*“Craven Passage”- Westminster-London WC2 – London’s “Historic & Notorious Alleys & Passages”–Pt 3

Last week, my London Shoes trekked off to the Westminster district  of the ‘Smoke’ – for the specific purpose of blogging a particular location, to be added to the existing Shoes theme of “London’s-Historic Alleys & Passages” 

So – Part 3 of this theme, is all about the interesting “Craven Passage” – a small alleyway that leads off of ‘Craven Street’-Westminster-London WC2.

Just a couple of mins walk from Charing Cross tube station, lies the magnificent Craven Street, which was once home to such prominent historic characters such as Benjamin Franklin (1705/1790) – Herman Melville (1819/1891) author of Moby Dick – surgeon/scientist William Hewson (1739/1774) who is often referred to as the ‘father of hematology’.

Anyway – about half way down Craven Street there is a small alley named “Craven Passage” – a rare survivor of a pathway that dates back to when the area was first developed in 1730, when it used to be known as Craven Court.

As with Craven Street, Craven Passage is named after ‘William Earl Craven’ (1608/1697) an English nobleman and soldier. and a man that came from a poor background, but went on the become the Lord Mayor of London, and who became the 1st Earl of Craven (1608–1697) – a marvelous man who did a lot of work to improve the living conditions of impoverished Londoner’s.

During the Great Plague (1665-1666), unlike all his other nobility mates who legged it off to the countryside – William Craven chose to remain in London and do all he could to ‘make a difference’.

He personally financed and organised a street cleaning operation throughout the Westminster district and beyond – and organised the regular removal of household created ‘poop’ and waste.

William Craven also took it upon himself to instigate extensive surveys throughout London – surveys that evaluated and assessed the average ‘size’ of rooms within ‘pest houses’ – the term given to rooms/houses where poor families were put in quarantine. Craven then used the results of these surveys to put pressure on the Government of the day, to increase  the size of  ‘pest house’ rooms used for isolation and quarantine – in an attempt to improve public health and help London control and rid itself of the Great Plague.

William Craven then bought a big plot of land, that is now the globally famous Carnaby Street in Soho – and on this land he built a massive extension to an existing ‘isolation’ hospital recently set up there. At the end of the Great Plague, William Craven donated this extension to the local authorities – to use, in case a plague should ever brake-out again. (all of this sounds a little bit too familiar at present, don’t you think?).

So – what a top bloke William Earl Craven -1st Earl of Craven (1608–1697) was – London owes him a debt of gratitude – and its only right that he has a Street and a Passage named after him.

Just down the southern end of Craven Passage, you’ll find the historically interesting and very unique “Ship & Shovell” pub.

The ‘Ship & Shovell’ pub is unique due to the fact that the pub is actually 2 separate buildings, situated either side of Craven Passage.  Records show that the 2 ‘Ship & Shovell’ buildings were former terraced houses built in 1731/33 – and that they have been pub premises since 1852.

Its not exactly certain as to how the pub got its name – some say that it is as a result of the coal labourers who used to work at the nearby Coal Hole down in the Strand – but it is more likely that the ‘Ship & Shovell’ (2 L’s), is named after Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell (1650-1707) – who started his nautical life as a cabin boy, and worked his way up through the ranks to become an Admiral of the Fleet, and one of England’s most distinguished naval officers in British history – commanding fleets in many successful battles against the French and the Spanish – inc the Battle  of Toulon – the Capture of Gibraltar – the Battle of Bantry Bay (Ire).

However – in 1707, on his return to Britain from the Battle of Toulon – his ship HMS Association  and other accompanying ship of that fleet, perished disastrously when it hit rocks off the Scilly Isles, claiming the lives of 1,400 men – the greatest maritime disaster in British history.

There is a school of thought that believes that Admiral Shovell was washed up ashore on the Scilly Isle, still alive – only to be murdered by a local woman, who nicked a large diamond ring he was wearing (apparently the Scilly Isle was a lawless place back in those times). However – there is nothing of evidence to substantial these claims. (makes a good story though, doesn’t it!!)

Admiral Shovell was initially buried on the Scilly Isles – but later dug up and buried ceremoniously in Westminster Abbey.

Anyway – the ‘Ship & Shovell’ pub, now a Grade II Listed building, in Craven Passage – is adorned with naval type memorabilia and references to Rear Admiral Shovell – which all adds to the unique ambience of the boozer – and I quite happily knocked back a cheeky ‘gold watch’ and tucked into a bag of crisps – to round off my little visit to ‘Craven Passage’ – the latest addition to the existing Shoes theme of “London’s – Historic & Notorious Alley’s + Passages”.

Hope you enjoy the story and its accompanying photos

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See below the entire gallery of photographs taken to support this blog