Erection date: 6/12/2006
{Inscribed on the bench and wandering over it in a rather arty way:}
Smoothe-field
The Angel Inn
St Bartholomew the Great
Henry VIII
It was market-morning, the ground was covered nearly ankle deep with filth and mire a thick steam perpetually rising from the reeking bodies of the cattle and mingling with the fog which seemed to rest upon the chimney-tops hung heavily above the whistling of drovers, the barking of dogs, the bellowing and plunging of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the grunting and squeaking of pigs, the crowding, pushing, driving, beating, whooping and yelling, the hideous and discordant din that resounded from every corner of the market.
- Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, 1838.
Sir Christopher Wren
Said "I am going to dine with some men,
If anyone calls,
say I am designing St Paul‘s."
- Edmund Clerihew Bentley 1905
{On a plaque in a nearby flower-bed:}
Sculptured stone bench unveiled on 6 December 2006
by The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor John Boothman Stuttard
Bench designed by Sam Dawkins and Donna Walker and made by the apprentices and masons of CWO Ltd.
Sponsored by City of London Corporation, CWO Ltd and Albion Stone Plc.
Portland stone, 6 tonnes. has more information about this bench.
Site: Sculptured stone bench (1 memorial)
EC1, West Smithfield Rotunda
At the centre of this garden there is a traditional, allegorical-type statue which, disappointingly carries no plaque nor inscription. It is the 'Peace' drinking fountain (architect: Francis Butler, sculptor: John Birnie Philip), erected in 1873, shortly after the armistice between France and Prussia signed in 1871. Walk round this large, confident monument and you find, squeezed in behind, crouching as if ashamed to be here, this modern sculptured stone bench, inscribed with names and quotes. It is also, sadly, defaced with half-removed graffiti.
We were there on a week-day lunch-time and all the wooden benches in the small garden were occupied. This stone bench was ignored, avoided, probably because it is not really clear that it is intended for sitting upon, nor that it will provide a comfortable spot for sandwich consumption.
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