Clubbing's great, no doubt about it, but let's not forget London's churches. That in mind, I walked out of Mecklenburgh Square, took a left on Guilford St., right on Gray's Inn Rd where there's still an all day breakfast shop, miraculously, then crossed over Clerkenwell Rd. and took a right on Leather Lane. Objective? St. Ethelreda's, Ely Place, former London chapel of the medieval bishops of Ely.
You can get to this gem of a church via Bleeding Heart Yard, but first you have to navigate Leather Lane, which seems to have become an open air food zone, all kinds of stalls offering sizzling meat on sticks and more besides. It smelled delicious and the smoke of charcoal grilled scoff hung over the street and its hordes of hungry punters. No kidding, the standing room only crowd was a solid six deep around those mobile food emporia.
But I wasn't in it for the food, I was heading for St. Eth's. So, jink behind the food wagons and their crowds and cut left off Leather Lane to go down Greville St., admiring its diamond and jewelry shops. Not dissimilar to parts of NYC, when you think on it, though on a lesser scale. Diamonds and emeralds aside, turn right into Bleeding Heart Yard, you're nearly there.
It's as you remember it, a cobbled yard with a wine bar/bistro setup at one end. Look at that and wonder why you've never been inside, then look at the menu and the cost of lunch. Curiosity satisfied, walk to the side of the yard opposite the pricey restaurant and there's a cobbled alley, leading to Ely Place and the church. Years ago, I helped a stone mason relay the cobbles in this alley, here it is:
Hard work, I tell you, those 18th century(?) maybe older cobbles are a beast. Big, heavy and irregular, think twice before you take that job on and then, stone masonry reverie over, walk up to the church through a passageway adjacent to the crypt where a business lunch is in full flight, up a flight of stone stairs and into the church itself.
Calmed by the silence and reverence of the place, venerate the Sacrament and kneel for a time in humble adoration as you give thanks for the many times you've worshiped God in this church and found union with the sacrifice of Christ in the sacrifice of the Mass. No small thing and, back in the '90s, maybe now, in Latin with a 4 part choir which lifted the soul to heaven.
It's hard not to linger but time marches on and with it people to meet who you haven't seen in years. So you leave, uplifted in mind, body and spirit. What a good church, and so good to see it again after a space of some twenty plus years! Go there if you get the chance, well worth searching out and the journey there's fun too, Clerkenwell Rd, Leather Lane, Hatton Gardens and Bleeding Heart Yard itself.
Oh, after making your devotions in the church you can head over to the Mitre pub for a pint. It's ancient but last time I looked corporate makeover ruined. I didn't go in, maybe next time.
God bless you all,
LSP
