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Saint George and the Dragon, Dorset Rise
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This is probably
my last instalment on the dragons of London. But you never can say for sure.
At present I am working on a carving of a dragon in the shape of the letter S.
But that is a week or two away from completion. In the meantime, I foundt a
couple of dragons in and around Fleet Street that I have missed, or was unable
to photograph, because they were covered up by building work.
Fleet
Street
Fleet
Street is named after the River Fleet, London's largest underground
river. This street was the home of the British newspaper industry for many years until
the 1980s. Even though the last major British news office, Reuters, left in
2005, the term Fleet Street continues to be used as a metonym for
the British national press.
Publishing
started in Fleet Street around 1500, when William Caxton’s apprentice, Wynkyn
de Worde, set up a printing shop near Shoe Lane, while at around the same time
Richard Pynson set up as publisher and printer next to St. Dunstan’s Church.
More printers and publishers followed, mainly supplying the legal trade, in the
four Law Inns around the area. In March 1702, London's first daily newspaper,
the Daily Courant, was published in Fleet Street, from premises, above the
White Hart Inn.
Fleet
Street is also famous for the barber Sweeney Todd, traditionally said to
have lived and worked in Fleet Street (he is sometimes called the 'Demon Barber
of Fleet Street'). An early example of a serial killer, the character appears
in various English language works, starting in the mid-19th century. But neither the
popular press, the Old Bailey trial records, the trade directories of the
City, nor the lists of the Barbers’s Company, mention any such person, or indeed
any such case. However, as some might say “when did the truth get in the way of a
good story”.
The Dragons
I digress,
back to the dragons. The first one is the very large "Saint George and the
Dragon," a public sculpture by Michael Sandle in Dorset Rise. The material
used for the sculpture is bronze and approximately nine metres. One of the
amazing things about London, is that there is so much of interest in little side
roads. This dragon is ro the rear of a Premier Inn, at the entrance to what
looks like a car park.
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The corner of Fleet Street and Chancery Lane
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St Dunstan dragons
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Next up, is
the red brick building at the corner of Fleet Street and Chancery Lane. Look
upwards and you can see a pair of dragons guarding the building. The building
also has many faces adorning its facia, no doubt these are famous people, but this will need more research to determine who they are and why they are there!
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St Dunstan old clock
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Clocks
Last of all
in the dragons of Fleet Street are a small pair of dragons on the side of St Dunstan
Church. St Dunstan was a well-known landmark in previous centuries, because of
its magnificent clock. This dates from 1671, and was the first public clock in
London to have a minute hand. The figures of the two giants strike the hours
and quarters, and turn their heads. There are numerous literary references to
the clock, including in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, the Vicar of Wakefield and a
poem by William Cowper (1782):
When labour
and when dullness, club in hand,
Like the two figures at St. Dunstan’s stand,
Beating alternately in measured time
The clockwork tintinnabulum of rhyme,
Exact and regular the sounds will be,
But such mere quarter-strokes are not for me.
The clock
of St Dunstan is not the only clock in Fleet Street, there are several
beautiful clocks on the street, each one with its own story. If you were late
for work in Fleet Street, you would be without excuse.
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Clocks at 187 Fleet Street and the Royal Courts of Justice
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Art Deco clocks outside the old Daily Telegraph Building and Ludgate House, Fleet Street
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Printing
Another
place of interest, just off Fleet Street, tucked away in a side road, is Magpie
Alley. Along this sheltered alley, you can see the history of printing. From
early printing presses, up to the production of news papers and publishing in
Fleet Street. Also nearby is St Brides Church and next to that you will find The
St Bride Foundation, where the old St Bride Printing School was based. Today it
still contains working examples of vintage letterpress printing machines. Also
there is a Library and reading room which is open to the public. Anyone who has
a passion for print, design or the written word, will find great treasure.
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The story of the printing press Magpie Alley
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The famous St Bride's Church and wedding cake
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USEFUL LINKS
www.sbf.org.uk
stbridelibrary.bigcartel.com
www.stdunstaninthewest.org
www.stbrides.com
