Work begins on St Leonard's priory

Work has begun on the restoration of the How Memorial Gateway, the entrance to a former Benedictine nunnery in Bromley-by-Bow.

With records dating back to 1122, the Prioress of St Leonard’s Priory - whose French was spoken with a ‘Stratford’ accent – was inspiration for the satirical portrait of the Prioress in the General Prologue of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The site’s Gothic Victorian entrance has been on the Heritage at Risk Register and is now being restored, with the support of Tower Hamlets Council who have given a Historic Buildings Grant, and The Diocese of London.

Local young people are continuing to visit the site as part of our Proud Places programme and meet the stonemasons at work. A community led project to restore the churchyard with new planting will bring it into use as an attractive green space.

Dr Nicola Stacey commented: “London is full of hidden histories and this corner of Bow has a fascinating medieval past. Once vibrant with gardens, fishponds and brewhouses, it was lost in a dead-end street. We are thrilled to bring back to life its stories of Chaucer’s Tales, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Huguenot refugees and the bombing of the East End in WWII. Our Proud Places programme offers a chance for local schoolchildren to get involved in the restoration work itself.”

Alexandra Williams, Buildings Adviser, Diocese of London commented: “We are delighted to be working with Tower Hamlets Council and the Heritage of London Trust on the restoration of the How Memorial Gateway. The Gateway marks the entrance to St Leonard’s Priory Park, an important historical site and local green space that provides the community of Bromley-by-Bow with a place for reflection and interaction with nature.”

How Memorial Gateway has been supported by the Jones Day Foundation.

Byron 200

Today 19 April marks the bicentenary of Lord Byron’s death and our Poet for Places Kira Nelson has released an epic poem about his life.

“This is the finest work of poetry that I have ever produced and I cannot tell you how many hours for days on end have been put into making Vyronas a poem worthy of the man!”

A wreath-laying at Westminster Abbey with the Byron Society and the Poetry Society commemorated his legacy:

But words are things, and a small drop of ink

Falling like dew upon a thought, produces

That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.

– Don Juan

Students from Ormiston Latimer Academy also visited Byron’s statue today as part of our Proud Places programme – 400 students have now learned about Byron in advance of his statue restoration project.

To read more about the statue restoration see here.

For more on Kira’s poetry see here.

Cabmen's Shelter Listing

Over the past 40 years Heritage of London Trust has restored and helped save the 13 surviving cabmen’s shelters. We’re delighted that the final one has now been listed.

Our most recent shelter project is the Pier, on Chelsea Embankment, which had been derelict for 11 years after a ‘red route’ was installed (which means vehicles are not allowed to stop). HOLT worked with the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund to bring the Pier back to use for the public as a café, as close as possible to its original use.

We’ll continue to champion these iconic green shelters and look forward to marking 150 years of the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund in 2025.