Square Mile Curios

About this excursion

£94 per person

(Date to be confirmed)

The ancient Roman Temple of the Cult of Mithras is now restored to its original site as part of Norman Foster’s Bloomberg HQ – the most sustainable office building in the world. Haze and light projections create the illusion of the temple rising from the ruins around us and with a soundscape of chanting, bells and horns the temple rituals are recreated alongside a display of recent archaeological finds.

At Guildhall, the civic and ceremonial heart of the City of London, we see a beautiful and priceless collection of paintings and go inside on of London’s newest and quirkiest museums – The City of London Police Museum. Peek inside a police cell from 1888 where a hologrammatic Catherine Eddowes is banged up for drunkenness. A few hours later she will become a victim of Jack the Ripper. Marvel at a suffragette bomb in a mustard tin and take a test to see if you are a rare ‘super-recogniser’.

The City of London Police has been responsible for policing the Square Mile since 1839. Over the course of more than 175 years, the force’s priorities have remained the same: keep the City safe. It is also the UK’s leading police force for fraud and economic crime.

The purpose-built museum is a collaboration between the City of London Police and the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Library, which is situated next to the new museum at Guildhall, the City’s historic headquarters. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded a grant of c.£90,000 towards the development of the museum and associated community engagement.

The day ends with tea and biscuits inside the grandest of the Wren churches before we head for home.

The London Mithraeum

Bloomberg London sits at the heart of the modern City of London and at the centre of the Roman town. Discovered in 1954, the Temple of Mithras was a hugely significant archaeological discovery that captured the imagination of the people of post-war Britain. After careful excavation in the 1950s the temple’s remains were put in storage and in the 1960s it was reconstructed. Positioned 100 metres from the original find spot, above a car park, the reconstruction was not entirely sympathetic to the original remains. It did however serve as a powerful physical reminder of the site’s rich heritage and became a regular stop-off for tourists.

When Bloomberg acquired the site in 2010 to construct their new European headquarters they were fully aware of the heritage assets on the site and the responsibilities that came with that. The City of London set out a series of planning conditions to protect and make the most of the site’s archaeology. As well as extensive excavation and study of the archaeology of the 3 acre site, which led to the discovery of the largest collection of artefacts from a single site in the capital, Bloomberg took on the project to rehouse the temple, moving it back to its original location, in a publicly accessible exhibition space.

Working with archaeological consultants and specialists, Bloomberg began work dismantling the temple and planning for its rebuilding. Opened to the public in 2017, the new reconstruction ‘The London Mithraeum’ is an example of how archaeological remains can be successfully integrated into a development scheme.

The cost of this event includes luxury coach transport, an experienced Blue Badge Guide, all entry fees, morning coffee, lunch, tea & biscuits and of course treats.

 

Book on this excursion