We set out at 3 pm for our usual daily exercise walk. It was a beautiful warm spring day (17°C/63°F according to the weather forecast) and I wore my favourite “spring and autumn” jacket. We saw this jacket years ago in a sports shop in Eastbourne. They were having a sale and the coat was going at a reduced price. It was red – my favourite colour. Tigger suggested I buy it. I was dubious: “Don’t need another jacket etc etc.” but was eventually persuaded. From those inauspicious beginnings, it has become my favourite jacket to wear as the seasons change in spring and autumn.

We met a few people along the way but most behaved and kept their distance. We have become so used to this game of artful dodgery that I suspect we may have difficulty unlearning it once the pandemic ends.

Assuming that we want to go to Myddelton’s for coffee, there are only so many different paths to choose from. Today, we took a turn around Myddelton Square which I mentioned previously in Bombed and rebuilt.

Entering Myddelton Square

This is the view as we turned into the square. The bombed and rebuilt houses that I mentioned in the above post are on the left. The style is classic Georgian with a plain façade of “yellow brick” (that is what they are called although they don’t look all that yellow to me) and windows that reduce in size progressively the higher up they are. (The small rooms with the smallest windows on the top floor would have been the bedrooms for the servants.)

Incidentally, we learnt the other day that there have been thefts of used “yellow bricks” as these are now hard to come by but are required for rebuilding work in conservation areas.

Spacious layout

Turning right in the corner of the square gives us the above view. I took it to show how spacious the layout is. The square was built between 1840 and 1860 to provide town houses for well-to-do families and such profligacy of space would not be tolerated today! On the right is the square’s central garden containing St Mark’s Church.

Old street name signs

Modern street name signs in London have a white background with the street name in black and the post code and borough council name in red. See here for an exmple. In older districts, one often sees earlier generations of signs. Here we have examples of both the white on dark blue metal plate and above it, earlier still, and no longer legible, traces of the painted sign in white on black.

Myddelton Square Garden

As usual, we didn’t go into the garden, feeling that it was a little too “peoply”. As you can see, it contains some fine old trees and through their foliage you can make out St Mark’s Church.

St Mark’s Church

Here is another view of the church though it is still partially hidden by the trees. Designed by William Chadwell Mylne, also responsible for laying out the rest of the square, it was built 1825-7.

River Street

Beyond the point where the previous photo was taken, the street name changes from Myddelton Square to River Street. Given this name, you might be disappointed not to see an actual river anywhere. This refers, of course, to the New River and, for all I know, it might have been visible in times past but these days it has been banished underground though it does indeed lie behind the houses on the right.

Destination in sight!

Where River Street meets Amwell Street we find our destination, Myddelton’s. You cannot see the datails because that area is in shadow but the deli is on the corner with Gents Barbershop and King’s Chemists next to it. You can just see the old-style guilt signage of the chemist’s glinting from reflected light.

We had always assumed that the owners of Myddelton’s lived locally so it was a surprise to learn that they in fact live in Blackheath, south of the Thames, and make the return journey every day. The white van is theirs and is being loaded with stuff to take back with them.

We waited respectfully at the door while two customers ahead of us were served, then Tigger collected our takeaway coffees and we returned home.

Our daily walks are not as exciting as our usual explorations, especially as we cover much the same ground each time but it is a case of changing focus and concentrating on the details of what is there. Perhaps we could say, with a little exaggeration, that we have changed our perspective from the macroscopic to the microscopic!