Have a pint!
Make sure
that you are standing at position (6) on the map, or are in the pub.
The current Crosse Keys building is
early 20c and before it was a Wetherspoons pub it was owned by the Hong Kong
and Shanghai bank.
Earlier in the walk I
explained that in 1571, the Mayor of London and his Aldermen banned plays being put on
in the City. However,
the nobility were not as anti-theatre as the Mayor.
Players companies had to have men of standing as patrons, one of which was the Earl of Leicester (Robert Dudley, the Queens favourite). The Earl of Leicester was instrumental in getting a royal warrant issued. In 1594 the players company that Shakespeare was part of became the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (and later the Kings Men when James I took the throne). The warrant stated that once the players had the Master of the Revel's approval for their plays, they could act them anywhere in England without local censorship. The Mayor of London had to agree, to this but wrote a list of conditions, such as not performing when church services were on and then only in premises licensed by the City. This meant that only four city inns got licences for performance. These were the Bull inn, Bell inn, Bel Savage and The Crosse Keys!.
Players companies had to have men of standing as patrons, one of which was the Earl of Leicester (Robert Dudley, the Queens favourite). The Earl of Leicester was instrumental in getting a royal warrant issued. In 1594 the players company that Shakespeare was part of became the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (and later the Kings Men when James I took the throne). The warrant stated that once the players had the Master of the Revel's approval for their plays, they could act them anywhere in England without local censorship. The Mayor of London had to agree, to this but wrote a list of conditions, such as not performing when church services were on and then only in premises licensed by the City. This meant that only four city inns got licences for performance. These were the Bull inn, Bell inn, Bel Savage and The Crosse Keys!.
When you leave the Crosse
Keys, turn right and walk down Gracechurch Street. At the bottom of Gracechurch Street, bear right, pass London Bridge on the left,
and continue along Cannon Street.
Cannon Street (opposite a branch of Leon) on the right hand (north) side of the
road, behind a grille, used to house the London Stone . It was moved in 2016 to the London Museum, and it may be moved back to a location near here in the future. There are all sorts of interpretations about what the stone is although it is not really known. However, it was thought important enough to
mark it on the Agas map of 1560 and was first recorded around the year 1100.
Then you go past Walbrook again. As mentioned before, the Temple of Mithras was on the banks of the Walbrook River
that flowed here. It was discovered in
1954 and findings were originally displayed in Queen Victoria Street. These
findings have recently been put into storage.
The Bloomberg Company is building on the original site. Fifty archaeologists led by the Museum of
London have made over 10,000 new findings. It is planned that the Temple will
be reassembled and displayed to the public in the basement of the new Bloomberg
building.
Continue
walking towards St Pauls Cathedral, then turn right just before it into New Change (marked 7 on the map).
Go into the One New Change Development, then take the lift to the roof terrace.
Go into the One New Change Development, then take the lift to the roof terrace.
