London Walkabout with Dick O
n Tuesday 12th July, 18 Rotarians and friends met
Dick at Chancery Lane station and made their way to the old Prudential building, soon to be joined by 6 embarrassed late- comers, Gill and I included. Not an auspicious start to my first Rotary guided tour on London History! We were accompanied by Gill`s brother Colin and his wife Anne, as she had worked in this building for many years.
A
nne writes; “As an ex-employee of the
Prudential in the sixties, I was interested to return. My memory is not good, but I am sure we had to go to the basement every morning to sign in. However, I never saw the massive strong room door which
we were told guarded the area where staff worked on valu- able bearer bonds etc. The staircases and pillars, which I did remember, were very impressive, as was the panelling on the third floor which housed the directors offices and the board- room. Where I used to work on the fifth floor was much less grand!”
F
rom the Pru we turned the
corner and entered Ely Place
to St. Etheldreda`s Church, the town Chapel of the Bishops of Ely from about 1250 to 1570. It is the oldest Catholic Church in England, named after one of Eng- land`s most
popular Saints of the day. Seated in the Crypt, Dick gave a brief but fascinating glimpse into its history before taking us up to the beautiful Chapel.
36
L
eaving the Church via a narrow alley
we passed Ye Olde Mitre Tavern, which has connections with Ely Place, before entering Staple Inn which can be traced back to Norman times. In 1292” le Stapled Halle” was probably a covered market, the “staple” being derived from a duty on wool intro- duced in 1275. In 1580 a new Hall was built on the site for the Legal Society but it has been used by actuaries since 1887. The Hall was hit by a Flying Bomb in 1944 but, fortunately, the stained glass windows had been safely stored beforehand and these were replaced in the mid-fifties. Modernisation took place in 1996.
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