ARBaurial
The Plane Tree where Wood Street meets Cheapside in the City of London, UK
In Wood Street, where it meets Cheapside in England's City of London, is a beautiful plane tree growing in what was the churchyard of St Peter Cheap, a church that was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 along with 86 others. However, it was not one of the 51 rebuilt after the fire by Christopher Wren. Cheapside incidentally, is a medieval word for market, hence a number of the streets leading off it relate to produce that would have been bought and sold in the area; Bread Street, Milk Street and Poultry ... for instance. Oh yes - and Wood...
The square in which the tree stands is now available for the public to pass a few moments in quiet contemplation.
In 1799 the sight of this tree inspired Wordsworth to compose a poem called "The Reverie of Poor Susan", in which the natural world breaks through Cheapside in visionary splendour:
"At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears,
Hangs a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years…"
The verse in question is on a board in the churchyard and can be read from the pavement.
In the spring of 1850 rooks came to rest in its branches, re-establishing the ancient association between London and those dark birds. The London plane flourishes in the smoke and dust of London, and the tree at the corner of Wood Street has become an emblem of the city itself. It has now reached a height of approximately seventy feet, and is still thriving.
The tree was originally purchased for sixpence over 250 years ago, and is believed to be the oldest Plane tree in the City. It is protected by clauses that prevent the surrounding buildings being redeveloped.
Beneath it nestle the small shops which have been an aspect of this corner for almost six hundred years. In 1401 a shop known as the Long Shop was first built here against the churchyard wall, and others followed; after the Fire they were rebuilt in 1687. The site is only a few feet in depth, and each small shop still consists of a single storey above and a box-front below. The trades which have passed through them are various – silver-sellers, wig-makers, law stationers, pickle- and sauce-sellers, fruiterers – all of them reflecting the commercial life of the capital. When visited in April 2017 to photograph the tree, the shops were "Deli Box", "Metro Newsagents" and "Card Box".
The shop with the plaque (at the top right of the sepia tinted photograph from 1926) claiming to be the "Oldest Building in Cheapside" might have survived the Great Fire but has succumbed to Mammon having been replaced by a hideous glass structure. I would not waste my camera's battery power to take a picture of it. Of Friday Street there is no trace.
Friday is the only day of the week to be represented in London street names, it may have taken its name from fishmongers dwelling there who served the Friday market.
The tree conjures up images of its distant predecessors. Everything about this corner of Wood Street suggests continuity. Even its name is connected with the tree; wood was indeed once sold here, but the tree itself is protected and can never be cut down
The Plane Tree where Wood Street meets Cheapside in the City of London, UK
In Wood Street, where it meets Cheapside in England's City of London, is a beautiful plane tree growing in what was the churchyard of St Peter Cheap, a church that was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 along with 86 others. However, it was not one of the 51 rebuilt after the fire by Christopher Wren. Cheapside incidentally, is a medieval word for market, hence a number of the streets leading off it relate to produce that would have been bought and sold in the area; Bread Street, Milk Street and Poultry ... for instance. Oh yes - and Wood...
The square in which the tree stands is now available for the public to pass a few moments in quiet contemplation.
In 1799 the sight of this tree inspired Wordsworth to compose a poem called "The Reverie of Poor Susan", in which the natural world breaks through Cheapside in visionary splendour:
"At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears,
Hangs a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years…"
The verse in question is on a board in the churchyard and can be read from the pavement.
In the spring of 1850 rooks came to rest in its branches, re-establishing the ancient association between London and those dark birds. The London plane flourishes in the smoke and dust of London, and the tree at the corner of Wood Street has become an emblem of the city itself. It has now reached a height of approximately seventy feet, and is still thriving.
The tree was originally purchased for sixpence over 250 years ago, and is believed to be the oldest Plane tree in the City. It is protected by clauses that prevent the surrounding buildings being redeveloped.
Beneath it nestle the small shops which have been an aspect of this corner for almost six hundred years. In 1401 a shop known as the Long Shop was first built here against the churchyard wall, and others followed; after the Fire they were rebuilt in 1687. The site is only a few feet in depth, and each small shop still consists of a single storey above and a box-front below. The trades which have passed through them are various – silver-sellers, wig-makers, law stationers, pickle- and sauce-sellers, fruiterers – all of them reflecting the commercial life of the capital. When visited in April 2017 to photograph the tree, the shops were "Deli Box", "Metro Newsagents" and "Card Box".
The shop with the plaque (at the top right of the sepia tinted photograph from 1926) claiming to be the "Oldest Building in Cheapside" might have survived the Great Fire but has succumbed to Mammon having been replaced by a hideous glass structure. I would not waste my camera's battery power to take a picture of it. Of Friday Street there is no trace.
Friday is the only day of the week to be represented in London street names, it may have taken its name from fishmongers dwelling there who served the Friday market.
The tree conjures up images of its distant predecessors. Everything about this corner of Wood Street suggests continuity. Even its name is connected with the tree; wood was indeed once sold here, but the tree itself is protected and can never be cut down