I saw this on another website and thought it looked interesting. As part of a Festival Fringe event, there will be a series of guided tours around London Bridge and Shoreditch, looking at the city from a rather unusual perspective – that of the homeless person.

Official blurb:

“Unseen Tours provide a totally unique and exciting perspective on well-known landmarks and the lesser-known nooks and crannies of London. Led by homeless guides with their own distinctive styles and life histories, each walk will have its own personality as it uncovers London’s hidden history and present-day reality from their perspectives. The walks take place in two areas, London Bridge and Shoreditch, both containing powerful symbols of the city’s diversity and social change. These are tours with a social conscience, appealing to Londoners and visitors alike, and anyone who wants to connect with people from different walks of life.”

I would get more information from their website – but it doesn’t contain any, and a quick look at the ticket booking page suggests nothing either. However, if you scroll right to the bottom – there at last you can find out what they are on about. This is actually one of the problems I often encounter trying to maintain the events guide. Many – usually arty/social organisations – can be remarkably good at hiding information about what they are offering.

Moan over – this does sound like quite an interesting departure from the conventional guided tours around London, and I shall try to make my way to one of them.

The tours take place from 6th – 30th August and will run every Wednesday-Sunday, starting at 7pm Weds-Fri and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tickets cost £5 and can be booked here.

In 1854, the good peoples of Southwark wished to demonstrate their appreciation towards the Duke of Wellington, who had died only a few years earlier, and chose to construct some form of memorial to him.

As detailed below, an original idea for an equestrian statue was cancelled in favour of a “clock tower”, which would not only be decorative, but also serve a useful function.

Although the clock tower was indeed built and put in Southwark, just a few years later, in 1867 it was taken down and moved to, of all places – Swanage in Dorset.

It seems that the site of the Clock-Tower on the approach to London Bridge, which was already busy when it was erected, was a poor one. The enlargement of London Bridge train station in 1864-67 must have made its location even more of a nuisance, and it was taken down, while the “rubble” was given to a builder who needed ballast for his empty boats returning to the mines of Dorset. He then chose to rebuild it  on his estate in Swanage.

Based on the comments in the article, it seems that the Clock-Tower would have been sited on the southern approach to London Bridge, by what was the recently renamed Wellington Street, being a short length of today’s Borough High Street between the Bridge and Duke St Hill.

Click on the engraving for a larger version

THE WELLINGTON TESTIMONIAL CLOCK-TOWER, SOUTHWARK.

This picturesque design will, when completed, accomplish a twofold purpose – the commemoration of the public services of England’s greatest hero, and of the peaceful triumphs of the Great Industrial Exhibition Of 1851.

Several years since it was proposed to erect upon this spot near the south end of London-bridge, an equestrian statue of the great Duke of Wellington. The memorial was executed, but its location was changed to the area of the New Royal Exchange; and from circumstances connected with the choice of the sculptor of this statue, Chantrey, arose the colossal equestrian group, by M. C. Wyatt, at Hyde-park corner. It may be added that the first stone of the Clock-tower was laid on the 29th ult, by the originator of the Wellington statue, Mr T. B. Simpson, Treasurer to the Commissioners for Lighting the West Division of Southwark. The utility of the Tower in this overcrowded thoroughfare will be much enhanced by the Clock, which has been generously presented by Mr. Bennett, of Blackheath, by whom it was contributed to the Great Exhibition. The funds have been partly raised from private sources; but the railway companies, the termini of whose lines adjoin the site, the Corporation of London, and certain public companies, have been liberal contributors.

The Tower has been designed by Mr. Arthur Ashpitel, F.S A.; it is of the Perpendicular, or best period of Gothic architecture, and in general character resembles the memorial crosses, which formerly grouped with many a gabled street of England; as will the Southwark Tower with the finely restored Lady-chapel, and choir end and tower of the priory church of St. Mary Overie; and, in our mind’s eye, it harmonises with the gabled house-fronts of Southwark, some five-and-forty years since.

The proceedings on the 29th ult. were opened with an impressive prayer by the Rev. Mr. Curling. The stone was then laid by Mr. Simpson, with the usual formalities; after which, those gentlemen who had assisted at the ceremonial partook of an excellent dinner at the Bridge-House Hotel, at which Mr. Simpson presided. The Chairman, in the course of the evening, stated the circumstances which led to the erection of the Tower—the desire to perpetuate, in this testimonial, the great public services of the Duke of Wellington; and to reader the memorial otherwise useful, by furnishing it with an illuminated Clock. Mr. Bennett took occasion to declare that the Clock which they had accepted was constructed with every improvement, and that he his undertaken to keep his gift in repair and complete working order during his lifetime. Mr. James Edmeston, in replying to the toast of Mr. Ashpitel, the architect (who was absent on the Continent from ill health), assured the company that the design was strictly in conformity with Mr. Ashpitel’s drawings, and that the canopy had received his final correction before being placed in the builder’s hands.

The contract has been taken by Messrs. Rowland and Evans; and the total cost, including lamps and railing (omitted in the accompanying View), will be within £700. The Clock will have four transparent dials. The precise spot was predetermined, by a pier already prepared beneath, the dry arches of London-bridge; and the position was also governed by the necessity of allowing one of the clock-faces to be seen from Wellington street, which makes a considerable angle with the Bridge

The funds already in band will not allow of the immediate erection of the statue of the Duke of Wellington, as shown in the design; but the requisite sum will, doubtless, be raised, so as to complete this very useful and interesting public memorial.

Although most readers will be familiar with the tales of the Frost Fairs, when the River Thames was completely frozen over, changes to the climate and river structures made such an event almost impossible in the 19th century – and the last fair took place in 1814.

However, the winter of 1854 was exceptionally cold, and ice flows were once again seen in the river.

The ice build up in the river was additionally noticeable as the previous freezes had taken place upstream of London Bridge, which acted as a substantial dam across the river and slowed the flow of water, enabling it to freeze over. The 1854 ice build up however took place downstream of the new London Bridge – something which was thought to be impossible.

The winter of 1854 was so bad that it seriously affected transport, both the new rail networks as well as conventional horse drawn carriages – and increasingly cargo ships arriving in Britain’s ports. Anyone affected by the recent air traffic chaos can possibly empathise with the substantial shut down of the UK transport network just over 150 years ago.

Below is an excerpt from the Illustrated London News of Jan 14th 1854, with an illustration showing the new London Bridge and the ice flows affecting the river.

SCENE IN THE POOL OF THE THAMES

The severity of the late weather has been felt more of less in everything connected in any way with commerce; but perhaps nothing in the mercantile world has suffered more from the effects of the inclement season than the shipping interest: frightful storms and wreaks, frozen rivers and detained shipping, have been unhappily the order of the day; and the commencement of 1854 will be remembered by all as unparalleled in the history of cold weather.

Our Sketch represents the river as it appeared on Wednesday week. For some days previously the ice had increased to such an extent as to render the navigation of the river above bridge not only difficult and dangerous, but so destructive to the bows and paddles of the steam-vessels plying between London, Chelsea, Woolwich, and other parts of the Thames, that it became necessary to discontinue running them; which, coupled with the scarcity of vehicles and doubtful travelling on land, occasioned an amount of public inconvenience unequalled on any previous occasion.

Under the circumstances before noticed the river assumed a most forlorn appearance, being, at high water, a field of moving ice, with occasionally a solitary coal-barge vainly endeavoring to make the shore through the mass of obstruction which surrounded it; and at the bottom tide it assumed a still more wretched aspect – immense blocks of ice and frozen mud (in some instances seven and eight feet thick) entirely filling the distances between high and low-water mark, and giving the banks of the river the appearance of a monster polar region.

Below bridge, the numerous steamers and other craft, which line either side of the Pool, became totally surrounded by the floating ice; and their moorings affording facilities for the stoppage of the blocks of ice, they quickly became completely surrounded: and at certain times of the tide so perfectly was the Thames covered, that, but for the strong current of the stream, the river must have again become stopped for some distance below London-bridge. Altogether, the dark gloomy sky and falling snow, the ice-covered and deserted river, the bitter cutting wind, and the absence of the busy scene which usually pervades the Pool of the river, causes Father Thames to assume an appearance which has rarely been witnessed.

There is an internet tradition of capturing photos of windows error messages in unusual and very public locations.

Today I finally saw my first one in real life, and as a value added bonus, the screen was displaying an advert for Microsoft products.

Thank you London Bridge train station.

It seems the two London Bridges, the current and the later are on Twitter and have been having a bit of a childish spat! For clarity, Tower Bridge has its own Twitter account as well, although it has maintained a dignified silence so far.

London Bridge is the one in Arizona, and I’m London Bridge is the current resident of the spot on the Thames

–

I’m London Bridge – Yaaaaawn. That was a good sleep. What did I miss? Did @TowerBridge do something interesting? No, I expect not.

London Bridge – It seems my kid sister @ImLondonBridge is being beastly about our cousin @TowerBridge. Grow up, you two, this isn’t Myspace.

London Bridge – And you, @ImLondonBridge, when was the last time you did anything? You’ve never even moved. Unlike some of us.

I’m London Bridge – @London_Bridge Hey bro, I do move. A little. The geniuses who designed me allowed me to expand and contract according to the weather.

Bizarre!

I wonder if the original London Bridge will start Tweeting from wherever it is that bridges go to when they die?