I have recently discovered that I have an absolutely enormous amount of photographs of London. Hundreds upon hundreds (possibly thousands). I have decided, therefore, to start an occasional series - 'Glimpses of London' which will take a glance at one small part of our great city.
City Dragons
At various points around the perimeter of the City of London (that is the area known as the Square Mile, the oldest part of London) there are dragons which mark the boundary.These are historically significant entrances (other points are marked only by black bollards with the City crest).
dragon2
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Uploaded by nat_mach on August 22, 2011
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This is one of the Aldgate Dragons, which number among several pairs located at historic locations of gates in the fortified walls of the city (dating from Roman times). The City of London boundaries were historically of great importance as the City of London controlled various aspects of its own governance (including trade in the form of Livery Guilds); even today it has a unique political governance compared to the other boroughs of the capital.
You can walk the boundary of the City and see the dragon collection (it's about 6 miles). The dragons can be found at:
- Victoria Embankment (between the Cities of London and Westminster) - these are the two original dragons on which the others (except the Temple Bar Dragon) are based
- Blackfriars Bridge (south side)
- London Bridge (south side)
- Aldgate (between Aldgate High Street and Whitechapel High Street)
- Bishopsgate (heading north towards Commercial St)
- Moorgate (heading north towards City Road)
- Aldersgate (heading north towards Goswell Road)
- Farringdon (on Farringdon Street near the junction of Charterhouse Street)
- Holborn (on High Holborn near Chancery Lane)
- Temple Bar (in the middle of Fleet Street, near the Royal Courts of Justice)