Today I was very determined about where to go for lunch: Pudding Lane. I was looking forward to see where the Great Fire began, in a bakehouse in 1666.

“Puddings” was a medieval word for entrails and organs (argh). The name is because of the puddings which would fall from the carts coming down the Lane from the butchers in Eastcheap as they headed for the waste barges on the Thames.

There are a few places to sit, and lots of people from the city were there, most of them reading a book in their lunchtime, some were eating something. After a few minutes in there, it started rainning (yes, this is London!) and people vanished. I was still there, finishing my croissant and taking pictures for the blog.

Where the Great Fire began.

Then I walked towards Eastcheap. In medieval times it was the City’s main meat market, with butchers’ stalls lining both sides of the street. I found a very original building at 33-35 Eastcheap.

33-35 Eastcheap is “One of the maddest displays in London of Victorian Gothic”, it was a vinegar warehouse in the past.

33-35 Eastcheap.

Keep walking, I reached the Gracechurch St and one of my favourite places in the city - Leadenhall Market. It dates back to the fourteenth century!

Leadnhall Market.

Back to Cornhill, there is a beautiful church, St Michael’s Church Cornhill. According to them they are “real Anglicans, they use the Authorised (King James) version of the Bible (1611) and the Book of Common Prayer (1662).” Cool.
The medieval structure was lost in the Great Fire of London. The Gothic-styled porch (1858-1860) facing Cornhill is a Victorian addition.

St Michael’s Church Cornhill.

Finally, I was once again close to the Royal Exchange, end of my lunchtime… Founded in 1565 to act as a centre of commerce for the city. The original building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It is now a luxurious shopping centre.

Royal Exchange.