What's going on at J. Lyons & Co, Throgmorton Street?

Whenever I am wandering around the City of London, I often take a detour into Throgmorton Street to check if anything is happening at the site once occupied by J. Lyons & Co as the Throgmorton Restaurant. This restaurant opened on 15th October 1900 in the basement areas beneath Drapers Hall, and was entered either side of the livery company's main portico, resplendent with large male figures and a huge crest:

On this recent visit (late August 2024), Lyons' door to the left was boarded as seen below, top right, but the door to the right offered more, including a glimpse at the ceiling within the entrance, and there seemed to be activity beyond.

The Long Room, The Grill Room and The Millionaire's Room were accessed via a marble staircase and kitted out in oak, mosaics, etched glass, gilded mirrors and more marble – very similar, I guess, to the opulant dinings rooms at The Café Royal on Regent Street, so beloved of Oscar Wilde, etc. I think this short review from 2006 is about the space that once was The Grill Room when it was a pub/sports bar, this link shows a red interior in 2004 that I think was originally The Long Room, and I deduce is probably the same space reviewed in The Standard in 2012. 

Frustratingly, books written about the Lyons company make no mention of this place. There's nothing in either The First Food Empire by Peter Bird, 2000, or Legacy by Thomas Harding, 2020, with neither indexing Throgmorton, Drapers or City of London. However, the 2000 book does include Throgmorton Restaurant in its appendices where it's in a list of 'other restaurants operated' showing that it was at that time 'still open under new owners'.

How jolly frustrating. How can there be no reference or evidence of this place? No one was taking selfies or pics of their meals pre 2000!

I did see visual evidence myself once, on TV at least 15 years ago. I was watching The Apprentice when I identified this restaurant being used as a task – if my memory serves me well, the candidates were asked to sell off fixtures and fittings from here. I was horrified, especially as they didn't seem to have a clue about the approximate date of the items, let alone the provenance/history. The programme didn't identify the actual location but I recognised it from the snippets they showed of the exterior/street. Note, this was pre the digital channels, without the catch-up and rewind facilities we take for granted today, otherwise I most definitely would have recorded it somehow. Having since tried to check iPlayer and YouTube to find that particular episode I'm finding it to be an uphill struggle – if you also recall this programme please do get in touch in the comments section below or email me via jane@janeslondon.com 

Fingers crossed that there's something good down there simply covered in dust waiting for a savvy and historically-minded entrepreneur to bring it back to its opulent heyday.

Back to the exterior – the metalwork is marvellous and very much of its time. I particularly like the lanterns, the swags, the intertwined flipped Ls on the panels, the cheeky cherubs and the lions used as a rebus for Lyons. Also, the truncation 'Restaunt' which could be interpreted as an invitation to relax and be rude – something Oscar Wilde used to be well known for at The Café Royal!

Also along this section is Pasha's barbershop (the exterior with its hanging sign to the right of the Drapers' doorway can be seen in one of the first pics above). This tiny shop retains some original fittings including the overhead mirrors in the entranceway:

I'll leave it there. I was going to include the some of the other buildings along this street at the eastern end, but I now realise I need to do additional research(!), so I'll save them for another day.

Update: Stephen's comment below has led to more sleuthing about another restaurant that was at the end of this street. Back in the 1920s, his grandmother worked at Slaters & Bodega Ltd at No.30 as shown here (since demolished) – it was part of the RE Jones empire, a prolific company that I have mention in this piece. RE Jones's many London outlets need a specific article – I might get to that in due course...!

Jane's Advent Calendar – 9th December

Green door, what's that secret you're keeping?
9 Roupell Street, London SE1

A stone's throw from Waterloo Station are some lovely old streets.

The area is constantly under threat from developers and the houses in this evocative location fetch exhorbitant unrealistic prices.

See this video by David Gilna of people walking to work there.

Oh, and cos you are probably sing that song... click here for Mr Stevens.

The Royal Menagerie animals at The Tower of London

Did you know they used to keep animals at The Tower of London?
As you queue to pay at the kiosks you will notice animal stickers on the glass.
Then as you go toward the entrance gate there are three lions made from chicken wire by Kendra Haste. There are more or her animals inside, all cleverly located.

Over the centuries, lions, an elephant, a polar bear and apes have been kept at the zoo.
An exhibition about the animals at the Royal Menagerie includes an image of Pompey the lion who looks like a pussy cat, and a clay pipe-smoking Dog-Faced Baboon.

More animals... On the lower floor of the White Tower there is a room containing cannons. In there I spotted a few crazy lions.  

Tour and Lunch at Middle Temple Hall

I cannot believe I haven't posted about this earlier as it was way back in April that I did this.

Hidden away between Fleet Street and The Embankment is an area where it feels like time has stood still for centuries. In amongst the legal offices is the magnificent Elizabethan Middle Temple Hall.
Guided tours are available and these include outer rooms and offices.
A fantastic buffet lunch is served most weekdays. You don't have to be a member of the Inns of Court or on a tour to eat there; just pre-book through the website, but note that there is a dress code of sorts (no jeans or trainers) and no photos are allowed during meal time.
If you want to go on a guided tour, where pre-meal photos are allowed (as you can clearly see from here) then again, please check the website.

Top left: the exterior of the building.
Bottom right: a close-up of the wonderful hammer-beamed Tudor ceiling.
The other three pics show tables being laid ready for lunch.

All around the walls, around the main hall and all along the adjoining corridors, are members' coats of arms laid out in chronological order. I was amused to see that many of these were loosely inspired by the surnames, such as Field-Fisher, Lilley, Shelley, Hollis, Elverston and Swan.

I was also captivated by the stained and coloured glass and the standard of craftsmanship that went into the making of them. Note the close-ups above showing some very amusing lions.
  

More things that caught my eye.Top row: A very long table made from one piece of wood; interiors from two of the other rooms; a rare painting of Queen Elizabeth IIMiddle row: James II and William II showing off their fashion sense; The Queen Mother; The Right Honorable Charles Abbot Baron Tenterden wearing a truly marvellous wig; Sir Henry Montague in a wonderfully deep ruffle collar, which makes me wonder... surely this is a fashion device that has yet to recur... you read it here first, dear readers... The big designers will have these in their collections very soon.Bottom row: George I's fabulous ankle boots; a painting of The Judgement of King Solomon, though why these women felt it necessary to have their breasts on display like that I don't know.
And finally, bottom right, a round table that confused me... what shape are the drawers in this piece? Are they all 45 degrees such that they swing/angle out rather than pull out straight on runners? Or perhaps only four are real drawers and the alternate ones are fake. Hmmm. But there were keyholes on all sections. I had a surreptitious pull on the knobs but it was locked. Any ideas?

Accentuate the positive – three rather nice places to get off the No.19 bus

Fancy a pint?

Theobalds Road

 St John Street

Highbury and Islington

Three nice things – a series by Jane's London

Accentuate the positive – three more nice things along the No.19 bus route

 Faces in Clerkenwell Road

 George at St George's, Bloomsbury

Screens on Battersea Bridge

Three nice things – a series by Jane's London

Jane's Connect. What links these pics?

Here's a little quiz for Christmas, though unlike these cards it has got nothing to do with the time of year or Christmas at all.
All of the above are in central London and are linked in some way. Can you identify the link?

12 clues; some quickly identifiable, others a bit tougher (but you only get four clues on Only Connect).

Sunshine and a rainbow

Hard to believe it's August at the moment. It's cold and wet and windy out there.
So I have put together some sunny-coloured things to remind us of that big hot thing that usually sits in the sky.

I was asked to tweet about my favourite colour of the rainbow earlier this week for Samsung's #MidnightRainbow event. I actually prefer indigo – this old post features some lovely old dark blue tiles and links in nicely with the above.

Here's a photo of the rainbow made using lots of Samsung Tab S screens taken at the press event last night where I bumped into my old school mate Andy who is now the big cheese there.
See the rainbow today on the Southbank near Gabriel's Wharf.

A lack of movement in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is full of statues including Nelson, George IV, some lions and a big blue cockerel that are made of stone, bronze and other strong arty substances, but there are also some other statues to be found there.
I am referring to the street entertainers who stand motionless like a statue but then move slightly or suddenly to scare or amaze passers-by.

I have seen some very clever ones in Barcelona, Prague, even Covent Garden, and marvelled at their strength and ability to stand still for so long, possibly just moving their eyes, but what we have here in Trafalgar Square these days are people making no real attempt at all – they don't even paint their bodies to look like statues any more. Instead they dress up head to toe in purchased outfits complete with rubber masks and then most of them wobble about on platform constructions intended to make it look like they are levitating. On the day I took these photos, back in November, there were four Star Wars characters including two Yodas and a girl in a Stormtrooper outfit who just made five minute attempts to hold poses but mostly stood around holding her helmet.
And the really annoying thing about this? People actually give them money!!!

New places for 2014

Here are some news

(a sentence that would normally be grammatically incorrect; but, in this instance it's OK):

Top row: Newman Street, New Cross, Camberwell New Road, Great Newport Street.

Middle row: Highbury New Park, New Oxford Street, Newcomen Street , Stoke Newington.

Bottom row: New Square, Newgate Street, Newell Street, New Kings Road

Pub colours

I pinched this idea from the very talented Mr Paul Bommer.
He calls them, "Coloured Inns".
Wish I'd thought of that.
This is the first of two collections on this theme.
Here are the animals.

The idea here was to come up with 12 different animals in 12 different colours. But I just can't make it work when restricting myself to London. 

There are lions in various hues all over London; red ones aplenty, plus blue, white, black and golden. And a lot of them are very comically rendered. 

And are lots of interesting black and white animals and birds out there, such as horses, harts, bulls, bears and unicorns. But I am struggling to find beige, yellow, pink, orange and even green animals, however, I have managed a cheeky purple!

Yeah, I know gold isn't really a colour; the purists say black and white aren't either, but without those "colours" I'd be stuck with a collection of Red Lions and I've done that before.

Dandylion Market in Kentish Town this Saturday

If you are in or around Kentish Town this Saturday 3rd November why not pop in to The Oxford Arms and tick a few boxes... have a drink and a chat, eat some of the pub's lovely grub, and check out some of the great things available at Lesley's Dandylion market, which will be on there 12.30–5.30pm.

It's a good place to start your Christmas shopping, as this market, which happens on the first Saturday of each month, showcases some great designer-maker talent, plus some vintage clothes, accessories and antique bric-a-brac too.

See here for more info. I notice that one woman will be offering jewellery made out of old clay pipes – wow, now that's different!

I was going to do a collection of lions for this post,; some dandy, some not so, but I think I will save them for another day. Instead, I have put together a collection of details I have noticed along and adjacent to Kentish Town Road... notice all the pub names, many of which do not exist any more.

The Hollow Crowns of London

Watching the brilliant versions of three Shakespeare plays on BBC TV these past few weeks, it occurred to me that I have a lot of images of London places and pubs with nice crowns within them. 

If you can't understand my thought process here, the BBC has brought together the plays Richard II, Henry IV (parts 1+2) and Henry V, and collectively called them The Hollow Crown. If you missed them, are really worth catching up with. 

I did Henry IV at school for 'O' Level and remember when our English teacher asked the class to learn Prince Hal's 22-line soliloquy from Part 1. The following day he went around the class asking us at random to recite it and, it was quite evident that hardly anyone had bothered to learn it. Each of us managed one more line than the last, having only just learned it. I was picked on fifth, and can still only recall the first five lines. Then Marion (the girly swot!), managed the whole thing. Ooh dear; Mr Price was not pleased with the rest of us! 

Below are some London crowns; on fire insurance markers, pub signs, a Mercers maiden, some chimneys, a stink pipe and two cheeky lions. 

Top row: Waterloo, Walthamstow, Covent Garden, Bloomsbury
Middle row: Drill Hall, Borough, Islington, Stoke Newington
Bottom row: Lambeth, Kensington, Battersea, Highgate 

Dandy Lion market at The Boogaloo

Here's a good one for North Londoners...
Every 2nd Saturday of the month there's a great market, offering arts and crafts, vintage, homewares and plenty more besides, at the Boogaloo pub on Archway Road.
My friend Leslie, who hosts it says, "it's a blast from the last; a nod to the future" and she decorates the venue in a different way every month depending on the time of year or whatever is topical. Whilst browsing you can also expect to hear guest DJs playing eclectic tunes, refreshments (it is after all a pub!) and live music.
What's not to like?
The next Market at The Boogaloo is this Saturday 12th May.
I am hoping to be able do a stall there myself sometime soon.
12.30–5.30pm. Free entry. More info here or email lwrjam@yahooo.com.

Here are some lions; some dandy, some scared, some aloof, some just plain daft.
See these and lots more in my Lions of London set.

Wood carving exhibition in Richmond

My very talented sister will be featured in an exhibition at The Riverside Gallery's Good Wood / Wood Works: Contemporary Wooden Art & Craft show at Richmond's Old Town Hall from 21st January to 7th April.
Go... and be inspired. It's free.

Below are some carved wooden pieces from the streets of London (clockwise from top left): Bishopsgate, Bayswater, Kennington, Bishopsgate, Clapham, Kings Cross.

The 'Trafalgar Sun' art installation

Here's a way to cheer up January....
On Monday 23rd giant ball of light, equivalent to that of 60,000 lightbulbs (or is it 260,000?), will be installed high above Trafalgar Square designed to brighten us up from dawn until dusk.
Weather permitting, it should look amazing at dawn break when the light effect will be at its most intense.
Sadly, I won't be around to see it this so please do get snapping and send me some links or photos.
Update:
Here's a video of the construction of the event
and here's another one of the 'sun' itself

Mixed up with images of Trafalgar Square:
Top row: Brixton, Albert Embankment, Cornhill, 
Middle row: Liberty's, Albert Bridge, Marylebone
Bottom row: Tottenham Court Road

Red feathers and black lace

It's been drawn to my attention that there were a load of semi-naked women in Trafalgar Square last week taking part in an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records' attempt for the largest burlesque dance. Sponsored by Virgin, it tied in with that ad that's showing on TV at the moment, hence all the red and black being worn.

I'm no prude but if I was going to parade around semi-naked I'd rather fly off on one of their planes and do it on a beach in the Caribbean or the Far East wearing a bikini. And I do have one in both colours should they need me!

Top row: Walthamstow Village, Rosemary Branch, Serpentine Gallery, Stoke Newington

Middle row: Islington, Surrey Docks, Highgate Village, London Bridge

Bottom row: Battersea, Clerkenwell, Bayswater, Holloway.

There's an a-MAZE-ing thing in Trafalgar Square

Ooh, I love puzzles. So too, do I like mazes; Black Gang Chine, Longleat, Hampton Court – been there, done them. But I don't think I am gonna be able to get to this one in Trafalgar Square as it's only gonna be there until Friday 6th August. Check here for more details.

As ever, any event is always a catalyst for me to put together a collection of 'relevant' photos... Nelson doesn't look very comfy does he?!

Above (except for the obvious shots):

Top row: The crowds making a big noise with vuvuzelas on the first day of The Football World Cup earlier this year

Middle row: Three different travel-related motifs along Cockspur Street.

Bottom row: The Queen's coronation procession, 15 May 1937, and Eat London – London created in food, 2007.

Football crazy; football mad

My life is already, through no choice of my won, dictated by football; living 5 mins from Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, yet not caring a jot whether they win or lose, I always have to check the fixtures list or the signs at the bottom of my street to see if my visitors can park outside my home without getting a parking ticket.

Due to the traffic disruption it can be a bit frustrating trying to use the bus or tube just before or straight after a match. During these times hoardes of "fully grown" men dressed as overgrown toddlers in three-quarter length trousers, bumper boots, multi-coloured logo'd polyester T-shirts and hardly any hair, fill the streets and pubs and chant rhymes. Ah bless 'em.

Have you noticed that sports news, at the end of the 'real' news on the TV, is really only football news? I fail to see why there even has to be a sports section within the news at all. Surely if people want sports news, sorry, football news, they can tune in to a sports channel? After all we don't get an arts news section on there, for instance.

And now the World Cup is upon us. Oh deep joy.

Actually, what am I saying? I don't mind the World Cup at all. To ignore the World Cup would be daft. It's like not being interested in horse racing and having a bet on The Grand National. Likewise athletics and The Olympics, and tennis and Wimbledon.

So I will be watching some of the matches wearing my stylish cotton T-shirt with 3 lions on it.

C'mon England!!!

World, cup, foot, balls, team

Boots, players, matches, posts, marks

Half, 3 lions, boot scraper

Passing, dribbling, crossed, tackle, stadium

(locations upon application)

Happy birthday to me

It's my birthday on Saturday, something I share with Princess Anne, Napoleon, and my friends Julie and Val.

I don't really 'do' the star sign thing but I'll use any excuse to put a collection of London images together, so here are some Leos.

There are some weird ones about. A lot of them appear ugly or confused when I think they were meant to look ferocious. Others look dim or fey. You might recognise a few of them. Here's my complete set.

Anyway, it looks like the weather is going to be sunny this weekend so my previous posting about sun motifs seems to have worked...