Recycled clothing boutiques Central London
February 4, 2024Beautiful, amazing, central London. The area is so full of history, incredible buildings, and things to do, that it’s not surprising that you want to squeeze in shopping in some recycled clothing boutiques central London while you’re there.
The City of London
The City is the original London, where it all started from before it grew and engulfed all the surrounding little villages. It’s so funny to think of it now, but that square mile was London, and places like Islington, Highgate, or Primrose Hill were all far-off destinations in the countryside. If you had relatives there you might visit, but they were villages and hamlets, not cool places to shop. They were also pretty hard to get to, in the days when horses and carriages, just horses, or just walking were your only options. Nowadays they are amazing, cool places with many Recycled clothing boutiques Central London – but back to the City.
Recycled clothing boutiques Central London
The main thing about the City is that it is now the base for the financial sector. The Bank of England lives there. This rather pompously named building – as if there were no other banks in England? Is the Mother Bank, the main bank, the bank which decides things for all other banks. The Bank of England Rate of Interest on money lending is the rate of interest at which all the banks must base their decisions on what to make their own interest rates. They don’t have to stick to it, but they would be crazy to ignore it. Look, I’m sorry if I’m rambling and being boring, but this is a very important place and it affects how much we pay for everything we buy.
It is a very impressive building, dating from the late 18th century. You will see it on the news and on films too.
St Paul’s Cathedral
St Pauls cathedral Photo credit: Mark Fosh, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
St Paul’s Cathedral is nearby. I think the city is one of the best, the most awe-inspiring examples of new and old side by side. The best way to reach it, I think, is by bus. Travelling along a street packed with both tiny old buildings and skyscrapers made with glass the space opens out and you will suddenly think, oh! It’s St Pauls. I honestly expect it to be somewhere more tucked away, but it’s just there by the main road. The road I mentioned to get there (coming from the West) is Fleet Street, by the way. This is a very famous street, where newspapers used to be produced and journalists were based. “Fleet Street” is a shorthand for journalists. If you look at the buildings on the way, you’ll see some the names of some very famous magazines and newspapers, too.
Recycled clothing boutiques Central London – Famous Funerals
St Paul’s Cathedral is where the funerals of many distinguished people are held. In fact, Churchill is buried there. You need to pay to get in and take a tour, but anyone can go to a service without paying. You can also look around the outside and see plenty. It was finished in 1675, so is about 350 years old now. It is so richly carved, there is a lot to see. And you must remember that all this intricate work was done by hand. Its tall dome, and the fact that it is set on a hill, means that it can be seen for miles around.
The present St Paul’s is on the site of a much older church. That one burned down during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The architect Inigo Jones planned this one, based on the classical architecture of Rome and the Italian Renaissance. In fact, he saw the fire, and its sad destruction of so much of the area by raging fire in just four days, as a way to create a new, more orderly, modern city. Obviously, this would have cost a great amount and so he didn’t get his wish, but he did get his beautiful, shining cathedral.
Recycled clothing boutiques Central London – The Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is where the government has its offices. Many civil servants work there. I quite like the term “civil servants” – it implies that they are working for us, the citizens. Although of course, it now implies a kind of unreflective collective drone mentality. But one of my best friends is a civil servant at Westminster and she certainly considers her work very carefully.
Now this building, you’ll definitely have seen on the News. If there is any decision being made in Parliament, or any political reporting at all, it’s likely that the reporter will be standing outside it, microphone in hand. You’ll see the distinctive design of the pale, gothic stonework behind them.
A church, the West Minster (West Monastery) was place by the river since Saxon times in the eighth century. It later grew to become an Abbey. But the building was also damaged by fire, this one in 1834. Most of the the impressive structure you see now was started in 1840, and took 30 years to complete, at more than twice its original estimated cost. It’s quite amazing though, and definitely worth the time and money. It’s such a big site that it actually incorporates many separate buildings. The Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel, the Cloisters and Chapter House of St Stephen’s and Westminster Hall are older, saved from the fire.
Recycled clothing boutiques Central London
In amongst all these are the shops, boutiques and eateries that it takes to sustain the massive workforce who come into the City every day. You’re going to find some incredible sandwich shops and salad bars, coffee places and really incredibly chic wine bars, too. There are also some very old pubs to look out for. It definitely feels like the centre of London; the very old nestles alongside the very new, there are most impressive buildings, and busy people hurry along. Places to relax are expensive and also impressive, and most London of all is the Thames river, of course.
