The Strand and Fleet Street

This Series The Strand and Fleet Street

St. Dunstan-in-the-West

We wandered around London and eventually came upon The Strand and Fleet Street. Along the way we passed Samuel Johnson's house and Australia House, and came upon the famed Temple Bar which is right down the street from the Royal Courts of Justice. This statue of Queen Elizabeth sits back in an alley over an arched doorway that leads into St. Dunstan-in-the-West, a famous church on Fleet Street. An inscription below tells of how the statue was brought to this location when Ludgate, its original home, was taken down in 1760. St. Dunstan is also home to many other ancient statues.

The Tale of Temple Bar

The pillar with the heraldic dragon is actually Temple Bar Memorial, which memorializes the original Temple Bar archway that once stood on that spot and marked the boundary between Fleet Street and The Strand. Sir Christoper Wren's version had gotten into disrepair and it was moved, brick by brick, to an estate in Hertfordshire in 1880. Historically Temple Bar was one of the gateways to the city before which the King or Queen had to request permission to enter from the Lord Mayor. Wren's original design has since been newly reconstructed as the entrance to Paternoster Square near St. Paul's Cathedral.

Bracken House

Lamppost

Somewhere along the way we came upon Bracken House, which I don't think is on Fleet Street. I nabbed a shot because of the curious and intricate astrological dial on its facade. The twelve signs of the Zodiac revolve around the cherubic face of Winston Churchill, a close personal friend of Bernard Bracken, chairman of the Financial Times for many years. It’s a very remarkable architectural feature for any building.

Tags Walkabout, Cities, Architecture