Sign up to build Fleet Street’s Heritage Wall

Posted: December 7th, 2023

Regular visitors to this website will be aware of the AMP’s support of the Fleet Street Heritage Project, co-ordinated by the tireless PIERS NICHOLSON (see previous posts/Mirror Pensioner). And now you can help secure a permanent heritage wall beneath the wonderful Fleet Street sundial, pictured. (There is an image of a mock-up of the wall below; the finished pieces will be ceramic.)

Piers writes: “Ever since the newspapers left in the 1980s, Fleet Street has lost a bit of its zing every year. Big banks and law firms have come – and gone. And there’s little to show that Fleet Street was once the heart of the newspaper industry.

We need to put the heritage back into Fleet Street. I’ve been busy lately trying to advance the Heritage Wall underneath the sundial in Bouverie Street, and floating out an online petition about it. Please sign the petition here https://chng.it/SSzWxnvkhm

“We’ve been working successfully on the Heritage project for four years. We’ve designed and installed the amazing Fleet Street Heritage Sundial, which has the names of five heritage newspapers spread over a 10-metre wall.

“We created 70 information panels telling many stories of the fascinating past of this iconic area and have exhibited these panels as temporary exhibitions in five local locations. We’ve done this with no paid staff, and kind help from volunteers. We are the Fleet Street Heritage Community Interest Company (CIC), a non-profit organisation created in 2020. We have been able to raise funds for these projects from the City of London CIL Neighbourhood Fund. It’s amazing what good ideas and a lot of persistence will do.

“We need planning permission for our next important project: Our Open House exhibition in September 2023 displayed 56 of our panels at a site adjoining Fleet Street and drew plenty of attention from passers-by who really appreciated the wealth of information presented. Many signed our petition to make it permanent. We have a great story to tell, and this is a great way to tell it.

“The City already has two heritage excellent walls, though both are in somewhat out-of-the-way places. The marvellous tiled wall in Magpie Alley off Bouverie Street tells the story of the early printing industry in words and pictures. The Queenhithe mosaic panel tells the story of the City of London from Roman times in an excellent 30-metre display.

“We are more likely to get permission if there is plenty of support. Please sign our petition https://chng.it/SSzWxnvkhm which reads: “We urge the City of London Corporation to do everything in its power to establish a permanent, openly accessible exhibition of ceramic tiles incorporating as many as possible of the information panels displayed at the Open House 2023.”

“There is also this book of our website, available from Amazon at £17.99, from the Temple Church for £15, or we can take bulk orders at £12 each here: www.fleetstreetheritage.co.u/bookshop.html The book measures 9 x 6, and contains all the pages currently on the website.”