Yes, the laundry has been piling up and the time has come when it cannot wait any longer. We usually do it ourselves, carting it to the launderette in Marchmont Street, but lockdown tempted us to pay for it to be done for us at a serviced launderette not far from home. As they made a very good job of it last time, we thought we would treat ourselves to the luxury of a service wash again today.

The Launderette

Should we take the bus or walk? In the end we decided to walk even though the shopping trolley, packed tight and bulging, was pretty heavy. Happily, the day, which started cool, brightened and became sunny and warm. Having deposited our laundry at the launderette and received a recipt in return, we set off on a ramble.

The Old Ingersoll Factory

To prove that factories don’t need to be ugly, we can cite the old Ingersoll Factory in St John Street. You probably know the history of the Ingersoll watch company (set up by the American Ingersoll brothers to market cheap but seviceable wrist watches) but if not there are plenty of sources of information online, including this Wikipedia article.

Corner building with turret

Lomdon’s haphazard growth leads to narrow streets often meeting at capricious angles. Architects have to make do and design buildings to fit these awkwardly shaped sites. The result is often poetically whimsical like this triangular building with a church-like turret. The symbol at the top suggests it was built as a commercial premises of some sort but for whom and when, I have no idea.

Building incorporating a lane

I stopped to photograph this building because I admired its compact but well-proportioned design. The general appearance seems to nod at Georgian style buildings but whether it dates from that period or not I cannot say. What surprised me was what I at first sight took to be an ordinary carriage entrance on the left. However, when we went across to take a look, we found something quite different.

The entrance

Perhaps this did once lead to a yard with stables but I suspect not. The entrance tunnel leads straight to the open air again in a pleasant little street called Hayward’s Place which, according to the name plate, dates from 1834.

View of Hayward’s \place

It was named after James Hayward (1701-1851) an ironmonger, who owned ten of the houses. Though you would not know to look at it, the street was virtually destroyed by bombing in WWII and was rebuilt in 1951.

Another plaque tells us that before the houses were ever built, this was the site of the Red Bull Theatre. This was an inn-yard threatre operating during the 17th century and known for rowdiness. Under the Commonwealth government, theatres were closed in 1642 but the Red Bull put on intermittent illegal performances. A popular myth has it that the Red Bull met its end in the Great Fire of London but although it did indeed burn down in 1665 or 1666, the exact causes of this demise are not known. More information will be found in this Wikipedia article.

Beautiful old forked tree

We passed through the old churchyard, now a garden, of St James’ Church but did not tarry there. I photographed this beautiful old tree with a forked trunk. I enjoyed the play of sunlight and shadow on the trunk and branches.

Modern Georgian-style houses

In Clearkenwell Close I noticed this pair of houses. The style is an imitation of the Georgian look favoured by 19th-century architects but these houses are clearly much more recent than that, modern, in fact. Note how one front door is flush with the façade and the other set back slightly. This alternation is also often seen in genuine Georgian-style houses.

The Horseshoe

Also in Clerkenwell Close is the Horseshoe pub. Looking at the buildings which it adjoins, you might think it had been added to the corner at some point but this perception would be mistaken. There are records of the existence of this pub from 1789 at the latest. The present building is obviously newer than that and looks Victorian or Edwardian to me.

Spa Green War Memorial

This walk was longer than most we have taken recently and I will admit that I was glad when we reached Spa Green and we could sit on a bench to rest! A notable feature of the park is the war memorial, which I have mentioned before. (More information here.) It is often quite difficult to photograph because the trees shade it from direct light but today the sunshine caught it well, giving the opportunity to photograph Thomas Rudge’s sculpture of Winged Victory.

Spa Green garden

It was very peaceful in the park and even the resident population of pigeons were mostly sitting quietly in the grass enjoying the sunshine.

Grape Vine

The time came to move on and we crossed the road into Arlington Way and thence into Myddelton Passage. (You can guess where we were going?) We had noticed on previous occasions that a grape vine from the garden to the Shakespeare’s Head was lolling over the wall. It is doing quite well and bears several well defined bunches of grapes though I doubt whether these will ever be edible. Nonetheless, there is something appropriate about a pub growing grape vines in its garden!

And yes, we were heading for Myddelton’s deli for our daily coffee. As it was coming up to lunchtime, there were several customers ahead of us but our turn came eventually, bringing our outing to a successful conclusion!