This feature first appeared in September 2023 on Londonist: Time Machine, our much-praised history newsletter. To be the first to read new history features like this, sign up for free here.
Fleet Street is one of London's most ancient thoroughfares. It dates back to Roman times when it formed the route out of the south-eastern gate, later called Ludgate. Roman paving stones can still be seen in the crypt of St Bride's. Here are five other historical sights to see on this most beguiling of streets.
1. Four of London’s oldest statues
The church of St Dunstan-in-the-West, toward the western end of Fleet Street, offers enough material to fill an article of oddity-spotting all on its own. This one’s my favourite, though, because you can’t see it from the pavement. Head inside the courtyard to the right of the church and keep going until you can go no further. Here, inside an alcove, you’ll find the statue of King Lud, mythical founder (and namer) of London. He’s flanked by his two sons Androgeus and Theomantius. The stone trio are reckoned to be among London’s oldest statues, possibly from the 14th century. They spent their early years adorning the medieval Lud-gate, a portal in the city walls that, reasonably enough, once stood on Ludgate Hill. Attentive readers will now be wondering where to find the fourth statue mentioned in my sub-heading. Well, just look up. A statue of Elizabeth I, also salvaged from the Lud-gate, presides over the arch. She’s obviously not from the 14th century — probably late 17th.
2. The thin house
For my money, Fleet Street is the most architecturally rewarding road anywhere in the capital. The clash of styles is magnificent, from mock-Tudor to modernist to hyper-baroque confections. The extremely narrow Ye Olde Cock Tavern is a case in point. I mean, its doorway takes up 90% of its width. Despite Ye Olde name, the building dates only from 1912 (though contains fragments of an older building).
3. London’s only plaque to Elvis Presley
Fleet Street’s most alluring feature, at least for the historically minded, is its network of alleyways, which branch off to the north of the street. A few of these sport pavement plaques that riff on the area’s rich history. Whoever placed them at the entrance to each alley had a delicious sense of mischief. They’re impossible to read without getting in someone’s way. This one, on Bolt Court, is my favourite. It’s the only plaque in London (so far as I’m aware) to mention Elvis. He’s not the real subject here, though — that’s The Sun “newspaper”, which launched on Fleet Street in 1964 as the successor to the Daily Herald.
4. A corrected reign
As a treasonous digestif, someone had also scratched onto the board an incorrect prediction for Charles’s demise.
5. London’s biggest sundial
Fleet Street’s second-newest oddity is also one of its largest. In 2021 local sundial maker Piers Nicholson won permission to convert a blank wall into what might just be London’s largest sundial (until, that is, someone takes up my idea of turning the Shard into a giant gnomon). As you can perceive for yourself, the sundial features the mastheads of five extinct newspapers from Fleet Street’s past.
It’s not the most useful of sundials. The narrow side-street only receives sunlight between the hours of 6am and 11am (and that’s only in summer and, of course, when the sun is actually shining). Not to mention that you can see an actual, functioning clock in the distance, hanging off the side of the Law Courts. But for all that, it’s much, much more interesting than a blank wall.
All images by the author.
