Reasonably straight forward this week, the most likely answers seem to me to be:
Q1. St Giles Without Cripplegate
Q2. Salter's Hall
N.B For question one, the church is also known as St Giles, Cripplegate
The initial clues place us in the city of London, more specifically at the site where the Cripplegate once stood. According to some sources, this was constructed c 120 ad by the Romans, underwent several rebuilds and modifications c 1244, 1491, 1663, before being demolished c 1760. This gate was situated in what is now a very strange area of the metropolis, called 'Barbican' (some of the houses in there, bizarrely have the kitchen on the top floor) and there appears to be a church called 'St Giles Without Cripplegate' there, the name deriving from the fact that it was probably located beyond the London wall, back in the day. I found a reference which says this church was built c 11th century and was originally Saxon, then Norman and was damaged by fire in 1545, 1897 and in 1940 by the Luftwaffe.
A poet called John Milton, was appointed secretary of foreign tongues in 1649 and some references claim that he was buried in St Giles Without Cripplegate church. Also reputed to be buried there, is the commander of a ship called 'The Triumph', Sir Martin Frobisher (born c 1535) and a big sociopathic thug called Oliver Cromwell, is said to have been married there on the 22 August, 1620.
A street leading south from the church is Wood street, and this is referenced in Charles Dicken's 'Great Expectations' published c 1861, the Inn referred to is probably 'The Cross Keys'
"The journey from our town to the metropolis was a journey of about five hours. It was a little past midday when the four-horse stage-coach by which I was a passenger, got into the ravel of traffic frayed out about the Cross Keys, Wood Street, Cheapside, London."
A poet who wrote about a thrush in Wood Street, is most likely William Wordsworth as he published a work called 'The Reverie of Poor Susan' c1797
"At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears, Hangs a Thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years:Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard, In the silence of morning the song of the Bird."
Ambling east from the church brings us onto Fore street, site of the first bomb to be dropped on London in world war two. There are photographs of a plaque there, which has the following inscription:
"On this site at 12:15 AM
On the 25th August 1940
Fell the first bomb on
the city of London in
The second world war"
According to some sources, a man who came up with a concept for garden cities and who was also born in Fore street c1850, was Sir Ebenezer Howard, son of a grocer, according to one of his bios.
The Eastender was hard pushed to find anything that to his eye resembled 'a fine building' on Fore street, the architecture in that vicinity can best be described as 1960's glass and concrete grot-tacular carbuncle but there is however a building called 'Salter's Hall', which was built c 1976 and this seems to have been used by a company formed c 1394 (Worshipful Company of Salters), who were into salt and molecular science. Their original building in St Swithin's lane was destroyed c 1941, by some overseas based demolition contractors, called Heinkel, Junkers and Dornier. Salter's hall was according to some sources, designed by Sir Basil Spence (born c 1907) who also had to begin another project, to repair the damage caused by airborne Blue Meanies, to Coventry cathedral. The second gate is most likely Moorgate, it lies east of Barbican and is said to have been constructed c 1415.
Check out the Eastender's latest data mining book here (It is not widely known that lotto machines produce words, as a co product of their normal operations):
Lotto Codewords in the Thunderball Game
Link to the competition
Where Was I?
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