings including Napier Hall, a church hall, built in 1904.

The Bombsite Redeveloped

The area was undeveloped until the 1980s when sheltered housing was built on the site. 

The fireplace has been sitting there, perfectly preserved, for the last 80 years. You can still see today the imprint of its metal grate and attractive brickwork at the top.

You can almost picture a family huddled around it in the evening, perhaps listening to the radio or reading. It really does bring to the forefront of your mind, the destruction the war wrought on the lives of ordinary Londoners.

Thank you for reading! More of London’s amazing history below…