Pudding Lane 29th January

Pudding Lane is a very small street tucked away in a corner near St Pauls Cathedral.The Monument is a memorial to the damage caused by the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, and built between 1671 and 1677.
It measures 203-feet from top to bottom – the exact distance from its base to Pudding Lane, where the fire broke out. A flaming copper urn sits upon the top, to symbolise the flames. The ruins of the city were 1.8 km².  It consumed 400 streets, 13,200 dwelling-houses, 89 churches, 4 of the city gates and 16 people.  The fire began in the night on 2nd September in the bakehouse of Thomas Farynor who was the baker for King Charles II.
The cost of the fire was £10m, and at a time when London’s annual income was only £12,000. Many people were financially ruined and debtors' prisons became over crowded. 

There were some benefits of the fire. One of these was that the black plague which had killed many people was eliminated by the burning down of diseased, rat-infested properties. The new city was planned by Christopher Wren and rebuilt using stone over the following 30 years.

St Pauls Cathedral 29th January 2011

After that we wandered along to St Pauls Cathedral.  As we arrived there was a bridal party just emerging and having photos on the steps.  Most of the men were in military uniform and they were the green berets.  They are the elite special forces over here.  So, lots of the lovely people milling around with beautiful clothes and stunning hats on the ladies.  In we go.  What an amazing building.

The current cathedral – the fourth to occupy this site – was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.  The first cathedral was built on the site in 604AD.
Its architectural and artistic importance reflect the determination of the five monarchs who oversaw its building that London’s leading church should be as beautiful and imposing as their private palaces.

Since the first service was held here in 1697, Wren's masterpiece has been where people and events of overwhelming importance to the country have been celebrated, mourned and commemorated. Important services have included the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the launch of the Festival of Britain; the Service of Remembrance and Commemoration for the 11th September 2001: the 80th and 100th birthdays of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer and, most recently, the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. The crypt below the cathedral holds the tombs of many history making people including Lord Horatio Nelson.  Christopher Wren (the architect) has many famous buildings and monuments to his name in London.  The cathedral artwork is truly amazing and we could just sit there and stare at the beautiful ceilings, mosaics and our surrounds.  Apparently during the war they had a special contingent on guard during bomb raids to put out small fires that were set from bombs and fires nearby. If these people weren't on watch then the cathedral may have been destroyed.  The dome in the centre is truly majestic and it has a second dome above it to keep it from weather damage.  The paintings are beautiful.

Tower Bridge 29th January 2011

Hard to believe that it has been a month since our last post.  We have done so many things since then.  Every weekend we find another place to see, to learn about, to photograph and to enjoy.  It is a wonderful way to start the weekend where Rod and I discuss what we will do for the day.  The weekend of 29th & 30th January we headed off to Tower Bridge.  This is the one most of us call London Bridge which in fact is wrong.  The idea for another bridge was started in 1876 because the London Bridge was not coping with the amount of traffic that was crossing the river.  A competition was held in 1884 and finally the design was selected out of 50 designs submitted.

It took 8 years, 5 major contractors and the relentless labour of 432 construction workers to build Tower Bridge.

Two massive piers were sunk into the river bed to support the construction and over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the Towers and Walkways. This framework was clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the Bridge a more pleasing appearance. 

When it was built, Tower Bridge was the largest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever completed ("bascule" comes from the French for "see-saw"). These bascules were operated by hydraulics, using steam to power the enormous pumping engines. The energy created was stored in six massive accumulators, as soon as power was required to lift the Bridge, it was always readily available. The accumulators fed the driving engines, which drove the bascules up and down. Despite the complexity of the system, the bascules only took about a minute to raise to their maximum angle of 86 degrees.

Today, the bascules are still operated by hydraulic power, but since 1976 they have been driven by oil and electricity rather than steam. The original pumping engines, accumulators and boilers are now exhibits within the Tower Bridge Exhibition.  (All that was for those people who are technically minded).  A fascinating exhibition on the history, building of and how it still works today is in the upper walkways which are accesssible by lifts.  We also went down to the engine room to see the engines.  It is at present undergoing renovation so the bascules are not working until March.  It is still an impressive sight.  We had to follow the blue line to get to the engine room at the east side of the river.  They must have had problems previously with the tourists understanding so have now made it very clear.