This area of London includes such places as :-
St. Pauls Cathedral. The great fire of London left the original cathedral in ruins. Christopher Wren was the designer of the present day cathedral. He was trained as a scientist but at the age of 3l years he made a career change and became an architect. Although he designed over fifty other churches his masterpiece was St. Pauls this was built in Baroque style between 1675 and 1710 and has been the ornate setting for many state ceremonies. The cathedral has one of the highest domes in the world with acoustics that allow words to be whispered against one wall to be heard clearly on the other side. The intricate choir pews took two years to carve.
Tower Bridge is one of London’s finest examples of Victorian engineering. The bridge was completed in 1894 and has two Gothic towers housing the machinery for raising the bridge. The lifting gear was steam powered until 1976 when it was changed to run off electricity. The roadway splits in two and is raised allowing large cargo ships to pass beneath. The walkways give fantastic views of the River Thames.
The Design Museum was the first in the world to be solely for 20th and 21st century designs. There are displays of fashion, everyday objects and architecture. It is over two floors and on the first floor is the famous Blueprint Café a great place to view the River Thames especially at night.
Soon after William the Conqueror became king he built a fort where now stands the Tower of London. In its time it has been used as a Royal residence, a prison for enemies of the crown but nowadays it is most famous for housing the Crown Jewels.
Amongst the most famous residents are the ravens whose presence is protected by the legend that if they leave the kingdom will fall. The green in the centre of the tower was known for executions and two of Henry VIII’s wives met their death here. Thirty seven Yeoman Warders guard and live in the tower. They are often known as Beefeaters and their uniforms date back to Tudor times.
The Tate Modern is in Holland Street, SE1 and is on the Thames southbank in a building that was once a power station. This is a popular gallery and the displays are rotated and special exhibitions change regularly.
Threadneedle Street is famous for the Bank of England that has been situated here since 1734. The street was also home to London’s Stock Exchange until it moved in 2004.
Holborn is noted for the Inns of Court many of these are down alleyways interspersed with greens making the area attractive. All London barristers work from one of the four Inns. Some of the buildings date back to the 15th century.
Fleet Street was until the mid l980’s the home of the British Press. Traditionally the nearby pubs would be open for the printers when they finished work in the early hours of the morning. El Vino’s wine bar is still used by journalists.
It was the place where all journalists wanted to work from as it was the pinnacle of their occupation.
The first newspaper to be printed in Fleet Street was The Daily Courant in 1702.
The Sun newspaper was the first to leave Fleet Street moving to the Docklands there are now no newspapers printed in Fleet Street.
Property in the area is available and costings would be around £400pw for a l bed flat and £450pw for a 2 bed flat.
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