Bookings for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOURS are now open for June & July This is the earliest known photo of the remarkable Mavis Bullwinkle, seen here attending a Christmas party in 1932 at the Drill Hall in Buxton St, hosted by Rev Holdstock of All Saints’ Church, Spitalfields – Mavis can easily be distinguished to … Read more
From June, THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOURS are also happening on Thursdays to coincide with the Spitalfields Antiques Market I love to visit the Bishopsgate Institute to study the 1599 copy of John Stow’s Survey Of London. He was the first historian of London and his survey is the first history book of the capital. It … Read more
St Augustine’s Tower I wonder how many people even notice this old tower, secreted behind the betting office in the Hackney center? Without a second glance, it might easily get dismissed as a left-over from a Victorian church that got demolished. Yet few realities St Augustine’s Tower has been here longer than anything else, since … Read more
George Dodd came to Spitalfields to write this account for Charles Knight’s LONDON published in 1842. Dodds recalls the rural East End that still lingered in the collective memory and described the East End of weavers living in ramshackle timber and plaster dwellings which in its century would be “redeveloped” out of existence by the … Read more
This palatial building of Portland stone tucked under the west side of the foot of London Bridge is Fishmongers’ Hall. Many a time I have passed by on an errand to the Borough to buy fresh fish and cast my eyes upon it, so – as one for whom the worship of fish is almost … Read more
Sylvester Mittee I shall never forget my visit to Sylvester Mittee, unquestionably one of the most charismatic and generous of interviewees. We met in his multicoloured flat in Hackney where Sylvester keeps his collection of hats that he waterproofs by painting with the excess gloss paint left over from decorating his walls. During the course … Read more
Commercial Cafe, Commercial Rd 1965 “This was one of those places you could just pop in from the cold and warm up,” photographer John Claridge recalled affectionately while contemplating this beloved cafe of yesteryear, “I love the front of it – it was just beautiful, especially the typography. The window above the curtain used to … Read more
On May 21, 2021, President Joe Biden presented 1st Lt. Ralph Puckett with the Medal of Honor for valorous action in the Korean War on November 25, 1950. But his story takes on new life in the form of a graphic novel. The latest issue of “Medal of Honor,” an illustrated series produced by the … Read more
Join the celebration of Mr Punch’s 360th Birthday this Sunday at St Paul’s, Covent Garden, with a procession at 11am, a service with Mr Punch in the pulpit at noon, followed by maypole dancing and Punch & Judy shows in the churchyard. Carmen Baggs with figures made by her father On 9th May 1662, Samuel … Read more
The oldest surviving set of silk designs in the world, James Leman’s album contains ninety ravishingly beautiful patterns created in Steward St, Spitalfields between 1705 and 1710 when he was a young man. It was my delight to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum and study the pages of this unique artefact, which is the … Read more