Commemorative plaques and woodblocks in Langley Street, Covent Garden

My first job after leaving school in 1980 was as junior in the design and artwork studio of Lennart Advertsing, 7a Langley Street, Covent Garden, WC2. I was immediately fascinated by the area and most lunchtimes my workmate Debbie and I wandered about looking at how it was all being renovated, changing from a zone of fruit and veg and tradesmen to become the popular shopping and entertainment district we see today. Neal Street back then was a building site. The piazza was almost completely refurbished and we enjoyed seeing some of the entertainments. Actually, enough of that, I'll park all the memories for now and save them for another day, otherwise I will never get to the point.

The tall buildings in Langley Street, Shelton Street and Earlham Street were all built to store fruit and veg. Hence the name of Pineapple Dance Studio and all the other fruity references you might see as you wander about. For such a short road, Langley Street, has a lot to offer. Not only is this street where Yours Truly first worked*, but there are also plaques in the street that commemorate other things. 

For instance, on Saturday 11th May this year, I attended a small ceremony for the unveiling of a red plaque to remember lives lost fighting an awful fire in the same very building back in 1954, a horrible incident that I had no previous knowledge of. 

I'd seen the event listed on the London's Fire Brigade's site (I subscribe for updates) but I was surprised and a little disappointed to see so few people in attendance. It was mostly relatives of the deceased as well as wives and colleagues related to the organisers or people participating. There was a speeches by dignitaries and the local priest blessed the plaque.

The firemen are here standing outside Pineapple Dance Studios in front of their vehicle, looking magnificent but obliterating a couple of things I hadn't noticed before. 

Two days ago, on Saturday 12th August, I was leading one of my walking tours when I noticed that in the middle of this recently resurfaced street, there is a man hole cover which contains woodblocks in one of its segments!

At the risk of sounding like a cracked record, how had I never spotted this before?! 

I wondered if it might have been moved here from elsewhere, but no, Google Streetview shows it in 2008:

There's something else of interest here, and I don't just mean the demolition of those smaller buildings on the right which now form an open space in front of Stamfords that leads through to Mercers Street, I am looking at the scaffolding that is boxed in. Today there is a metal gate that was mostly obscured by the fire truck in my pics above.  

I have often admired it as being a good modern example of well-crafted metalwork – one of those things that I make a mental note to find out about another day. Well, it turnes out that I didn't have to look hard because all the information is there! 

 

A metal panel to the side of the gate is hard to read but it tells us that this was installed in 2021 on behalf of the Mercers Company which owns this swathe of land. The gate is the work of Bex Simon AWCB, artist and blacksmith, and was forged and fabricated by CB-Arts Ltd. Indeed this information can also be found within a tiny panel at the bottom left of the gate itself:

I looked again at the man hole cover and pondered whether I should wander the nearby streets to see if I could find any more remnants of woodblocks, but it was a hot and sticky day and the area was busy with shoppers people out having a good [noisy] time, so I thought better of the idea, for now, and caught a tube home instead. 

For more wood blocks, see my A-Z here. 

Ooh... I've just remembered another thing in Langley Street – I am always delighted to see that Café Pacifico, London's first Mexican restaurant, is still trading. It opened in 1982 and must be one of only a handful of businesses that have stood the test of time. Again, I will return to this idea of then and now in due course.

*there ought to be a plaque for this too!

Impressive slabs of York Stone paving

Last September I wrote about the variety of coal hole cover plates in a specific area of Marylebone and within that I made mention of some very large pieces of York Stone paving in Balcombe Street that I estimated were about the size of a double bed:

I had wondered how on earth these heavy slabs had been transported and installed and, since then, I have I kept my eye open for more of the same. I found a few similar-sized examples in and around churches, specifically in Southwark Cathedral and at Bunhill Fields cemetery where the footpath through the centre is made from large York stone slabs of uniform size, each approx 2m x 1.2m. 

Then, whilst leading a walking tour through Central Avenue in Covent Garden market, shown here in this delightful screen grab from Google Streetview, I was talking to the group about how this avenue was originally built as trading outlets for the merchants here and, as I pointed out the lines on the floor that indicate the curtilage of each store (the line over which goods could not be placed otherwise they'd hinder through traffic) I happened to notice that the paving was again York Stone and that some of the slabs are EEE-normous! 

Indeed, one of the men in my tour group, a builder by profession, was just as impressed as I was and after the tour we returned there to better examine the stones. We discussed the hows and whys of installation in the 1820s when this market building was constructed (opened in May 1830). I haven't actually taken a tape measure to these slabs, but I reckon one of them is approx 3x2 meters in size (a little over 6x9ft) and therefore about twice the size of the ones in Bunhill Fields cemetery. It must weigh, oh I don't know, tons.

Go see for yourself and do get back to me if you have any further info or know about any similar large pieces. 

UPDATE– more sightings:

Duke of York's column

King's College Aldwych – I found some big chunks on a staircase leading up to the lecture theatres (I'll dig out the pics in due course).

Acton, Churchfield Rd.

 

Circles of delight in WC2

Last week whilst ambling from Piccadilly to Holborn via Long Acre, admiring the architecture and generally enjoing the sunshine, I happened upon this lovely hexagonal mark in the doorway of one of the businesses opposite Freemasons Hall.

It reads, 20 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden. 

Cool huh?! 

It appeals to me on many levels; geometry, typography and graphic design.

I am not sure who installed it/ how long it's been there.

It is set into the very front of the metal strip that runs across the doorway of No.20, to the left of Walker Slater menswear shop (at No.19) shown here  from Google Streeview:

 

Shaftesbury Hotel ghostsign – a bargain price at a great location with breakfast and billiards

This might be the best hidden-in-plain-sight ghostsign in central London.

I have been busy pulling together some online talks about old defunct and faded signage of all kinds in central London, specifically Soho, Covent Garden and Fitzrovia. This has involved revisiting and updating my 'show and tell' folder and the accompanying notes for the central London walking tour I have been leading for the past three and a half years. 

When I first devised that route from Long Acre to Rupert Street, a friend and I test-walked it one sunny winter's day in Jan 2018. As we used the zebra crossing on Shaftesbury Avenue, heading from Seven Dials to St Giles Church, we turned to look back up Mercers Street just in case we'd missed anything and were amazed to spot a sign that neither of us in all our decades of wandering about armed with cameras had never noticed before. Way up high, facing north, there is a hand-painted sign on the back of what is now The Mercer Street Hotel.

Had it been covered and made a sudden appearance? Doubtful. We think we'd simply missed it due to the tree on the corner of Mercer Street than when in leaf as good as obliterates the sign completely for most of the year. Also, the sign is only visible from a couple of specific spots along that junction. Blink as you walk past Mercers Street and you'll miss it. See Google streetview here.

I returned to the site a few weeks later and did my best to take some photos. And I've tried again a few times since. It's difficult to get a decent view of it, because the weather, the angle of opportunity and the faded blue/white letters obscured by what looks like layers of black soot all play their part. I'm really glad that I have returned to all this because I was convinced that I had added this discovery to this site ages ago, but no, it turns out it was still lurking in my 'To Do' folder as a simple note to self.

This is what I have found out so far... 

The Shaftesbury Hotel was constructed on a site that previously George Russell's rope and twine business at 47 Great St Andrews Street (later to be renamed Monmouth Street – you'll see refs to these old street names on the road signs in the area). Images of Seven Dials, dated 1910, show the hotel covering the site of nos. 43-47, and this is corroborated by the gap in the directory for that year, hinting that the building was nearing completion. I think we can assume that the sign was painted onto the rear of the building during or shortly after construction, intended to be clearly seen by traffic coming down St Giles High Street from the junction of Tottenham Court Rd station when buildings in the vicinity were much lower than they are today. This hotel was probably at that time one of the tallest in this area.

It would have been an unusual and brave move to open a hotel here, albeit a cheap/budget one, in a district that had previously been tainted during the late Georgian era as being inhabited by thieves and prostitutes, a stone's throw from the rookeries of St Giles as depicted by Hogarth in Gin Lane. But by the 1880s the street of the Seven Dials had evolved to become merely an area where the working classes lived and worked, with a thriving street market. A clever entrepreneur must have seen the value of the central location as we do today.

I have done my best to decipher the wording on sign. I've boosted the pics using Photoshop and then on tracing paper hand-rendered the words that that are visible. My pencil marks indicate a few bits that I am unsure of, such as the wording above BREAKFAST which is probably BEDROOM being there are hints of a B and two OOs there. The big 4 looks to have been in a circle and was probably 4/- (four shillings) per night for a room, which equates to about £25 today. Wow! 

Billiards was very popular in the late Victorian era, especially within Temperance Halls, and I wonder if this was constructed as a Temperance Hotel being as the design of the building is similar to some others that were constructed in that era, such as The Kenilworth in Gt Russell Street near the British Museum, where activities and good food would have been an attraction rather than alcohol. Note that a bar/drinks lounge is 'missing' from the list of facilities offered on this painted sign. The 1915 directory sheds no light on this idea and simply shows it as Shaftesbury Hotel, Thos. Gordon (London) Ltd., at 44, Great St Andrew Street.

I also found this ad for the hotel in a 1953 guide book to London. As you can see, it is advertising the hotel's prime location as close to Theatreland and the West End – the heart of London. The price still equates to about £24 a night. You'll be hard-pushed to find a warm cupboard for rent at that price today!

An online search throws up no additional info or photos, indicating that no one else has spotted this corker of a ghost sign either. Ooh I feel like a treasure hunter who found gold! 

I am still intrigued about the two lines under BILLARDS which are not visible from the street... Can anyone give me access to the roof of the Odeon, Shaftesbury Ave?!

................

UPDATE (20th May 2022) – Sam and Roy @ghostsigns have finally caught up with me about this – they posted this 1917 ad on Twitter which backs up the wording on the painted sign:

This WW1 era ad shows the hotel proprietor as T. Gordon (London) Ltd., suggesting the company also managed other hotels/properties. This very same ad can also be found on the back page of the September 1918 Anzac Bulletin here – a fascinating read in itself. 

UPDATE 2 (12th May 2025) – a big thanks to Celia who contacted me via email and included this snap of an ad on the inside back page of the 1927 Authorised Guide to The Tower of London:

It's interesting to see how prices fluctuate. The price in 1927 per night/room (person?) is shown as 7 shillings and sixpence which, today, is equivalent to £32.30 and is therefore more comparably expensive that the rate in the 1900s and the 1950s. Note also that billiards is no longer advertised, helping us to date the hand-painted ghostsign as pre-1920s, and there are 15 fewer rooms available than in the 1917 ad above – I wonder if larger rooms were created or perhaps they were converted for other purposes, such as Jazz Age cocktail lounges

Twinking Trees, Turkey and Traditions – A Covent Garden Christmas Tour

Ding dong merrily – mince pies at the ready – time for a bit of self promotion.

I have turned my Covent Garden Christmas lights tour into a virtual experience – Find it here.

More dates to be added through to 6th January. See the schedule here.

I'm also more than happy to lead the tour on foot – please do get in touch.

Art Deco architecture in Central London

Oops, I let the blog posts take a back seat whilst I have been researching new walking tours these past few months.
Spurred on by the success of my Art Deco era guided walks in Shoreditch, Holloway, Spitalfields, The City, Camden and Arsenal, I can now offer a few more. Specifically Piccadilly, KX/StPancras, Soho, HattonGdn/Smithfield, Covent Garden and Bloomsbury all of which include less-visited unsung gems in the back streets.
In-depth info and how to book here.
Or visit my Jane's London Walks where you'll also find a quick-to view schedule.
I hope you can join me one day.

Hatton Garden to Smithfield – Modernism, Markets, Meta and Mysteries

St Giles to The Strand  – Flappers, Fashion, Fruit and Footlights

Soho Deco – Movies, Music and Motor Cars

Piccadilly Deco – Slacks, Flicks and Slots

All Change! St Pancras and Kings Cross in the 1930s

Christmas is coming...

This Sunday 1st Dec, Noon–5.30pm, find me up at my stall on Navigator Square as part of Islington Council's Archway Christmas Lights Switch-on – this is always a lively event – there'll be music, entertainment and all sorts! I expect the Islington Mayor will make an appearance (though I don't expect to see Jezza this time!)
I will be selling my cards, prints and guided walks at reduced prices (vouchers can be applied to walks at a later date) and festive earrings also available.
Cards and prints are available through my Etsy shop – free UK P+P.

Also available on the Christmas sparkly theme – I have devised a walking tour in central London – it goes through Covent Garden and Leicester Square ending in Trafalgar Square. Wander along twinkly streets and hear the reasons behind our Christmas customs and traditions. Many dates available.
Or view my quick-to-view tour date schedule here

Ding dong merrily!

An advent calendar and an alternative Christmas recommendation

I have been quoted on this online advent calender recommending the Museum Mile – see 22nd December.
But I can't see anything there right now. Perhaps it will only appear on the 22nd*.
And I also make an appearance on the Time Out site recommending Peter and his fascinating and informative walks. See number 17 here.

Oxford Street, 12.30pm Christmas Day 2011 (at 10am is was less 'busy')

*If nothing appears, I wrote: 
"The area around The British Museum is littered with small and interesting specialist museums, known as Museum Mile. Find out all about Charles Dickens, medicine, anatomy, architecture, natural history, London history, art and much more. The area also boasts plenty of independent cafés, restaurants, quirky old pubs, book, comic and shops, all linked by some lovely tree-filled squares."

An urban forest at the Seven Dials

Tomorrow, for one day only the junction of Earlham, Shelton, Monmouth roads, more commonly known as The Seven Dials, will be transformed into an urban forest.
As part of International Car Free Day the Seven Dials and immediate area will be closed to traffic and sixty 5 metre trees will be placed around the monument creating a leafy quiet area to sit and think about greener modes of transport such as walking and cycling.
In amongst the trees there will be lots to do and see including an Air Quality Bubble Map, an interactive cycling experience pod, and help with your bike and bike related injuries. Drinks will be available from the Orchard Juice Bar.
After the event Camden Council will be replanting all the trees at various permanent locations throughout Camden.

All a stone's through from the Seven Dials

That's the way to do it!

This Sunday I will be going to the 38th Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival in the beautiful gardens of St Paul's churchyard.
Situated in the shadow of Inigo Jones' Church (also known as the Actor's Church because it is favoured as a memorial and resting place for those in the acting profession) there will be a one day event with stalls and entertainment.
This event takes always place on or near to Punch's "birthday"; the date Samuel Pepys first saw Mr Punch in England on May 9th 1662 and recorded in his diary. It's also why the nearby pub is so-named.
The day will start at 10.30am with a Grand Procession at 11am led by The Superior Brass Band. This is followed by a church service at noon and then the afternoon will be all about puppetry. In addition to Punch and Judy performances, there will be puppet shows of all kinds and you will be able to learn the art of puppetry from the experts. The event is free.
The church and its gardens are well worth a visit in themselves... be sure to check out the interior of the church and marvel at Grinling Gibbon's amazingly intricate wood carvings.
Hope to see you there... There will also be a small craft market there so do come find me at my stall (perhaps I should have made a clay pipe puppet?).