5/5 Ian B. 5 months ago on Google • 84 reviews
This
location
should
be
on
every
London
tour
guide.
There
is
a
wealth
of
culture
to
be
explored
in
a
very
small
area
of
London,
from
Pop
Culture,
Feminism,
Architecture,
Social
Reform,
English
Literature
to
Early
English
History.
Pop
Culture,
the
church
doorway
and
the
drinking
fountain
(
sadly
no
longer
in
use)
are
two
of
the
locations
of
Don
McCullin's
photos
of
The
Beatles
on
what
was
described
as
a
mad
day
out.
This
was
to
promote
The
White
Album
and
the
single
Hey
Jude.
Feminism,
this
was
the
original
location
of
Mary
Wollstonecroft,
author
of
A
Vindication
of
the
Rights
of
Women.
Her
tomb
is
located
just
to
the
left
of
the
John
Soames
Mausoleum.
It
was
here
that
Mart
Shelley
(Frankenstein)
met
Percy
Bysshe
Shelley.
Architecture:
The
Soames
Mausoleum,
designed
by
Sir
John
Soames
for
his
wife
and
later
himself,
is
here.
This
Mausoleum
is
also
credited
as
the
inspiration
for
the
original
Red
telephone
boxes
designed
by
Gile
Gilbert
Scott,
the
son
of
the
architect
who
designed
The
Albert
Memorial
and
very
much
a
leader
in
Gothic
Revival.
Social
Reform,
as
you
enter
the
church
grounds
through
the
main
gates
on
Pancras
Road,
there
is
a
truly
inspiring
sundial,
monument
erected
by
Angel
Burdett-
Coutts,
1st
Baroness
Burdett
Couts,
a
social
reformer
who
aimed
to
eradicate
London's
slums.
The
Memorial
commemorates
many
foreign
dignitaries
and
aristocrats
who
were
buried
in
the
churchyard.
It
was
one
of
a
few
churches
who
allowed
Catholics
to
be
buried
in
the
churchyard.
English
Literature,
the
church
is
mentioned
in
Charles
Dickins
book
A
Tale
of
Two
Cities
and
it
was
also
the
location
of
the
Thomas
Hardy
Tree.
Thomas
Hardy
before
becoming
a
full
time
writer
worked
for
the
architectural
firm
of
Arthur
Bromfield.
Sadly
the
tree
has
gone.
It
fell
(?)
in
December
2022
but
the
multiple
gravestones
which
were
relocated
here
by
Thomas
Hardy
due
to
the
railway
can
still
be
viewed.
Finally
the
site
is
said
to
be
one
of
the
oldest
places
in
the
UK
for
Christian
worship.
There
are
claims
to
the
site
being
used
from
the
4th
Century
AD
but
the
church
which
we
see
today
was
heavily
reworked
in
the
Victiorian
era.
All
this
is
barely
a
5
minute
walk
from
St
Pancras
International
or
a
similar
distance
from
Coal
Drops
Yeard.
So
take
a
look
#thomashardy
#thebeatles
#charlesdickens
#donmccullin
#frankenstein
#sirjohnsoames
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