The UWC Walk October 8th 2025: Smithfield to Blackfriars
After battling a variety of challenges thrown at us by modern day TFL a cheery baker’s dozen met on a fine overcast (but thankfully dry) Autumnal day at the Barbican Tube entrance. Helpfully, there was only one entrance/exit which simplified the process and it got me thinking “What other stations have just one entrance ? Highgate ?”
The title of the walk was “Flames of Faith” which tied in beautifully with our President’s theme of religious tolerance and we were soon shepherded onwards by our esteemed leader, UWC JVP, Stephen Willis. Our first stop was the Charterhouse. Originally built as a Carthusian priory in 1371 on the site of a plague pit, Carthusian and Charterhouse come from the original priory, Grande Chartreuse where the monks produced the liqueur so the order was silent, not dry.
In 1537, the priory was closed during the Reformation and the Prior and ten monks who would not affirm Henry VIII’s claim to be head of the church met most unpleasant ends.
Next we went to Smithfield, the traditional meat market of London. The site of a livestock market since medieval times although the current buildings were commenced in 1866, designed by architect Sir Horace Jones who was also responsible for Billingsgate and Leadenhall together with Tower Bridge which was only completed after his death. Stephen told us that the meat market was due to close fairly soon and unlike Billingsgate and Covent Garden, there are no current plans to relocate and the actual market will disappear (go “virtual”). However, he also said that the London Museum will use the site for its new home.
Then to St Bartholomew the Great, founded by Prior Rahere in 1123 (he established the hospital at the same time) after he fell ill on a pilgrimage to Rome (probably malaria) and had a vision of St Bartholomew who directed him to establish a religious hospital. I think we would have enjoyed Rahere’s sermons because as well as a cleric, he had been a minstrel and jester.
This highly atmospheric church is the oldest to survive the Great Fire and it contains a mixture of ancient and modern: a beautiful icon of Mary and Christ child, the wonderful tomb of Sir Walter Mildmay and wife which our Treasurer would have appreciated as Walter was the founder of Emmanuel College Cambridge and the only work of art by Damien Hirst I have liked, a statue of St Bartholomew. Ask Stephen if you want to know what he has draped over his arm.
Then on to the Smithfield Execution plaques of William Wallace (Braveheart 1305), Wat Tyler (the Peasant’s Revolt 1381) and the Protestant Martyrs (1550s). Stephen explained the various modes of execution: Wallace had the full set: Emasculation, Evisceration and then Hanged, Drawn and Quartered; Tyler was stabbed then beheaded while the martyrs were burnt, a fate described by one cleric as “sufficiently mild” for heresy. Then on to Barts Hospital which hosts above its entrance the only statue of Henry VIII in London. We popped into the hospital chapel, St Bartholomew the Less which is small but unusual in its octagonal shape and strolled through the magnificent square.
Next was St Botolph without Aldersgate. St Botolph was the patron saint of travellers and churches dedicated to him were frequently found near city gates so travellers could pray for a safe journey or give thanks for a safe arrival. Postman’s Park followed so named as the first General Post Office was nearby and then the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice which commemorates people who lost their lives saving others. I have travelled extensively and have never seen another memorial like this and I applaud the sentiment.
St Sepulchre without Newgate, the Fusiliers’ Church, was next with its blue and burgundy railings, the colours of the regiment. Stephen told us that the last public hanging was nearby, outside Newgate prison in 1868 of Michael Barrett, a Fenian. Given that the Metropolitan tube line opened in 1863, it is likely that many of the 2,000 attendees got there by tube.
This also means we have a full set: an Englishman, Tyler, a Scot, Wallace and an Irishman, Barrett and as Stephen helpfully pointed out, Wales is a principality not a kingdom and therefore doesn’t feature here.
Finally, we passed through Paternoster Square and the oft-moved and much-restored Temple Bar gate and on to St Paul’s and the statue (Edward Bainbridge Copnall, 1970) of Thomas, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest”, Becket. Curiously, the statue was made of coated fibre-glass not bronze and not ageing well.
As we approached our final destination, we gave a salute to the site of The Bell, Carter Lane, where the UWC was founded. Sadly, The Bell no longer exists, but we all enjoyed a relaxed and very convivial lunch at a new eatery, the King’s Wardrobe.
A big thank you to Stephen for a fascinating and very well thought out walk, complete with lots of resting points, through this very interesting and history-filled part of the City. I have already spent a fortune on Amazon on follow-up books and am already looking forward to Stephen’s next walk.
Martyn Hole
Mildmay’s Tomb Hirst’s St Bartholomew
St Sepulchre Thomas Becket
Bomb damage in the City from WWII. Red means irreparable
Pentagon in top right corner: Charterhouse
Three rectangles: Smithfield
Green oval bottom right: St Pauls