Central London Walks 6: From the Bank to the Temple—Legal London

Focus: Guildhall, St. Bartholomew’s and Smithfield Market, and the Inns of Court.

Note: Ideally, you should take this walk Tuesday through Friday; plan to end the walk between 11:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. so that you can get into the Temple Church.

Historical Context

• Roman Times:A Roman amphitheater stood where the Guildhall art gallery is now, and a Romano-Celtic temple stood outside the walls, just opposite the present-day Old Bailey.
  
• Medieval Times: In this era, the legal educational system took root around the Inns of Court in the western part of the city (around the Temple Church). Smithfield became the center of the cattle and horse market, opening the way for a meat market, which lasts to the present. St. Bartholomew-the-Great was established in 1123, making it one of the oldest churches in the city. St. Bartholomew Hospital began its service about the same time. The guild system of the city—somewhat like a modern association of businesses providing similar services—began to be developed by the late 1300s, with the richer guilds building mansions and halls of their own. By 1411, a central guildhall was built. Also, the Fleet River was still a major artery for transportation inland from the Thames.
  
• Tudor Times:St. Bartholomew Church was sold to Richard Rich. Executions of the Protestant martyrs were carried out under the order of Mary I. The printing industry on Fleet Street had its very earliest beginnings with the press of Wynken de Worde.
  
• Georgian Times:The Fleet River, which had become basically an open sewer by this time, was covered over in 1760. Public executions were moved to Old Bailey. William Hogarth painted murals on the Grand Staircase in St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.
  
• Victorian Times:Holborn Viaduct was constructed to connect the city with the western segment of London. Temple Bar monument was erected. The Supreme Court of Judicature was established and the Royal Courts of Justice constructed on Fleet Street. This period also saw the suppression of Bartholomew Fair and the erection of the Smithfield meat market.
  
• Modern Times: The printing industry moved from Fleet Street to the Docklands.
  

Places to Visit in This Area When You Have More Time

Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Library, Smithfield Central Market, Old Bailey, the Silver Vaults, the Public Records office, the Royal Courts of Justice, John Soane Museum, the Old Curiosity Shop, the Hunterian Museum.