Bank of England from NW in 1891

“London in 1891”

It is not hard to recognise the location shown in this picture. The artist was working on the view while standing or sitting at the western end of Gresham Street. On the far left is the curved building at the junction of Moorgate with Lothbury. The street with the tall church tower in it is Lothbury and the Wren church is called St Margaret, Lothbury.

The large building with the Corinthian columns is the Bank of England and the Corinthian columns surround what is known as Tivoli Corner. On the far right is Princes Street which runs beside the SW wall of the Bank of England.

It is a busy time of day – probably lunchtime – with many people to be seen in the view. Many of them are men in top hats or bowlers. Being so close to the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange, it is likely that most of them work in one of the two establishments.

Now for a few additional features. On the left is a man delivering timber, stacked precariously on the back of his large cart. It looks as though it might slip off at any minute. Standing in the road is a man with a shovel – about to shovel ‘you know what’. Remember, this was the age of the horse and cart! Above him, in the distance, is what appears to be a large box in the shape of a telephone box or, more likely, a Police box.

To the right of that is a large pillar with two elegant street lamps mounted about half-way up. It looks as if it was erected to commemorate some event but it was probably just a plain stone pillar, on an island, to act as a roundabout.

Towards the right is a small group or by-standers waiting to purchase whatever is being sold from the cart. It looks like fruit but the detail is not good enough to be certain. In the distance, above the men standing on the pavement, can be seen two early buses, one travelling south and the other travelling north along Princes Street.

More pictures of – London in 1891

-ENDS-