Proposed visit to Saint Bride's Church, Fleet Street, London

[Billy Whiz]

When I was ill recently I spent a lot of time watching TV and one programme I watched was called Underground London. It was a programme about things underground that we don't see in our normal day to day in London. One of the things discussed was Saint Bride's Church in Fleet Street. It was known that the church during the late 1930s was the 7th church to be on this site and one day in 1940 it was flattened by a German bomb. On clearing the site and rebuilding the church, remains were found of the previous 6 churches along with Roman remains.

The church now holds guided tours on Tuesday afternoon of these remains but private tours can be arranged on other days if there are enough people interested. On my next trip in May I would love to go on a tour but will not be in London on a Tuesday so I was wondering if anybody would be interested in joining up with me and 3 others on either Friday, May 10th or Monday, May 13th. I'm not sure of the cost but I'm sure it won't break the bank.

If you would be interested then could you PM me and we can take it from there.

Here is a link to the church for you to inspect.

http://www.stbrides.com/history/index.html

[kport]

When I was ill recently I spent a lot of time watching TV and one programme I watched was called Underground London. It was a programme about things underground that we don't see in our normal day to day in London. One of the things discussed was Saint Bride's Church in Fleet Street. It was known that the church during the late 1930s was the 7th church to be on this site and one day in 1940 it was flattened by a German bomb. On clearing the site and rebuilding the church, remains were found of the previous 6 churches along with Roman remains.

The church now holds guided tours on Tuesday afternoon of these remains but private tours can be arranged on other days if there are enough people interested. On my next trip in May I would love to go on a tour but will not be in London on a Tuesday so I was wondering if anybody would be interested in joining up with me and 3 others on either Friday, May 10th or Monday, May 13th. I'm not sure of the cost but I'm sure it won't break the bank.

If you would be interested then could you PM me and we can take it from there.



Here is a link to the church for you to inspect.

http://www.stbrides.com/history/index.html

I may be able to be there. I will PM you when I have clear diary dates.

St Bride's is famous as the church for newspapers and the media (Fleet Street is nearby. Fleet Street was named for the Fleet, a river that still flows under the street). It is a Wren building which has been meticulously rebuilt after being fire bombed by the Germans during the Blitz. It is struggling (like so many churches and cathedrals) with having to raise money to look after ancient buildings. I know his subject too well; I help raise money to keep our Priory Church in Dorset in good repair, a difficult task as it is larger than a number of cathedrals, and older that most, being build shortly after the Norman invasion by the same man who built Durham Cathedral.

If anyone visits London, do visit these churches. Of course, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, and Southwark Cathedral). Also St Martin in the Fields; Westminster Cathedral; St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London; the list is endless. There is more history in these places than in many others. London IS history.

[Todd]

Thanks for the travel tip David. I find these sorts of places very interesting. I'm a lover of history and old buildings . . . one of the reasons I enjoy visiting England !

Not to veer too far off the topic of this thread, but another interesting London tour is of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Covent Garden. It has a similar history to Saint Bride's Church in that it contains several "layers" of the building over the years, due to two or three destructive fires. The tour includes a passageway/tunnel to the stage from the dressing rooms which is the only surviving part of the original theatre, I believe. http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/londonth ... rylane.htm

And finally, since I enjoy visiting historic buildings such as these, I did a google search a few years ago for the "oldest pub in England." Several places claim to be the oldest, but I did visit one of them that I would recommend: Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub in St. Alban's, down the hill from the St. Alban's Abbey in a very pretty setting by a river. Lots of nooks and crannies, low ceilings, and a nice garden in the back for warm days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Olde_Fighting_Cocks

[Billy Whiz]

When I was ill recently I spent a lot of time watching TV and one programme I watched was called Underground London. It was a programme about things underground that we don't see in our normal day to day in London. One of the things discussed was Saint Bride's Church in Fleet Street. It was known that the church during the late 1930s was the 7th church to be on this site and one day in 1940 it was flattened by a German bomb. On clearing the site and rebuilding the church, remains were found of the previous 6 churches along with Roman remains.

The church now holds guided tours on Tuesday afternoon of these remains but private tours can be arranged on other days if there are enough people interested. On my next trip in May I would love to go on a tour but will not be in London on a Tuesday so I was wondering if anybody would be interested in joining up with me and 3 others on either Friday, May 10th or Monday, May 13th. I'm not sure of the cost but I'm sure it won't break the bank.

If you would be interested then could you PM me and we can take it from there.

Here is a link to the church for you to inspect.

http://www.stbrides.com/history/index.html

Anybody else interested?