Tuesday 5th July 2022

I had had a break of a few weeks so I was very much looking forward to getting back on the bus. And for a change, I decided to travel on a Tuesday instead of Monday, which in theory means that museums will be open.

As the start of the number 25 is in Ilford, I had the great pleasure of travelling on the new Elizabeth line from Liverpool St.

1. Redbridge Central Library

First stop today was at Redbridge Library and Museum, where the permanent exhibitions are closed till the autumn. However, there was a temporary exhibition called Moving Stories – these being the stories of Asians who have moved to the UK and to this area of London in particular. There are photos of families and weddings along with special items that they brought with them.

2. Chapel Road

I went from there to the River Roding where I had hoped to walk along the side of the river but it wasn’t possible to get there. I found out that there are plans to regenerate the area around here which is the North Circular flyover junction – it’s called Ilford Garden Junction.

3. Stratford bus station

Back on the bus, I alighted in Stratford and went to see the Stratford Martyrs’ Memorial, which commemorates the group of 11 men and two women who were burned at the stake together for their Protestant beliefs on 27 June 1556.

4. Abbey Lane

Next was to Danes Yard Tower, a structure constructed of sustainably sourced modular timber elements and pretty impressive. I believe it’s even more spectacular at night. I walked along towards Three Mills Island. The Island is part of the oldest recorded example of a tidal mill system, and over the years its mills have ground it all, from flour to gunpowder to grain for gin.

5. Bow Church

Back on the number 25 and I got out at Bow Church. I’d been to this area on number 8 bus so I knew about the Nunnery Gallery which had been closed previously as it was a Monday. It was a gem of a place, having been a convent in a previous life, and even now has the original gothic arches and tiled floor. Today it’s a public gallery with a local focus, championing the work of emerging artists and uncovering local history and heritage.

6. Sidney Street

I went from there to Sidney Street, to find the site of the Sidney Street siege It was a notorious gunfight in London’s East End on 3 January 1911.

It happened after a jewellery robbery went bad two weeks before. Three policemen had been killed, and others wounded, and one of the gang was also killed. This event is known as the Houndsditch murders.

The gang were said to be international anarchists led by Peter Piatkow, a.k.a. “Peter the Painter“. It is still not clear who their leader actually was.

The end took place at a house in Sidney Street, where word came that a gang of foreigners had moved in. In the fire that ended the siege, one fireman and two robbers died. The fates of other members of the gang, and its leader, are not known.

I couldn’t find the building though I did find a plaque for Peter Piatkow.

7. Aldgate East station

I wanted to go to Whitechapel Gallery because I’d been there before on bus 15 and it had been closed as it was a Monday. On the way from the bus stop at Aldgate East station, I passed Aldgate Tower and went to see an exhibition called Christian Ovonlen Botanical. The artist works with cut flowers, foliage and plants to produce still life compositions.

So on to Whitechapel Gallery where I went to see an exhibition by Emma Talbot called The Age. Emma has reinterpreted the figure of the old woman in Gustav Klimt’s painting The Three Ages of Woman. By this time, it was late afternoon and I decided to leave the gallery and visit another day and another bus route!

Round the corner from the Gallery is Whitechurch Passage and Gunthorpe Street. The passage was originally known as Hatchet Alley then Spectacle Alley, in which there is a curious wall art called The Lady. In 1888, Gunthorpe Street, then known as George Yard, had a reputation as one of the most undesirable thoroughfares in East London. This was proved to be the case when, in the early hours of 7 August, the body of a local prostitute named Martha Tabram was found. Along with many other prostitutes, she was one of Jack the Ripper’s victims.

8. City Thameslink

I went back on the bus to the final stop at City Thameslink and went to the corner of Cock Lane and Giltspur St where there is a wall statue of The Golden Boy of Pye Corner. It marks the spot where the 1666 Great Fire of London was stopped, whereas the Monument indicates the place where it started. 

Back towards the bus terminal stop, I stumbled across a garden which is a memorial to the Royal Fusiliers and Gurkha Rifles. A small garden but a fitting place for this memorial.

I really enjoyed this bus journey, not least because it had been quite a long time since the last one. I was very happy to be able to visit two galleries that had been closed when I’d been in the vicinity last time round. The highlight for me was the Nunnery Gallery and to see the remnants of the convent, in particular the nave and the original floor.