A beautiful new map of Clerkenwell has been launched, encouraging residents, workers and visitors to explore the area’s fascinating streets on foot.
By David Harrison, co-founder of Footways
A beautiful new map of Clerkenwell has been launched, encouraging residents, workers and visitors to explore the area’s fascinating streets on foot. Follow Footways’ peaceful and attractive routes. Wander past the Clerks’ Well in Faringdon Lane, where medieval parish clerks performed mystery plays or pageants. Pay a visit to one of the many cultural institutions, pubs and restaurants and other places featured on the map. In the heart of Clerkenwell, on the Green, is the Marx Library. Call into the Crown next door, where Lenin and Stalin are supposed to have had a drink together.
Working with local experts, Islington Council and the area’s world-class cultural institutions, Footways has written up a selection of streets, buildings and locations that tell the story of Clerkenwell, as well as a collection of recommended places to eat and drink with historical and architectural significance. The collaboration aims to encourage people to walk more, both as a healthy and sustainable form of transport that benefits the area, and as something that boosts personal wellbeing and enjoyment.
Clerkenwell and Smithfield have long been enjoyable areas to walk through, and they are getting ever better. Islington Council has transformed Clerkenwell Green by removing traffic and parking, installing new paving and planting to make it one of the finest small spaces in London. There are ambitious plans to transform the public realm and reduce traffic on St John Street which will be as, if not more, transformative. For more for information see Transforming St John Street | Let’s Talk Islington
The map features the Green Link Walk, London’s newest long-distance path, an inspiring 15-mile route from Epping Forest to Peckham. Highlights in EC1 include Exmouth Market, Islington’s finest pedestrianised shopping street, intriguing Clerkenwell Close, where Margaret Cavendish lived in the 1660s (she was the only woman to attend the Royal Society until 1945), Clerkenwell Green, the meeting place for May Day marches, St John’s Square, the precinct of an immensely wealthy monastery which was split asunder when Clerkenwell Road was bull-dozed through in 1878, and Smithfield where beside the 1,000 year old market is the church of St Bartholomew the Great with its 12th century columns and gruesome statue of St Bartholomew by Damien Hurst. The section from Angel to St Paul’s is a perfect introduction to Clerkenwell and Smithfield in under an hour. The perfect stroll for the festive season.
Free copies are available from Finsbury Library and other destinations across Clerkenwell. The digital map is available online at www.footways.london/clerkenwell along with more information about the network and distribution locations.
