An Urban Wander from Euston to Fleet Street

I wasn't sure whether I was going to be able to undertake any Urban Wanderings last week, but fortunately I found time, and even more fortunately I managed to find some new places to explore. I had two meetings to to attend on consecutive days, which meant that after returning from the first one in Manchester I ended up back at Euston with a couple of spare hours to walk down to Fleet Street for my next one.

First up we have a ghost sign for the boys entrance to an old school. I did have a brief look around for the girls entrance but could find that.

Boys entrance to St. George the Martyr Parochial Schools

This next picture is particularly frustrating as there was an interesting looking, old sign, on a shop front, but it was impossible to get a better angle with all the construction work taking place. A quick bit of research however shows this to be:

CATTELL FROM SHEFFIELD LTD

HEPBURN & COCKS

 

Old shop sign in Sheffield Street, London WC2

No such problems with photographing the next one. Proudly displaying itself, as clear as day, is the old sign for

HOARE

& CO

CELEBRATED

THREE GUINEA

STOUT

This old sign can be found above the White Swan pub, formerly owned by Hoare & Co, the London banking firm.

Old pub sign, New Row, London WC2

Old pub sign, New Row, London WC2

I guess that no wander through this particular part of London can be considered complete without including one of London's many Disused Underground Stations, the old Aldwych tube station. It was originally opened in 1907 as Strand station, and this old sign has been revealed with the removal of the station canopy, following the closure of Aldywch station in 1994.

Disused Aldwych tube station, London

And there's more just around the corner. The fact that this part of the Piccadilly line was a single station spur, and only had peak time services, meant that it was often used, and is still used, in film sets. One of the most recent being Murder on the Home Front which not only made use of the station itself, but also the labyrinth of other tunnels beneath the surface. Many discussions took place about extending this spur but unfortunately nothing ever came of it, but on the positive side the station exterior is available for all to see, and London Underground do also run tours of the interior.

Disused Aldwych tube station, London

As I neared my destination, I just about had time to get some photos walking down Fleet Street. This first one is an old sign for Goslings Bank, now part of the wider Barclays Group.

Old sign for Goslings Bank, Fleet Street, London

Also along Fleet Street are the former premises of some of long gone newspapers.

DUNDEE EVENING TELEGRAPH

SUNDAY POST

PEOPLE'S FRIEND

PEOPLE'S JOURNAL

DUNDEE COURIER

An impressive building but a shame about the extension on the top.

Former newspaper offices, Fleet Street, London

And so we come to the final picture from this Urban Wander. Above this corner café is a wonderful old sign, depicting not only the street name but also the number.

97 FLEET STREET

Old sign, Fleet Street, London

With the evenings getting decidedly darker, I'm not sure how many more after work wanders I'll be able to manage. I have a few wanders that I still need to write-up which will keep this blog busy for a couple more weeks.