A while back we watched Season 1 of The Art Detectives on PBS where they uncovered a lost painting by J. M. W.Turner. The show highlighted this Claude Lorrain painting—Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba (1648)—& his masterful use of light, which inspired Turner.
Turner’s Dido building Carthage (1815) showing his fascination, like Claude, with landscape & subtle, shifting light effects.
Turner gave his painting (right) to the National Gallery on the condition that it would be displayed beside the Claude (left), whom Turner deeply admired.
Between 1875-1914, 61 of these buildings were built around London. Most were staffed by an attendant who sold food & (non-alcoholic) drink to cabbies. The green huts were not allowed to be larger than a horse & cart.
On the Golden Jubilee (pedestrian) Bridge looking south toward Big Ben.
The King’s Arms pub on Roupell St in Waterloo. Built around 1830, the area features rare
Georgian/Victorian architecture that lacks modern clutter. The pristine terraces are frequently used to double for working-class northern towns in past decades.
The pub retains its rare two-bar partition. The larger “saloon bar” with its horseshoe-shaped bar (behind us) was historically a more comfortable/formal section associated with a somewhat higher social status (& often higher prices). The smaller “public bar” is a more basic drinking space. At the King's Arms, those two historic bars are still physically separated by the unusual partition.
Finally! God bless the Brits for their real cask ales! Photos taken from the smaller “public bar” looking into the larger “saloon bar.” The partition is to the right. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Legend, No Time To Die, Call the Midwife, Slow Horses, Silent Witness, Bridget Jones's Diary, Pennyworth, & EastEnders have all set scenes on the street and/or inside the pub.
From The Kings Arms we took a red double-decker bus to Temple Church. On our last trip the church was closed for Easter services, so it was great to finally see inside.
The church's circular nave, the oldest part of the building, was built by the Knights Templar & consecrated in 1185. Its unusual circular design was deliberately modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, particularly the rotunda surrounding Christ's tomb.
These ancient spiral stairwells seem to carry inspiration in every turn.
Church organ
Following the Great Fire of London in 1666 (which the church itself miraculously escaped), architect Christopher Wren heavily refurbished the interior, adding the wooden screen behind the altar. The screen was placed into storage before WWII which is how it survived a firestorm during the Blitz.
Twinings was a short walk from Temple Church.
We so love London’s remarkable layering of old upon older, where centuries seem to sit comfortably beside one another.
Next, we visited the home of Samual Johnson (1709–1784) who was an English writer, critic, & lexicographer, best known for compiling the hugely influential Dictionary of the English Language (1755), one of the most important English dictionaries of its era.
The household's only entrance had to be secure. The spiked iron bar above the door stopped burglars lowering children in through the window & the chain is hung on a corkscrew latch so that it can't be lifted up by a hook from outside.
Amanda in front of the wig cupboard, originally used to store wigs.
Its size allowed a chair to be placed inside, meaning the wig-wearer could sit, close the doors behind them, & powder their wigs without a mess being made in the room. This is where the term powder closet (now powder room) comes from.
This little cupboard was used to store candles & candlesticks which could be lit downstairs before lighting the way up to bed. Such a neat old house!
The old house was simply magical.
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” —Samuel Johnson
In Gough Square below is a statue of one of the most famous cats in literary history: Johnson's feline companion Hodge.
Just blocks from Johnson’s home is one of London’s oldest & most iconic pubs, rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, which began on Sept 2, 1666, in a bakery on Pudding Ln & burned for four days, destroying much of the medieval City of London. Our visit on Sept 8, 2026, was nearly exactly 360 years after the fire broke out.
A pub has stood on the site of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese since 1538, prior to which the site formed part of the guest house of the 13th century Carmelite Monastery. The Chop Room is the traditional dining room, centered around a long oaken table where, over the years, Dr. Johnson, Charles Dickens, Oliver Goldsmith, & many other celebrated figures once sat & dined.
The pub is a wonderful warren of rooms & crooked passageways. We discovered this little alcove one level down, where even ducking wasn’t quite enough to save my head from the old stairwell. We then descended another level into the ancient cellar to order our drinks. What an experience!
The remaining part of London Stone. Its original purpose is unknown, although it may be Roman & related to once nearby Roman buildings. It originally stood in the middle of Cannon St & was later set in an alcove in the wall of St Swithin's church on this site. The church was bombed during WW II & later demolished. London Stone was placed in this alcove in 2018.
We then went to Church of St Magnus-the-Martyr to see the model of Old London Bridge inside. We arrived too late, so we’ll return on Thursday. This archway is part of the church but was also once a key part of Old London Bridge. The first timber crossings over the River Thames were built by the Romans & many such bridges were destroyed & rebuilt between c. 50–400 CE.
Old London Bridge was the famous medieval stone bridge built almost exactly over the Roman alignment. It stood for over 600 years from 1209–1831. It came to feature houses & shops on top, but buildings were later removed between 1757-1762 to widen the roadway & improve traffic flow. Around this time, this archway became the main pedestrian entrance from the city.
A piece of an old Roman wharf dating from c. 75 CE. This was found on the nearby Fish Street Hill in 1931, illustrating just how far the banks of the Thames have moved over the space of 2,000 years.
The Southwark Gateway Needle stands on the bank opposite & points toward Church of St Magnus-the-Martyr. This was once the south entrance onto the medieval Old London Bridge & the only way into the city other than by boat.
The King’s Arms, a Victorian pub on Newcomen St in Southwark. The fine stone coat of arms used to say GIIR, for George II, and was fixed on Stonegate in 1728, the entrance to Old London Bridge from the Southwark side. When the gate was demolished in 1760, it was removed, the inscription changed to 1760 & GIIIR for the current king, & put up on this tavern. Walking London is to walk through living history!
Borough Market, one of London’s oldest food markets, unfolds beneath a beautiful canopy of Victorian ironwork, glass, & modern structures, sheltering a lively maze of stalls beneath the railway arches.
Here is where we found Whisk by Jenki—yet another winner! Amanda did research London’s best matcha offerings, so it should come as no surprise that we’ve enjoyed them all.
“Mary and I sat on a bench near the Southwark Cathedral this afternoon, eating sandwiches and boiled eggs prepared by Agnes.” —Emma M. Lion
For Tuesday night’s dinner we made a booking at Plants of Roslyn, located on the South Bank between London & Tower Bridges.
We shared the Som Tum Papaya Salad..
…and the Tom Kha Coconut Soup.
Amanda’s Hainanese Chicke’n Rice was perfection!
I had the Ayurvedic Tofu Massaman Curry. We’ve enjoyed a lot of truly delicious food this week, but this one takes the top prize!
“…I did enjoy my walk across London. The city was full of movement and the sort of noise that makes a day stand on its own two feet.” —Emma M. Lion
