Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:
Q1. Guy's Tower
Q2. The Tabard
N.B. For question 1, Guy's Tower is also known as 'The Tower Wing, Guy's Hospital' and for question 2, The Tabard was also known later as 'The Talbot Inn'.
From the initial clues, the puzzle author and Terribly Trendy Friend, are probably on London Bridge and walking south on the A3/Borough High Street, into Southwark. The hints in the text say that the bridge being crossed is more than two hundred and sixty meters, or eight hundred and fifty feet in length and some sources claim that London Bridge is around two hundred and sixty nine meters, or eight hundred and eighty two feet long.
The quote "A boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark Bridge, which is of Iron and London Bridge, which is of stone", probably comes from a book called 'Our Mutual Friend' , which was published c 1864/65, by Charles Dickens.
The Shard, according to some of the references I checked, is around three hundred and nine point six meters or one thousand and sixteen feet in height and located close to the A3 and London Bridge. The other tall building which houses a school of dentistry, is probably Guy's Tower, which claims to be the world's tallest hospital building. Guy's Hospital was founded by a philanthropist called 'Thomas Guy', who was born c 1644. Experiments in human blood transfusion were carried out at Guy's hospital, c 1818 by James Blundell.
A market in Southwark, which has been there since c 11th century and which is close to Southwark Cathedral (achieved this status c 1905), is Borough market. William Shakespeare's brother Edmund, who died c 1607, is thought to be buried in Southwark Cathedral. Travelling South on the A3, would bring White Hart Yard into view on our left. This was the site of the White Hart Inn, with its "Bustling old landlady', which is mentioned both in Dicken's book, 'The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club' and in Shakespeare's play, 'Henry VI part II' .
The second inn is likely to be 'The Tabard', as the quote in the puzzle comes from a book called 'The Canterbury Tales', by Geoffrey Chaucer: "In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay redy to wenden on my pilgrymage to Caunterbury with ful devout corage, at nyght was come into that hostelrye wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye of sondry folk". I did find several references to the heaviest bell in Southwark cathedral weighing around 48 cwt.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it
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