* the history of “Lovat Lane” EC3

Last week my London Shoes ventured off to the City’s Square Mile – for the specific purpose of tracking down and exploring “Lovat Lane” – London EC3 – and what an interesting place it was too.

Lovat Lane is an old narrow and winding cobbled lane that joins Eastcheap with Lower Thames Street – it is one of the very few remaining examples of what London’s streets, lane’s and alleys once looked like.

It used to be called ‘Lovers Lane’ as its dark secluded nooks & crannies were ideal locations for ‘ladies of the night’ to operate – but its name was changed to Lovat Lane in 1939.

Lovat Lane is named after the 3^rd Lord Lovat – who’s fisheries traded with what was then Billingsgate Fish Market – which was located at the Lower Thames Street end of the Lane.

In the 14^th Century, Lovat Lane was one of the more desirable of London’s streets – and was home to some of London’s wealthiest and most famous residents.

Then, throughout the following couple of centuries, Lovat Lane was a popular street market location.

It got badly damaged in the Great Fire of London of 1666 – and a lot of rebuilding work had to be done to make the street habitable again.

Lovat Lane is home to the lovely “St. Mary at Hill” Church – that is located halfway down the Lane’s slope.

There has been a church on the ‘slope’ since 1177 – and it’s always had a close connection to the nearby Billingsgate Fish Market that was once situated at the Lower Thames Street end of Lovat Lane.

The current St. Mary at Hill church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren following the devastation of the Great Fire of London – and there is an unusual old street sign at the Eastcheap end of Lovat Lane that simply says, “To St. Mary at Hill – a famous Wren church”.

Another unique aspect of Lovat Lane is the old cobbled street – where it can be clearly seen that, at one time, the gutter used to run down the middle of the lane – not alongside its pavements.

At the Lower Thames Street end of Lovat Lane is a commemorative stone embedded into one of the buildings – that makes mention of an old weather vane stuck at the top of the building – on which there sits a Bawley Fishing Boat – that used to catch and trade ‘whitebait’ at the nearby Billingsgate Fish Market.

Like a lot of London’s ‘Square Mile’, Lovat Lane took a massive hit from German bombers during WW2 – causing a lot of the Lane’s buildings to be rebuilt. But, because most of the buildings in Lovat Lane are protected by a Grade II Listed status – the re-constructed buildings had to be replicated to their original designs and specifications – aesthetically retaining the Lane’s vibe and feel.

Next door to the St. Mary at Hill church is the famous Salotto Italian Restaurant – with its distinctive Venetian flags fluttering away in the breeze.

Interestingly – 2 of London’s most iconic skyline structures can be viewed from either end of Lovat Lane.

At its northern end, the 38 storey ‘Walkie Talkie’ towers above and looks down on Lovat Lane – and at its southern end the ‘Shard’ and its 95 storeys dominate the skyline.

Down at the Lower Thames Street end of Lovat Lane on its corner with Monument Street sits the “Walrus and the Carpenter” pub.

The pub was formerly the “Cock Tavern” and it used to serve Billingsgate Fish Market, which was right on its doorstep – and it used to be open at 5am each morning.

The Cock Tavern was bought out by Fullers in 1982 and its name changed to what it is now.

The Walrus and the Carpenter is named after a famous Lewis Carroll poem – he of the ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’ fame.

Throughout the pub memorabilia and pictures relating to Lewis Carroll and his works – particularly the characters from ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’.

There are also references to the 3^rd Lord Lovat who Lovat Lane is named after – plus images of the old Billingsgate Fish Market that was once situated outside the front door of the pub.

Now – the strange thing about this particular blog, is that it took me 2 days ‘on-the-road’ to complete – because the 1^st day I was there, I forgot to take photos that were crucial to the Lane’s story – and so I had to return the next day to get the photos I had missed.

On my 1^st visit to Lovat Lane, it was a bright sunny day – when I returned the following day it was overcast and bloody freezing – so there are mix of light and dark photos accompanying this piece.

So – having wandered up and down historic Lovat Lane, exploring all its intricacies – it was only fitting to have a little ‘cheeky’ liquid refreshment and a packet of pork scratchings, in the, most definitely different “Walrus and the Carpenter” pub, mentioned above – certainly loads of interesting and unusual stuff to have a butchers at inside this rub-a-dub – but at £7 a pint, it’s a bit too pricey for a poor old pensioner like me.

Anyway – hope you enjoyed this piece and its accompanying photos.

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See below the full gallery of photos taken to accompany this Lovat Lane blog