London: Tea Time in Wonderland

Whatever I do, my steps always seem to bring me back to Southbank. From the London Eye to the Golden Hind. From Westminster Bridge to the Garden Museum. From temple to the Millenium Bridge. From London Bridge to Tower Bridge, pausing at the Scoop. A patchwork of mini-strolls, a different kind of puzzles, always finding a new details along the way.

I have my favourite stops, of course. I never tire of the Borough Market. The Tate on a Saturday evening, towards 20.00, when it is deserted by tourists and I have rooms all to myself. A chocolate ale. Gabriel’s wharf beach when the tide is low. The view on St Paul from the Millenium Bridge.

I always pause @ Cardinal Wharf, hidden between the Tate and the Globe Theater. A few precious houses, trying to eb as discreet as possible amidst the Thames buzz. #49 always has intrigued me – an old style bell, a grid hiding a more modern contact system…

…and this plaque adding to the mystey, the prestige… Christopher Wren, who built St Paul on which you have a great view from here, has lived here. Catherine of Arragon, Henry VIII’s first wife (do read Philippa Gregory’s fab novel on her life to learn more. I guarantee you’ll be hooked) is to have stayed here on her arrival from Spain.

But at Foyles, paging through The House by the Thames and the People who Lived There, I discover a different story. Gillian Tindall wves all this away. Christopher Wren lived a few houses away. The owner of #49 got the plaque from another building after the war when most houses were in ruins. Whole neighborhoods had been bombed and were now beiig destroyed to build new. In doubt, the authorities decided to leave these few ones intact thanks to the possible historical heritage…! What about Catherine? Ah, surely Spanish princessed do not stay in such basic lodging , especially when they’re about to become Queen of England.

And so Tindall digs through 300 years of history. Before this house was a pub, the Cardinal Hat, one of the most important along the Thames. These were not rich neighborhoods. They were know for their brothels, called stews at the time. The book then switches to the area through various eras, mentioning the construction of Westminster then Blackfriar bridge, their economical impact, the richness emerging from the new markets it allowed such as coal transport. You forget instantly the icecream vans, the souvenir shops, the herds of tourists and jump into a different world. A great travel in time: give it a try!

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