Apr 8, 20222 min read

Walking London: EC1 to WC1

Updated: Jul 26, 2023

It's so lovely to have a Friday off work and I've been using up some of my annual leave by taking long weekends. One Friday in March, I decided to go on one of the walking 'adventures' I love so much. It was gloriously sunny - one of those days when you know without doubt that the change of seasons is upon us.

EC1

After strolling over Blackfriars Bridge, I cut through to High Holborn and on to Leather Lane. The market was just closing and, as I looked to my left, I spotted a lovely residential building in a style that looked like Duchy of Cornwall architecture. I drew a little watercolour sketch of the building later on when I arrived home.

Turning the corner, I found myself in a small square called Brooke's Market. On the north side there's a beautiful building with blue shutters, called The Lodge, which is a hostel provided by St Mungo's homeless charity.

Next door to the hostel stands St Alban the Martyr. When viewed from the square, it looks more like a residential building than a church. Walking through the archway, I found a secluded inner courtyard bathed in partial sunlight. Following the Brooke's Court path along the side of the church, I saw its huge scale come into view as it towered high above the surrounding buildings.

WC1

Picking up Gray's Inn Road, I continued north and crossed into WC1. Johns Mews has a lovely collection of buildings. There's a converted warehouse and a 1950s residential building with long balconies. On the opposite side of the street, a beautiful cherry tree was in glorious bloom against the blue sky.

Just around the corner from Johns Mews is Doughty Mews - my favourite of all the mews I've seen so far in London. I first stumbled across it several years ago on my way to visit the Charles Dickens Museum and have always enjoyed strolling through there ever since.

Heading north again, I walked along Coram's Fields to the Foundling Museum, my final destination of the day. It had been some years since my last visit and I was inspired to go back there after hearing Lemn Sissay OBE talking about it when he guested as a 'Listed Londoner' on Robert Elms' BBC Radio London show earlier that month.

The ground floor has a fascinating exhibition about the history of the foundlings. On the huge winding staircase, there are portrait photographs of five former pupils of the Foundling Hospital and a number of other artworks. I was struck by this poignant painting, The Pinch of Poverty (1891) by Thomas Benjamin Kennington.

The Pinch of Poverty (1891) by Thomas Benjamin Kennington

The building also has a stunning Court Room in the elaborate Rococo style.

The Court Room in the elaborate Rococo style

I particularly enjoyed a lovely visual exhibition documenting the collaboration between Lemn Sissay OBE and Greg Stobbs on the new children's book, Don't Ask The Dragon. The display will run until 6 October 2022.