Timpson

Guildhall

Barbican · 0.1 miles

A historic municipal building stands off Gresham and Basinghall streets, straddling the City of London wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. Operated by the City of London Corporation, the structure dates from 1411 and is listed at Grade I by Historic England. The site has hosted civic functions for several centuries and continues as the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City, distinct from the modern City Hall in Canning Town. Archaeological evidence shows that a Roman amphitheatre once occupied the ground, with partial remains displayed in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery and the arena’s outline marked on the courtyard paving. Visitors can view the medieval Great Hall, the principal room that survived the Great Fire of 1666 and later restorations, as well as the statues of the legendary giants Gog and Magog, whose current wooden forms were installed in 1953. The complex also includes the Guildhall Art Gallery, added in the 1990s, and the Guildhall Library, a public reference facility holding specialist collections dating from the 11th century. Modern extensions – the North Wing (1955-58) and the West Wing (1970-75, Grade II listed) – flank the historic core and house the Corporation’s offices. The building is accessible to the public during the annual London Open House weekend, and the courtyard provides a clear view of the Roman amphitheatre’s layout. The nearest landmark is the Barbican area, and the heritage status is confirmed by Historic England.

Guildhall

Barbican · 0.1 miles

Located off Gresham and Basinghall streets in the City of London, the Guildhall occupies a site that has hosted civic activity since at least the early 12th century, with documentary references dating to 1127-28. The present structure, whose construction began in 1411 and was completed in 1440, incorporates a medieval great hall and sits above the remains of the London Roman Amphitheatre, the largest known in Roman Britain. Partial remains of the amphitheatre are displayed in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery, while the courtyard’s paving marks the arena’s outline with a black circle. The building has survived the Great Fire of 1666, a wartime fire-raid in 1940, and subsequent restorations, and it remains a Grade I-listed landmark. Today the Guildhall serves as the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London Corporation, which operates the site. Modern extensions house the corporation’s offices, while the historic core is used for official functions and is opened to the public during the annual London Open House weekend. Visitors can view the great hall, the wooden statues of the legendary giants Gog and Magog (re-carved in 1953), and the Guildhall Art Gallery, added in the 1990s. The adjacent Guildhall Library offers specialist reference material on London from the 11th century onward. Access is via the Barbican area, and the landmark is identified on maps as a City of London Corporation-operated attraction.

Bank of England

Tower of London · 0.1 miles

The Bank of England stands on Threadneedle Street in the City of London, opposite the historic Tower of London and at the junction known as Bank Junction. Often referred to as “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street” after an 1797 cartoon, the building is listed as a heritage landmark and is operated by the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. Founded in 1694 to serve as the English Government’s banker and debt manager, the institution has remained at the same site since the early 18th century. It functions as the United Kingdom’s central bank, overseeing monetary stability through the Bank Rate and quantitative easing, and supervising payment systems such as CHAPS. The bank also safeguards the nation’s official gold reserves and manages foreign-exchange holdings. Although it no longer provides consumer banking, it maintains a limited public service for exchanging superseded banknotes. Visitors can view the façade from the surrounding streets and observe the distinctive architecture that houses the world’s second-oldest central bank. The location is readily reachable on foot via Bank Junction, with the Tower of London a short walk away. No admission charge or dedicated visitor facilities are mentioned, and access is limited to external observation and the occasional public-facing service.

Finsbury Square

Cheapside · 0.1 miles

A public green of about 0.7 hectare lies on the east side of City Road, opposite Bunhill Fields, and is managed by Islington Council. The square incorporates a six-rink grass bowling green and an underground NCP car park, with two former petrol-station sites now used for surface parking. It is served by bus routes 21, 43, 141 and 214 and sits roughly 200 m north of Moorgate station, 300 m north-west of Liverpool Street station and 400 m south of Old Street station, making it easily reachable on foot or by public transport. An occasional farmers’ market is held on the site, and entry to the green is free. Originally laid out in 1777 as a planned quadrangle of terraced town houses surrounding a central garden, the area was previously part of the open Finsbury Fields in the parish of St Luke’s. From the late-19th century the residential buildings were replaced by larger commercial premises. Throughout its history the square has hosted a range of occupants, including the Temple of the Muses, James Lackington’s bookshop and the early home of the rabbinical seminary that later became the London School of Jewish Studies (1855–81). In the early 20th century the City of London Yeomanry were based at 39 Finsbury Square, a site now occupied by City Gate House. Today the western side contains a 150 000 sq ft office block used by the London Metal Exchange, while the north side is dominated by Triton Court and Royal London House, the latter now operating as The Montcalm Hotel. The east side houses the University of Liverpool’s London campus and Grant Thornton’s offices. The square continues to function as an open space within a dense commercial district, offering both recreational facilities and easy access to surrounding transport links.

London Mithraeum

Tower of London · 0.6 miles

The London Mithraeum is a Roman temple dedicated to the mystery god Mithras, originally constructed in the mid-3rd century on the east bank of the now-covered River Walbrook in the City of London. After a later rededication in the early 4th century, the building was uncovered during the 1954 construction of Bucklersbury House. Rather than demolish the ruin, the structure was dismantled and, in 1962, re-erected about 100 metres away at Temple Court, Queen Victoria Street, where its foundations now form an open-air display. Operated by Bloomberg Space, the site sits close to the historic London Stone, the Bank of England and the London Wall, with the Tower of London a short walk away. Visitors can view the reconstructed stone foundations and, although the original artefacts are housed in the Museum of London, the excavation revealed a range of marble statues—including figures of Minerva, Mercury, Mithras and Serapis—as well as locally made clay figurines of Venus. Further work between 2010 and 2013 uncovered more than 14 000 items, notably a collection of over 400 wooden tablets (the Bloomberg tablets) that preserve some of the earliest written records from Roman London, such as a financial document dated AD 57. The water-logged soil also retained organic material like leather shoes. Admission to the Mithraeum is free and the site offers step-free access. Opening hours are listed on the Bloomberg Space website, and the location is easily reached on foot from the Tower of London and surrounding public-transport links. No on-site facilities beyond the displayed ruins are mentioned.

Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice

West Smithfield · 0.6 miles

A collection of ceramic tablets in Postman’s Park commemorates ordinary individuals who died while saving others, ensuring their deeds are not forgotten. The monument stands in the City of London, close to West Smithfield, and forms part of the park’s historic setting. Visitors can view the wall of tiles arranged in three visible rows, with the original 24 De Morgan tablets occupying the central row, a second row of later additions above, and a fourth row added in 1908 below. The design includes a 50-foot wooden loggia that shelters the wall, and the tiles record fifty-four incidents ranging from a police officer’s bravery to a schoolboy’s sacrifice. Although the original plan allowed for 120 tablets, work ceased in 1931 with 53 in place; a further tablet was added in 2009, marking the first new addition in 78 years. The memorial’s development began with a proposal by painter-sculptor George Frederic Watts in 1887, later revived by St Botolph’s vicar Henry Gamble in 1898. After Watts’s death, his widow Mary Watts oversaw the project until work stopped in the early 1930s. Subsequent tiles were produced by William De Morgan, Royal Doulton and, more recently, in the Royal Doulton style. Access to the site is via the public pathways of Postman’s Park; wheelchair access is limited, and no admission fee or visitor facilities are recorded. The monument remains open to the public as part of the park’s landscape.