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to Hatton Garden itself, and a chance to appreciate the
fine stone carvings of Treasure House at numbers 19-21.
Then look out for the narrow alley of Mitre Court where
the Mitre Tavern was first built by the Bishop of
Ely for his servants in 1546. The latter is a building which
still contains a piece of the cherry tree round which Elizabeth
1 was said to have danced the maypole.
Walk through Ely Place, one of the last private roads
in London, where famous former residents include William
Cowper, the poet, and Charles Barry the architect. In Shakespeare's
Richard III, Gloucester mentions the delicious strawberries
in the Bishop's garden and a popular Strawberry Fayre is
held here in June each year.
The
Gothic Church of St Etheldreda was built in the thirteenth
century and is the serving Chapel of the Bishop of Ely which
was returned to the Roman Catholic Church in 1874. The ancient
crypt can still be seen, as can the modern stained-glass
windows and beautiful statues of local martyrs which were
erected in the 1960's as part of the restoration following
the bomb damage in World War II.
Look across Holborn Circus to wave at the statue of Prince
Albert, the much loved consort of Queen Victoria, who
is now marooned in the traffic, but still politely tipping
his hat to the local gentry and passers-by.
Opposite
the Church of St. Andrew, with the tomb of Thomas
Coram, a retired sea captain, who founded in Hatton Garden
in 1739 his famous home for orphaned and abandoned children.
The Coram Foundation art treasures can be seen at 40 Brunswick
Square, a 15-minute walk away.
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