London’s Little Italy & the Legends of Islington (4K)
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- Опубликовано: 5 янв 2021
- London’s Little Italy & the Legends of Islington - London Walking Tour in 4K
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A walk through London's Little Italy up to the fields of Islington, starting at Chancery Lane Station on High Holborn. We go into the curious anomaly of Ely Place, owned by the Bishops of Ely and once technically part of Cambridgeshire. We visit the Old Mitre Pub where Sir Christopher Hatton danced with Elizabeth I. The walking tour goes along Hatton Garden, the centre of Britain's diamond trade, and into Leather Lane Market. The walk through Little Italy takes us in search of Fagin's den in Saffron Hill, a place visited by Charles Dickens who drank in the One Tun pub. We walk along Hatton Wall into Portpool Lane where the Kings Ditch ran and through the Bourne Estate.
The heart of London's Little Italy lay in the streets falling away from Clerkenwell Road into the Fleet Valley - Back Hill, Eyre Street Hill, Herbal Hill. From here we go up Crawford Passage to Coldbath Square and Mount Pleasant. We stroll through Spa Fields - now Exmouth Market and Wilmington Square where Merlin was said to have a cave in the heart of the hill. The Merlin's Cave Tavern stood in Merlin House on the site of Charles Rowan House.
Next we walk through Lloyd Square to Percy Circus where Lenin stayed in 1905. Back on Amwell Street we recount E.O Gordon's powerful mythology of London at the head of the Pen Ton Mound, now the New River Head Upper Reservoir on Claremont Square. Passing down Penton Street our walk ends at White Conduit House, once a celebrated pleasure garden and the true home of cricket.
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Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt
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Gymnopedie No 2 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
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Pachabelly by Huma-Huma
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I lived in Crawford Passage from 1952 until 1960 with my other two sisters, Auria, Rosa and me. My dad was Italian, Pino Sterlini, my mother was from Newcastle. We lived at 108 Corporation buildings with our basement flat opening onto Crawford Passage. The flat was awful, but life was good, with much freedom for children. We would often sneak into the Mirror newspaper building and go down the various slides of all shapes.
I started work as a jewellery polisher in 1971. Oliver and Bennet's corner of Greville Street and Hatton Garden. Leather Lane was a proper market back then, today it's just a food extravaganza. Bleeding Heart Yard was once the site of Cropp and Farr Jewellers which made the most adorable animal charms. As I recall they were 18ct gold and very heavy and an absolute joy to polish (once I had enough skills). You had no time to mention Johnson and Mathey of Hatton Garden who were the premier refiners in precious metals and cast the very first platinum 1kg standard weight. A very big deal back in the day when Britain was seeking to establish excellence in manufacturing. I knew every inch of your walk and it was a joy to retrace my youthful footsteps. Thank you L/s.
I grew up there. Farringdon Road. My family owned The Golden Fish Restaurant. All my family were baptised and confirmed in St Peters. My dad played the organ there and my brother was an altar boy. A great area of London. Brilliant stories of the Blitz and life around The Meat market. Superb characters...sadly all gone now.
Also from Farringdon Rd, we used to go to that fish and chip shop get cod and chips and a wally every Friday Night in the 70's!
Their ancestors are here reading about it 😂👍
@@marctufano2162 Did you serve in the restaurant? I often used to go there. Very good haddock and chips!
ZL54JK8 Excellent fish & chips, never had a job there but would have worked there haddock they asked 😀
I used to work on Farringdon road and I couldn't count the number of times I had my lunch in there, or on a rare warm day had take-away to munch in Spa Fields. A while back I visited the area and was *hugely* disappointed to find it gone. As was Gazzano’s Italian deli, and so much more.
My husband's roots belong in Little Italy. The Viscardini family were wood carvers and guilders and they lived and worked in Gough Street. A census from the late 19th Century revealed many families living in the same building all with their own trades: candle makers, cab drivers, silversmiths, dancers etc.. A fascinating insight into London life.
Hi John, please keep making this high-quality content. I now live in Australia but I was born a Londoner 73 years ago, and as a young office equipment technician I walked the streets of London in the late sixties and early seventies. Many of the streets and lanes that you show in your videos (as well as those in Essex) were my workplace at the time, firstly on foot and then later in a grey Morris Minor van. I did not know or understand much of the histories of these places at the time, but I always thought that they were special and deserved my respect. I enjoy your presentations, well-done mate.
I was born in Clerkenwell and grew up in there in the 60s and 70s. Exmouth Market was my world; my it has changed! I think I cried when the pie and mash shop shut! I was baptised in SS Peter & Paul and went to school there. Being of Italian parentage, I went to the Itaian Church too. The Italian Procession was the highlight each July. Lovely to hear all those historical facts. Fab.
I went to school in SS Peter and Paul's and that was my church as well. The majority of the pupils were of Italian or Irish descent like myself. I think that's where my love of Italy has come from, love the Italian culture 😊
Finall the algorithm recommended something good. This was a pleasure to watch.
That is how I ended up here.
When I took my partner to a pie & mash shop for her birthday, she also was not impressed and said; "But I have all my teeth, but I can see why you like it..."
Yes, thats how i ended up watching it as well..I love an interesting walk! Thank you so much for filming yr passion.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Always enjoy your channel which revisits so many haunts of my childhood . So interesting.
I always think this kind of video has the greatest content
St Etheldreda’s Church at Ely Place has some very beautifully rendered statues of Christian martyrs inside. Also, some wonderful choral singing! Thank you for a fascinating walking tour!
As an Italian lady, who was born and brought up, in The UK, by Italian immigrant parents, iam finding your video, very interesting. Thank you! xxxx
Just discovered your channel. I was born in London but emigrated as a child to Australia and love your stories and history.
I loved this walk in particular because of the Italian connection. I was lucky to visit St Peters at Christmas a few years ago and got to see the memorial for the SS Arandora Star. My grandfather was one of the poor Italians to have drowned after the sinking. He left his widow and 5 children running the family deli in Soho. My family also ran a deli in early 1900’s in Clerkenwell. The corner of great Bath and Warner St’s I believe. Now to go and look at all your other vids. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Wow!! Every street road and many of the buildings conjured memories and flashbacks from my years on the knowledge and as a London cabbie, such great nostalgia. I've not driven a taxi since the scourge of Uber really took hold some 4 years ago but this video has encouraged me to renew my license which is due to expire in Feb. I love London and just cant give up on it just yet. This video has also inspired me to take up walking in London and I've planned a hike in this very area next week with a friend. Thank you John, thank you very very much.
A very thoughtful, well-researched travelogue driven by love and duty. Love for the semi-forgotten places of London which recede further into the mists of human memory as time progresses, and a self-imposed duty to record such events lest they vanish forever. Well done, sir!
Well said!
I enjoy your walks and your enthusiasm for London history, I once worked at Gamages department store 1969/70, I think I can remember that the goods lift was powered by water, the London hydraulic power company, almost silent running ! A very traditional store that sold almost everything, we even bought our pet budgie there, it also had a great toy department with a Santa for the children at Christmas, I was also a postman, circa 1972/75 at King Edward building, the EC delivery section, KIng Edward street, now Bank of America/ Merrill Lynch, around 1972 /75, the post office railway also ran beneath it, I was told that a few ghostly apparitions had been seen down there on occasions !
I have vague memories of Gamages as a small child...a sort of Harrods for real people ..it seemed to me huge and a bit posh 😆
I mention Gamages to in my post. My Dad used to take me and my brother there. It's one of my most vivid early memories (I was 4 or 5), having a turn on the enormous Scalextric in the toy dept. (top floor?) and the amazing model railway too. I envy you having worked there 👍☺️.
I have a photo with santa taken at gammeges .wow havent heard that name in yonks
When my great grandparents came to England from Italy, they had saved up some money to buy a business which they did in Saffron Hill .
They didn’t speak any english and bought a wet fish shop from another Italian, only to find latter that the building was condemned.
They never spoke English till the day they died. Can’t wait to be able to go to the procession again.
.
How did they manage in England with neither one speaking any English?
Same here, where did your people come from? Mine came from Emillia Romagna Parma area
Thank you for this wonderful wander through a really interesting part of London. I shared it with my dad, as his grandfather is one of the fallen soldiers of WW1 commemorated on the outside of St Peter's church (he was killed in Italy on the last day of the war). My dad also told me he used to work for the Prudential in offices in Ely Place back in the day ("very posh" apparently). He told me he loved going into the very old church in the square during his lunch break. Thank you for letting me connect with my dad in this way while we can't see each other in person. x
Wonderful - very much my territory through the 1960s - pure nostalgia for me - thank you.
John, that was the best thing I’ve seen on RUclips since the lockdown began. Brilliant story telling and so much information. You are a true inspiration John and I’m now re reading This other London. Thanks for the upload 😎👍
Clerkenwell green, Goswell road, Farringdon were huge areas for the print and graphic trades during the 80’s and 90’s feeding the city’s design agencies and newspaper advertising. The pubs and Italian cafes made their money from this industry and it was a great environment to operate in.
bet it was a great time too.. everyone had a job and music culture at the time was booming, was it not.. ?
@@SuperGrimupnorth I read recently that during the 80s there were around 50 bands a night that you could see across music venues in London. I bet it’s a fraction of that now.
@@davidmcguiness8862 wow.. that's really now a different era, hey!
I'm from up north but love that old/older 70's/80's London.. even been watching early episodes of Minder recently.. for some pure escapism & to just see red buses/phone boxes & old cortinas on the cities streets
I went to school in Amwell Street. I spent my childhood in and around these streets. Always loved the feel of this area of London. Chapel market was the only and best place to do your shopping. For me, no other area matches Little Italy, Finsbury and the streets around Chapel market. Loved watching this.
Me2
There's a lovely Italian deli in Amwell St I discovered a little while ago. The name on the outside is something german-sounding (Schnitzels? Spiegel's? ??) Anyway,they do nice coffee and great bacon sarnies
@@lindalong5052 I'live right near amwell st.i seen the deli but I didn't no they done coffee ect..it is a lovely st buildings not changed since Victorian times.the only thing is it can be ABIT expensive..I defo gonna try the deli nice tip.,😻🤟🧸
@@sharonm2626 I seem to remember it was just over a tenner for 2 teas and 2 really nice bacon ""butties ( hanging out there with a northern friend) made with thick white bread or thin sliced wholemeal which is not bad for the area. And the staff are really friendly, cook the bacon how you ask them to. no seating inside-too small but a couple of tables outside. My friend is disabled and if she goes there alone she calls them over to the car and they bring her order out to her. They couldn't be more helpful and they remember you next time you go and how you like your tea.
Watching your walks John is quite simply a joy.
Much appreciated and valued more than ever right now.
Many thanks White Stone - lovely to read the night before I go out to film the next walk
Hi John! Great job! Best Wishes from Italy (Rome)
Thanks Paolo - I have many wonderful memories of your beautiful city
Interesting video. I used to work on a stall at leather lane market, selling 3 brushed cotton shirts for a tenner, with my uncle Tony when I was 10 years old. I'm 50 now🤣🤣
In the Summer of 1976 I worked in a restaurant on the corner of Hatton Garden and Grenville St. I remember diamond trading taking place at the tables in the back of the restaurant. On the opposite corner was part of the site of Gamages, a department store built of red brick. Summer ‘76 was very hot, and Gamages was being demolished, every time we opened the doors the white counters would be covered in a fine rest dust, so the doors would be closed. Each day I would walk up to Leather Lane market to purchase fruit and veg for the restaurant. Great revisiting memories of that time.
Sad to hear about Manzi's in Chapel Market. About 10 years ago I had to go on a training course for work at the Angel. Every day, at lunch time, my colleagues would rush off to one of the sandwich shop chains , whilst I nipped round to Manzi's for my pie, mash and liquor. I always finished this off with some fruit from a stall in Chapel Market.
Of the 2 surviving Manzies in London, one is on Sutton High St.
I hope it survives lockdown.
Yep gone now sad I remember me my mum and daughter they went McDonald's I had a pie n mash
The last time I ate in Chapel Market was 2017. My friends tell me there is no such thing as English food there anymore.
Go to Cooke's in Hoxton St Market. Open all day
Wonderful video. My ancestors lived in Baldwin’s Gardens having travelled from Italy in the 19th century and we visited the area quite recently. Thank you for sharing (and braving the weather!)
2:28 I guess with the pandemic and lockdown, this is the best (only?) time to teach your child how to ride a bike in Central London!
as magnificient is this video! Great walk, John. I enjoyed it very much... though sad and heartbreaking, the empty streets and closed shops sort of added an extra layer of derelict ghostly feel to the area...Going to binge on previous videos now!
thanks Victoria - hope you enjoy the other videos
I used to work in Chapel market on Saturdays at a 'surplus' store (army gear) during the late 1970s. There was a toffee apple/apple fritter vendor in the street outside the store. A furrier was on one of the side roads (never liked it), and (my favourite) a cafe which sold lemon ice-cream from a whippy-like machine.
...and yes, I used to enjoy (double) pie & (double) mash at Manze's. In fact, my first experience of Manze's was in Hornsey. It was a bit of a walk down Hornsey Road to get there. There was another at Peckham and I would get a bus from Dulwich to visit that one. The last one I recall was Deptford High Street and I would always visit that one; on the other side of the road was a rival pie place, Goddard's. I only ever got sausage sandwiches from there.
I'd be interested to know if any still remain.
As a child, I attended Copenhagen School. I used to get beat up by a gang of kids who also attended, on far more than one occasion. I did catch each of the ringleaders on their own and offered some 7-year old retribution. The main character was the nephew of Charlie George.
I used to work in this area about 40 years ago, but never had the chance to explore properly. It was a lot less salubrious in those days. Pretty interesting.
Yes,it was very grimy and the air foul with traffic fumes when I worked around clerkenwell and Holborn in the 1970s and '80s
Greetings from snowed-in, locked down Scotland.
Lovely, and quite poignant. All very familiar from my years in Cromer Street, and from previous videos of yours - especially the Pentonville stuff at the end.
You did miss one famous landmark though - Barnsbury Dole Office, where I signed on for more years than I care to admit.
Happy days John.
Thanks for bringing my old neighbourhood back to life on a cold January day John. I grew up on the Bourne Estate - where many of the blocks are named after former Bishops of Ely (I live in Scrope, Laney, Radcliffe and Kirkby in my childhood days - all Bishops). Local rumour placed Fagin in a garret above a block on Leather Lane but probably more anecdote than truth. The Italian festival, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was - when I was child in the 60's - the biggest festival in Europe - with crowds of up to half a million thronging the streets as 'Jesus' (a young local man would play the role) dragged his cross through the streets, trailed by dozens of floats presenting Catholic tableau. When Jesus reached the junction just by Leather Lane and Portpool Lane white doves would be released from a cage held in place above the street by wires. Funnily enough this was also the spot where I watched young apprentices to the gold and silver crafts tarred and featherd as they sat tied to a chair - their finaI 'test' before becoming Masters. For a good peak at Leather Lane back then - toward the end of its post-war majesty (1972?) take a look at the Paul Newman film 'Mackintosh Man' - Newman filmed on Leather Lane (though the phone box he uses was a 'prop': www.gettyimages.de/detail/nachrichtenfoto/american-actor-paul-newman-during-the-filming-of-the-nachrichtenfoto/463258261). I lived in New River Head when it's redevelopment was completed - home to an incredible carved dining room, transported to NRH from its original building and attributed to the great wood-carver, Grinling Gibbons (maybe possible to view by appointment - truly a hidden masterpiece). Would be wrong to a fine family for the pie and mash on Exmouth to be attributed to the Manzi's when it was in fact run by the Clarks (I know - I ate there from when I was five up until its closure a few years back). And you didn't mention (though you perhaps alluded to) Sadler's Wells - another of the areas' 'springs/spas' but what I really wanted to know was - what's behind the wooden gates of Ely Place!? Please tell me - I've always wanted to know!
I used to live in London for 8 years, in the area of E1 right at Spitalfields. I absolutely love the city, but that E1, EC1 area is my favourite!! I wish I could have walked with you those streets.
Truly brilliant John, like a University classroom. A very nice break from the anarchy in my country at the moment.
The one and only time I visited Hatton Garden was to buy my engagement ring. Alas- rather I should say fortunately- the romance dissolved before revisiting Hatton Garden for the wedding ring. John, you outdid yourself on this post. It was just fabulous. My grandfather used to take my sister and I to Leather Lane market. It was a wonderland for us. I can't thank you enough for evoking the memories.
I worked in Hatton Garden as an apprentice and of a lunch time used to go into The Surprise pub on Bowling Green Lane, just off of Back Hill, Leather Lane was also a lunchtime haunt if funds were a bit low, there was a tobacconist called Masons and they would mix your own blend of pipe tobacco and sold cigarettes from around the world, there was some outstanding pubs and cafe's around in the mid seventies. Hatton Place had a pub at the arch end called The Hat and Tun. Fantastic video and a happy and healthy new year John
I grew up in this area of Islington and Holborn plus work8ntbin the City too from 1950 -1974. Thank you.
Hi John I just found your channel; binge watching and taking notes here in your wife's home country Australia. I am in Cairns Queensland at home in the air conditioning watching the rain drizzled atmosphere of the London Streets feeling the air of old England. Once we are 'free' to travel I'll come back to England and do the very walks you are showing us. It'll be good to see if I can get hold of any of the books you mention especially the London Compendium. Absolutely love your videos; so thanks so much.
Hello John and thank you for this video. As a child I lived on the Farringdon Road during the 50s and 60s and every July we would gather on the pavements to watch the Fiesta make it's way to the church in Little Italy. The crowd would sing Ave Maria which we didn't understand so we named the procession 'The Half Way'.
Oh that's brilliant, what a memory.
I love the city of London!
I've just come across your videos by accident. Very interesting walks, and what amazing knowledge you have of the city of London. I was born in Islington and know all these areas well. I work in the city and visit clients all around the chambers and law firms in the area. Absolutely fascinating watching your videos of these areas. I'll be looking out for the landmarks and buildings you mentioned from now on. Thanks for putting these out.
I'm a jeweller in the area and so happy you made this video John. I live sound and when I can try to walk to waterloo instead of getting the bus. It such a magical part of the city. Happy new year!
Wonderful to hear from you Elario - thanks very much
Amazed at how many of the wayfinders I see in your videos. As your walking around London !! I installed the majority of these a few yes ago . And now see them on the tv now and even films . Thanks for another great video John 👍🏻
that's brilliant Ian - must be very satisfying
@@JohnRogersWalks it is John as they are probably the most helpful thing I have ever installed. That and bus shelters
Maybe I'm being thick here but what do you mean by wayfinders and that you installed them? It's not something I have heard of before? Does it mean street name signs?
@@thewalkingman777 yes they are the blue glass signs with the yellow tops on them. They help visitors and tourists navigate around the area. If you look at 9.50 you can see one behind John
@@ianmaddams9577 aaahhh, those. Well I never knew that they were called that. The "you are here" maps are handy on those. Thanks for clarifying 👍
Manzes pie and mash shop in Chapel Market was a regular place to eat for me as a kid, as was De Marcos ice cream parlour. There was another ice cream parlour on the opposite corner, but I can't remember the name. A lot of stuff made sense to me with the Italian connection, I recently had a DNA test and I am 3% Italian. My grandfather worked in the Holborn/Hatton Garden area and my father worked for a plumbing company in Clerkenwell. My grandparents lived in a street parallel to Chapel Market, the local pub was The Cloudesley. Thank you so much for this.
I used to live in digs in Great Percy Street in the late 80s. Had my first pint in London in the Belvedere. Filthy McNastys was called the Amwell Arms in those days. New Merlin's Cave was still standing, in Margery Street, albeit closed down by then. It had been a punk venue in its later years as you said, but years before, it had been a jazz club. I remember George Melly saying he played his first gig there.
Joey Grimaldi is buried nearby in Pentonville Road.
I always assumed the Percy references were due to the land belonging to the Duke of Northumberland's estate. Their family name being Percy.
Thanks for teaching me new things about old haunts.
Worked in the area for 40 years. So many stories associated with it. Really enjoyed the video.
watching from Ireland , john , i love this
I was brought up there. My mum is 97 still lives there. Great video...
Great history lesson, London is beautiful, Islington especially I grew not far from there.
I did a music production course here in Hatton Garden and I recorded 7 albums with the music producer of Soul 2 Soul Jason Yarde down at Berry Street Studios which just out of Clerkenwell Road.
Fascinating to see more of the area that some of my ancestors would have known.
One of my cousins believes that my great great grandfather would have done business at the Mitre, since it catered to the employees of wealthy people. He lived not too far away near Goswell Road, and although he was undoubtedly well familiar with the pubs in the area, the Mitre would have been the most likely to make business contacts as a piano finisher, coach dresser, and engraver. I'm still trying to understand what relationship--if any--there might have been between the fine leather industry, brewing and artisans, occupations which seem to have a lot of social connections, judging by who married who.
Apparently, my great grandfather decided to get away from all the alcohol and toxic fumes, and went to work at the Clerkenwell Post Office.
Romance never dies,when John is on the case.Cheers.
I really enjoyed this video John, thank you. My favourite part was something very personal to me, Mount pleasant sorting office, it's where my Father & Uncle both worked for 42 years. I was born in Islington, and can trace my family back in the area to the early 1700's.
Dad was a proud Londoner and used to walk all over London. Leather lane was the nearest market to his office and he used to bring home many weird and wonderful things, amongst them corn on the cob holders which we found very exotic. Hatton garden was where he took Mum to buy an eternity ring, which I now have. Thank you for so many memories and such a fascinating peeling back of London's history and folklore. I know Dad would have been hooked on your vlogs probably adding a tale or two of his own! Happy New Year
Thanks Christine - Happy New Year
Worked in this area for many years. Loved the area and the history behind it.
I just happened to stumble upon your channel and I’m so glad I did. Sir, you are an incredible storyteller. I love your voice, so peaceful and intriguing. Stay Blessed 🙏🏾
thanks so much MsCoco Brown
Fascinating. I was a tax collector who covered that whole area but didn't notice half of what your great film covered. Funny how we can spend half our lives oblivious.
Saint Peter's church weirdly, unofficially acts as a second parish church to the children of St. Vincent DePaul primary school all the way in Victoria. The first being Westminster Cathedral. Also Herbal & Back Hill for a long time were the locations for the London Institute foundation blocks for LCP and CSM. You didn't mention the magic shop at the top of Leather lane hahaha!
when I lived in London, some one asked me if i knew where to buy a magic wand,
having passed that little shop for years, I went in for the first time.
the guy behind the counter said "we have two kinds of wands" and I said "whats the difference?"
" £35 or £12 pounds" he replied,
"the twelve pound one please"
"ah! you only want to do cheap tricks!",
it was Jerry Sadowitz
remember him?
@@teejays1038 I often remind my friends about how great Jerry Sadowitz was. Brilliant story!
So excited to have found this channel! Walking around London is my favourite thing to do and I’ve been doing a lot of it in lockdown! Love knowing the history of spots like this
My husband knows London well we both love this area, his family had stalls in Chapel st but there is always something new to learn - so much history. Such a luxury to watch this in the warm with a glass of wine. Thanks so much John for filming this.....
How wonderful, I lived in these parts of London for many years. Thank you john 🙏
Absolutely love Islington. Worked there for two years. You showed me places i didn't know existed.
Thanks for keeping us entertained during lockdown. Stay safe, regards Pete
Thanks Pete
I’m glad I stumbled across this episode. It’s quite a wonderful thing to get such great footage and history from my ancestral stomping ground. My father was from London before he came to the states. I’ve always wanted to go back. I miss the history and so this is a great substitute. Keep up the great walks!
Lovely to meet you on my run today John, I think I may have mentioned The Flitch Way in your comments even though I said otherwise. (i was a bit surprised to see you, not too mention a little "star struck" and put of breath from the running! Lol) Hope you enjoyed the rest of your walk, very much looking forward to seeing the video! Keep safe and thank you for keeping us entertained, especially in these current times. ☺
Fast becoming one of our favourite RUclips Channels
A great, informative walk, thank you. It is great to discover odd facts linked to the area. Clerkenwell has certainly retained a lot of its historical charm.
The red Prudential assurance building had one of the first London underground lines. The passengers were laid down into coffin-like compartments and transported to Kings Cross. Apparently, it was a dreadful experience and the service did not last long. Nowadays it's full of cables.
Many thanks for sharing your positivity and my stroll down Memory Lane . Perfect Sunday evening.
What a great video of London history
Keep up the good work 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
thanks John
What an interesting part of London - thanks for letting us walk with you. Love the old red brick , dressed with stone . This area is close to my Mother's London roots - Barnsbury. There remains J. Ayton , undertakers , on the Caledonion Rd I think. Before she became one of the Diaspora and headed for the green fields of Kent
Fantastic video, just bought your book, now I need to get some walking boots and away I go. Totally inspiring. Walking with the ghosts of old London Town.
I loved this vlog, thank you so much John. A few years back me and the wife did a guided ghost tour around limehouse and the guide was excellent, lots of stories of the history of the area and boundless enthusiasm for his subject. This vlog reminded me of that, as it was so full of stories, imagery and as ever your infectious enthusiasm, it was a real joy to watch. Stay safe and keep walking/vlogging 😀
You are such a find. I was born in Islington 72 years ago and now I’ve in California but it warms my heart to walk with you around our magnificent city
Thank you.
You can switch your phone to airplane mode when you’re recording so it won’t be interrupted. Thank you so much for all your videos!! Such a pleasure to watch.
Thanks for this I grew up in Farringdon Road, the streets you walked were my roaming grounds as a kid. I now live in OZ but this makes me nostalgic for London, not that I could ever afford to live there again! Pretty sure the gentrification would have priced out people like me, a far cry from how it was in the 70's
I feel the same. The nostalgia is killing me. i am trying to move back and I really wish I hadn't been so stupid as to move away. Gentrification has certainly washed us away from the streets that were ours. People keep telling me how London is not the same, but there are places for us that are special that even the gentrifiers cannot rob us of.
@@arandorapress7561 i'm happy where I am in the rainforests of northern nsw , also a pretty amazing place to raise a family for different reasons!
@@arandorapress7561 so so true
@@jeddazenovka id go back in a heartbeat .had a wonderfull childhood from cromer st to amwell st and we cycled holborn and the city at weekends traffic free
Britt and Italians are so similar, just look at our history. Both Great Empires and Italy via Rome founded London. The St.Georges Cross which hangs over our buildings is Italian too, from Genoa. St.George was a Roman Soldier and Britain asked the Italians Government centuries ago if we could rent their flag to put on our ships to scare off the pirates, that rent stopped being payed a hundred years ago.
Hence why I say, Britain and Italy are clossed then one can imagen. Both Great nations.
Thanks for the info...
Genoa is still waiting to get payed..
@@manuelemariani8188 yeh, crazy mate. And it's yhe 2nd time England got away without paying their debt to Utaly, but growing up in school here, I was never taught this, just about the 2nd ww and I was always mocked sadly, because i am half Italian, very 😔 sad.
Just found you John, and I couldn’t be more delighted. I was in London exactly a year ago and whenever I come there, I always don my walking shoes and walk at least 10 km a day and sometimes more.... all over the city. Can’t hardly wait to come back! Thank you for your wonderful videos. I’m excited to be able to catch up on all of the 200 of them! 🙏
I never want your videos to end, they’re so enjoyable. So I just put them on a loop. Your way is nice and casual and nicely easy to watch. Thank you for many hours of your sharing and enthusiasm and personal touch and knowledge. All of it is enjoyable and we need more people like you. Also, I greatly appreciate your not focusing on the gory and/or
dark!!! I’m of your generation, who do not crave ugly stories like torture stories or Jack the Ripper--like it seems the younger generation does. Thank you for that. -Linda from Montana
many thanks Linda
My first time watching one of your videos! Safe to say I’ll be back for more! Amazing insight into the wonderful streets of London - as an avid London walker myself this is the content I need in my life right now! Thanks John
Happy new year John and thanks for the wonderful walk around what was my manor from mid ‘70s to mid ‘80s. From a squat in Percy circus to a housing association in Duncan Terrace after setting up the Angel Housing co-op. A great enjoyable nostalgic walk for me. I wonder has the ‘London’s Occult Bookshop’ survived on the Pentenville rd. would of been facing what you referred to as ‘Merlin’s Spring’ what we knew as a covered reservoir and yes the great Italian cafes. Camden Passage second hand book market, Rising Free Bookshop on Upper st, Chapel Market, The East West Center end of City Rd. . .
If this man has or will have any grandchildren, they are in for a real treat. Grandad is gonna have some amazing stories.
Indeed
I was in clerkenwell and Little Italy 🇮🇹 yesterday it is so very interesting and informative
Loved this! I live on Bartolomew Close so it was great to learn more about this area. I try and explore the City daily, so this new info will certainly add to my adventures.
Deeply grateful John for sharing these great historic second to none London so selflessly. It’s so fascinating to go on a wonderful and magnificent journey with you John and you describe the great London epic places with so much passion and historical knowledge we gain at the end. It will make me even walk and see these fascinating 🤨 London places with more pleasures.
thanks very much Amal
@@JohnRogersWalks ❤️
The soul of London. Will never get tired of walking those streets, I hope till an old age.
My husband really is enjoying watching you many memories are coming back to him
Great video friend.
My late mother was a 'Londoner' so I've always loved the history..
And also, thanks for keeping me engaged during Lockdown 3.0. Your walks make life outside seem still normal. Very good for mental health.
Amazing to see Finsbury Town hall, where I was married back in 1981. I was, at the time, living just off Essex Road in Islington and teaching at Islington Green School. I've not been back since then as, shortly after my wedding, we moved first to Devon and then to Blackheath on the other side of the river. I've not lived in London since 1991, (now in Somerset),. so I do love your walks.
I once met the Starsky and Hutch actor David Soul in Filthy McNasty's. I had gone there with a bunch of friends to watch the FA cup final and he joined us for quite the sesh, at the end of which he re-enacted the scene from the opening credits of the TV show by leaping on to the bonnet of his own car. Pub was rough though. We never went back.
Great story John - thanks for that
Thanks, pretty epic walk.
Another great walk, you match my enthusiasm for things, both old and new but you tell your stories with far more elegance plus I don’t have an audience, mores the pity. But yes fantastic tales which make me want to visit London again even more. Thanks x fee 💜
Clekenwell, Spa fields & exmouth market such great childhood memories. Left there when I was 21, need to go back
Very insightful and truly inspiring I’m a Londoner that now lives in Kent.All my parents and grandparents were all born in the city of London.
I stumbled across your mystery tour so I want to thank you for this.
Dancing around the cherry 🍒 tree,I really like the sound of that.
My friend use to work at Hatton gardens.
I miss London in these Covid19 times.
What a beautiful discovery this channel has been. Thank you very much for your work and for sharing your knowledge with all of us.
Surprised with your interest in folk lore,John that you never crossed St.John's St.to visit the site of my old school Dame Alice Owens.Founded back in the 1600's when said lady sat to milk a cow and was narrowly missed by a stray arrow from an archer.Iused to walk up through Percy Circus,Amwell St.etc from the Cross where we lived at the time.When rumour had it that it might have to become a comprehensive with Hugh Middleton,it quickly absconded to Potters Bar where I believe it thrives today.Keep up the good work John,as a born and bred Londoner now living in Ireland these last 16 years,your vlogs bring back fond memories of roaming the streets in my youth.
Wonderful walk with no traffic so we can see the geography. Subscribed. Marvellous storytelling. 😀
Thanks Andrew
My great grandparents grew up in Little Venice, when it was a really rough and poor area. My mum told me that they had to lie to their parents, and couldn't tell them where they lived because of how ashamed they would be that their child was living in such a run-down area. Now the areas one of the best to be in London, as is often the case.
What a great start to the New Year and thanks for the memories. My first job at 15 was in Holborn so seeing leather lane , and it’s surrounding areas gave me goosebumps. The bleeding heart story was the jewel in the Hatton garden crown of this magnificent film. 😊👍
Great episode 👌🏻 Love your content
Fascinating video, made me miss London very much but in a good way. Was anticipating Backhill and the underground river that you can hear through a grating. And although I knew there were Welsh dairies in London I'd never until now understood why that was!
There was an interesting drama serial in BBC radio4 about a Welsh family that set up a dairy in Whitechapel London. It's still available on BBC Sounds. Look for Gregory Evans-Blood and Milk
John you are such a treasure! Such great storytelling. Enthusiasm and positivity all wrapped up in delightful video. You have saved many of us from despondency with this new art form, much needed in a time of constraint. It makes me see my own small city in Canada with different eyes.