We Nearly Bought A House On A Film Set
Yesterday, I went to see It Always Rains On Sunday and thought the church featured was very familiar. A bit of research said it was in Hartland Road just north of Camden Town. So I went and had a look this morning.
Looking at old pictures, the spire was larger than in the film. But now it seems to have been completely demolished. It apparently was damaged in the Second World War.
In about 1970, we trried to buy a house in Hartland Road. It was possibly number 7 or 9 and would have cost the grand sum of £8,000. Today it must be worth at least £800,000. It could possibly have been the one used in the film.
In the end we moved to the Barbican.
The church was originally an Anglican one called Holy Trinity. Now it is a Roman Catholic one called Holy Trinity with St. Barnabas
If C Had Been in Liverpool, She’d Have Been Here
St Luke’s in Liverpool, was one of C’s favourite churches, as sitting there at the bottom of the hill, it says so much about the pointlessness of war.
Every time I go to Liverpool, I always pass the church and contemplate for a few moments about what might have been, had she not got the cancer.
St. Dunstan’s, Stepney
This church is mentioned in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons.
St. Dunstan’s is the sort of English parish church, that you expect to see more in the country, than tucked away in the East End of London.
St. Dunstan's Church, Stepney
It now sits and watches over the important Crossrail site at Stepney Green.
Exploring Hackney Central
Many will think that Hackney Central is some run-down area, that was partially destroyed by the riots last August. But look at these pictures.
The church tower wasn’t even all that was left after it was knocked about by the Luftwaffe, but the remains left after an 18th Century moving of the parish church. More details are here on Wikipedia. I do wonder what would happen, if a parish wanted to rebuild their 16th Century church on a different site now!
The reason for the coffee, was that I had a very good one, in the excellent cafe in the Hackney Empire. The lady in the pleasant museum said that the coffee was also good in the cinema on the other side of the road. Note that the cinema is part of the nationwide and independent Picture Houses group.
After my quick visit to Hackney Central, I took the Overground to Stratford, from where I took the Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf for lunch. I could have taken one of any number of buses back home, to the City or the West End.
Liverpool Parish Church
Liverpool parish church is St. Nick’s by the Pierhead or the Church of Our Lady and St. Nicholas to name it correctly.
The pictures show the church and the surrounding gardens.
Like St. Luke’s church, it was seriously damaged in the Second World War.
The Magical Church of St. Luke
I am not a religious person, but I like some places of worship.
St. Luke in Liverpool or the bombed-out church, is one such place for many reasons. It stands proudly at the end of Bold Street, and its state due to a Nazi firebomb, says to many, that times may get bad, but I’ll still be here to cheer you on your way.
On Friday night, as I passed it was open. It was C’s favourite church and she’d always wanted to enter, but it was always locked. So I went in to see the party and auction that was going on.
Long after we’re all gone, St. Luke will still be there, putting two fingers up to the despots, oligarchs, stupid politicians, religious bigots and cruel people of this world.
But St. Luke is winning. Type bombed-out church into Google and you find it immediately. It really is a unique place in the world. And it appears in cyberspace too!
Two Bombed Out Churches
In the UK, we have several bombed-out churches from the Second World War. I have post about St. Luke in Liverpool before, which is generally known in the city as the bombed-out church.
On my weekend trip to Plymouth and Bristol, I came across two more. First was the Charles Church in Plymouth.
Charles Church, Plymouth
If ever there a badly situated ruin, that is a monument to the excesses of town-planning it is this. Surely, they could at least given pedestrians access, but it seems to be unfortunately left in the wrong place by the bombing of the Second World War.
In some ways, this church sums up Plymouth. Very disappointing!
And then there was St. Peter’s in Bristol.
St. Peter's Church, Bristol
The surroundings have been left to show it off properly as a monument to those who died. It also had an information board.
Information on St. Peter's Church, Bristol
Plymouth could learn a lot from Bristol.
Christ Church Greyfriars
Tonight, I also had a look at Christ Church Greyfriars, the remains of which lies behind St. Paul’s. It wasn’t as lucky as its larger neighbour had been in the Blitz.
Like St. Luke’s in Liverpool it stands as a memorial to those who died and suffered in the Second World War.
Yorkshire Has Its Own Ways of Dealing With Unwanted Noise
After the problems with swearing in Barnsley, we now have a story of how a group of over-excessive bell ringers were locked in their belfry by an irate pensioner.
Don’t get me wrong, I quite like bells, but they have a time and a place. And in this case three hours was probably too long a time, especially as they weren’t for a particular celebration like a wedding, but just for fun.
The Anonymous Widower 