In 1985 technology replaced the old printers. Newspapers could be produced using only journalists and computers and eventually all the big newspaper proprietors moved out out of the area and the, now old fashioned, presses of Fleet Street fell silent, just ten years before the 500th anniversary of Wynken de Worde and his printing press.
London Walks - Fleet Street - it has survived
It lost the buzz of commerce, but today ‘The Street’ is busy in a different way. It’s old taverns and restaurants are thriving and it’s ancient little alleys have hardly changed over the centuries and are home to some of London’s oldest buildings. ‘The City, as the area is known, is a great place to explore.
Fleet Street - Prince Henry’s Room
Visitors generally make straight for The Temple, often missing an absolute gem - Prince Henry’s Room,17 Fleet Street, one of the few buildings in London to survive the Great Fire of 1666. Step inside and be taken back five hundred years. It still has its original 17th-century half timbered front and inside there is a perfectly preserved Jacobean ceiling. A great introduction to this Fleet Street walk.
Fleet Street - The Temple
At the south-west of Fleet Street are the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, Two of what were originally four Inns of Court where lawyers traditionally lived and studied. They are soaked in history: The premiere of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night took place here, attended by Queen Elizabeth the 1st and Shakespeare himself. The Queen had opened the building in 1576.
Fleet Street - The Temple Church
One of the oldest buildings in London. In the Da Vinci Code, this is where Langdon and Neveu begin their search in London for the Holy Grail. The circular plan of the church was inspired by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and it is particularly famous for its rather dramatic effigy tombs.
There’s a story that the ghost of ‘Hanging Hawkins’ haunts the Temple. He was a 19th-century judge who sent a great number of people to the gallows. He is said to be seen around midnight, wearing his robes and wig, gliding silently through the arcades.
Try to hang about until dusk, when the old gas lamps are lit, creating a wonderful, tranquil atmosphere (and don’t worry about meeting up with Judge Hawkins)..
Fleet Street - Dr. Johnson’s House
Here, in this elegant brick house, the great man wrote his famous dictionary in 1755. He was a big man, over six-foot, but seemed to worry that someone might break into his house and attack him. He installed a very heavy chain to the door, which is still there at No.17 Gough Square
Fleet Street - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Wine Office Court
Dr. Johnson’s House is very close to this old tavern and it is thought that he was a regular visitor. In fact there’s a particular chair where, so we are told, he usually sat.
This was the first new building to be erected in this area after the Fire of Londondestroyed most of the city in 1666. In the three hundred plus years since then it has continued to attract famous literary figures. Oliver Goldsmith, who lived nearby was a regular, as were Oscar Wilde, W,B.Yeats and Dylan Thomas, to name a few. Most people came not just for the beer but for their famous steak and kidney puddings, which can still be sampled today.
There’s much more to Fleet Street. As you approach the end of the street, where it reaches Ludgate Circus, you will see the soaring dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral - another great London Landmark.
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