Tis noble indeed!

My third garden in the City of London visited on 17th October was Noble Street Gardens, off London Wall and near the Museum of London (which I must visit one day!). It is effectively closed to the public, but may be viewed from above. On the opposite corner is a small open space where children were playing, whilst towards the south end part of the churchyard of St Anne and St Agnes spilled onto the pavement.

Noble Street Gardens is a sunken garden made post-WWII adjacent to the Plaisterers' Hall. The area suffered heavy bomb damage in WWII and the excavated garden contains remains of the old Roman Wall. The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers was incorporated in 1501 and its original hall was built in 1556 in Addle Hill off Carter Lane, rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666 and then again in 1882 after another fire. The hall here dates from 1970-3, rebuilt c.2002. Noble Street is named after a C14th landowner, Thomas Noble.

Peering through the railings . . .

The second garden I visited on Tuesday 17th October was not open to the public - so I put my camera lens through the railings. It looked as though autumn had arrived early - and I must return in the summer. Here is some of the history.

Fann Street Wildlife Garden is one of three gardens on the Barbican Estate provided for the enjoyment of its residents. It is considered by City of London Corporation to be an important open space, providing a green corridor for wildlife movement in, around and through the City.

The garden is tended by Barbican Wildlife Group (BWG) - residents and other volunteers - under the management of City Gardens. The group's objectives are to enhance wildlife and provide a peaceful but interesting environment for residents.

The garden includes a wildflower meadow, a sunny, dry pollinator bed garden, a shaded shrubbery with under-planting, two ponds, two native hedges, a variety of trees and a compost area. There are also a number of insect habitats, including bee boxes, as well as bird feeders and bird boxes.

The garden is now in the second year of a five-year management plan, prepared with the assistance of City Gardens and the London Wildlife Trust. As a result, 2016 saw the construction of a second pond, the hard work being carried by volunteers from Trust of Conservation Volunteers.

In August 2015 the BWG celebrated 11 years of volunteering in the garden, working with and learning from excellent City Gardens. London in Bloom had twice awarded the garden a Certificate of Excellence, and Friends of City Gardens one of its first Gold awards and two Certificates of Excellence. In 2016 the garden received Gold awards from both London in Bloom and City in Bloom.

Forgot!

Fortune Street Park - forgot this amazing flower and the block of flats where everyone want to tell the world something!

Fortune Street Park - an oasis near the Barbican

Following my excursion to the Postman's Park (which former Scout and London Cab Driver Martin Clarkson tells me is NOT in Newgate Street - and he is right, of course) I have decided that whilst I am still able to run around (well, walk anyway) I will visit as many pocket parks in the City of London or nearby as possible. And so on Tuesday 17th October I visited three - four if you count the one which was closed but I put my camera through the railing so I guess that counts.

The first was Fortune Street Garden in Golden Lane, not far from Barbican Station. It was lunchtime so it was bustling with folk from the nearby offices and flats. Everyone seemed happy - the lady in the kiosk was radiant as she served me a coffee and savoury muffin. The air was alive with chat and play, whilst the autumn colours were brilliant. And do look at the nearby block of flats where everyone seems to have something they want to tell the world!

Here is some brief history - you will find more if you Google (where I found this).

Plenty of London’s green spaces were created to act as an oasis in the city, but Fortune Street Park has a much more interesting history than this.
The park is named after the street on which it is situated, which is in turn named after the old Fortune Theatre that once stood there.
Dating all the way back to 1600, the theatre was built for Edward Alleyn and Philip Henslowe and was modelled on Shakespeare’s The Globe in order to act as a competitor.
Unfortunately, the wooden structure burnt down in 1621, but it was rebuilt in brick and even had a nursery specialising in “educating young children for the acting profession of the stage”. It was even mentioned in Samuel Pepys’s diary, such was its reputation among
There was further bad luck for the theatre though, when an ordinance for the dismantling of playhouses was issued by the Puritans in 1647-48 and the building was dismantled by soldiers in 1649.

Other buildings were constructed on the same site, but when the Fortune Street area was heavily bombed during the Second World War, it was decided that the area would remain cleared and it was laid out as a park in the early 1960s.
Much-needed refurbishment work was carried out in 2002 to cover landscaping and the addition of new facilities and the park won the Green Flag Award in 2006/7 to reflect the beauty that had been achieved.

While Fortune Street Park is the perfect place to lay out a blanket and have a picnic, there is much more to it than just a large patch of grass.
Children will find a carefully tended play area with plenty of toys and there is an edible community garden for anyone who enjoys cooking, from which a plethora of herbs can be picked to take home.
The more green-fingered among its visitors will enjoy the annual bulb-planting schemes, while anyone just visiting London can reap the rewards of all this hard work in the form of glorious displays of flowers come spring. (I have made a note to go back!)

If you find yourself in need of refreshments while visiting the park, then you’ll be well catered for thanks to the Giddy Up coffee house, which boasts London’s best coffee, according to its website. (And it is very, very good - so are the savoury muffins!).

Should you be around in June, then you won’t want to miss the annual community fun day. This is an event at which young and old alike come together to enjoy sports, stalls and competitions designed to celebrate the summer and (hopefully) the arrival of plenty of warm weather.

Fortune Street Park is open every day from 8am until dusk.

Getting there

Fortune Street Park is easy to reach using public transport, with the Barbican Tube stop that connects to the Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan lines just a short walk away. In addition, the 5, 56, 153, 43, 205, 214 and 271 buses all stop nearby. 

Information board in place

Today Kristy and Abi spent the morning putting up the information board in the new community memorial garden at St Peter's. This explains what has been happening over the past 18 months or so in turning a derelict area of the churchyard into a garden of peace. We were fortunate in having Kristy's guidance and hard work, Abi's expertise and the gang of volunteers who worked so hard. Also we were awarded a Tesco grant in their Bags of Hope Scheme of £10,000. Next month the pathway will be continued from the existing path and the area around the mosaic will be paved.

Postman's Park

I spent the afternoon of 10th October wandering around the City of London - to my old haunts when I worked there in the 50s and 60s. These photographs were taken at the Postman’s Park in Newgate Street, hard by St. Paul's Cathedral. I have not been there for at least 50 years and it has not changed one bit. But opposite stands the Old General Post Office - with Roland Hill’s statue outside - and it is now occupied by the Bank of America. How did that happen!

I would sit in the Park some lunchtimes when I worked in the City and had cause to go to the Scout Shop opposite the Old Bailey. The Shelter along one wall is fascinating. I have shown one or two of the plaques recording acts of bravery - the shot with a number of plaques shows that these are being added even today - with the top two dating to 1917 and 2007. It was quiet this afternoon, with two gardeners cutting the grass and sucking up the leaves. It was a day for quiet thoughts and later I sat in the choir for Sung Evensong at 

St. Paul's Cathedral.

Nightmare!

I woke this morning at 5.15am in a panic. I had a nightmare that I had returned home to find my front garden had been excavated, leaving a six foot deep crater. Plants, shrubs, roses, flowers - all gone. Just a gapping hole.

At that moment a white van arrived, disgorging workmen unloading bricks and cement. I challenged the leader who showed me written instructions to turn my front garden into a parking area for two cars. The paper showed the address as 37 Du Montford Gardens. I pointed out that I live at Spearpoint Gardens. The builder told me that this was the correct address and asked me to show him a street sign with Spearpoint Gardens - and we could not find one, only signs saying Du Montford Gardens. At that point I woke up!

I often have dreams that are disturbing but nothing like this. Two recurring dreams find me in an office editing a magazine, but I have no articles to publish. I wander all over London, visiting places I know well, imploring passers-by to write for me - but they just smile and walk on.

The second dream finds me being called back to Redbridge Magistrates Court to sit in Court Number One. My two colleagues are well known justices from my 23 years on the bench, but other newly appointed justices object and it gets quite difficult . . .

An hour or so later and I feel better now. Socks came upstairs to ask me when his breakfast would be served as he has some mousing to do this morning and I am off to Romford to buy supplies for my Christmas cards. I cannot hang about here . . .

Any thoughts about my dreams and nightmare would be appreciated - provided they are constructive and not too scary. I am not up for scary these days.