THE DRAGON, THE CLOCK AND THE PRINTING PRESS

Saint George and the Dragon, Dorset Rise

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.

The corner of Fleet Street and Chancery Lane

St Dunstan dragons

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!

St Dunstan old clock

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.

Clocks at 187 Fleet Street and the Royal Courts of Justice

Art Deco clocks outside the old Daily Telegraph Building and Ludgate House, Fleet Street

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.

The story of the printing press Magpie Alley

The famous St Bride's Church and wedding cake

USEFUL LINKS

www.sbf.org.uk

stbridelibrary.bigcartel.com

www.stdunstaninthewest.org

www.stbrides.com