Thousands of people move quickly from side to side oblivious to anything not work-related. This is London at its most impersonal.–
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Javier Marcos
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The never ending toing and froing renders it inescapable, with impeccably turned out businessmen going from side to side, glued to their mobile phones. They appear completely cut off from reality, million dollar deals within their grasp at the end of the line.
The rapidity and fluidness of their irrepressible swagger rubs off on everyone who passes through the area. But they still come to a halt to gaze in wonder at the magnificent skyscrapers. This is The City of London, the Square Mile, or as the English say “The City”, which takes up around one square mile in the heart of London Town, within what were the ancient roman walls of the English capital.
The area’s popularity is rooted in it being where big business happens, affecting the jobs of people living hundreds of miles from its streets and who will never pass through or come to know the area. From here, more than anywhere else, the world economy is controlled.
Due to the constant hustle and bustle and the thousands of financiers who move about the area, it would appear that the financial crisis did not touch the country, and the rental of office space did in fact increase by 41% in the second quarter of this year.
With open eyes
The dome of St Paul’s Cathedral is surrounded by the buildings that rise up within the city walls. One of the most emblematic is the Lloyds building, home to the world’s largest insurance broker.
Its original marble construction is preserved as the entrance to the current building an innovative complex in the sense that its facade faces inwards, rather than out onto the street. Here insurance was underwritten for all the ships that have sailed the seas over the past few centuries, contributing enormously to commercial expeditions across the entire globe.
Scarcely meters away from the Lloyds building is the Swiss Re Tower, Norman Foster’s futuristic edifice, also known as “The Gherkin” due to its oval shape. When it was built it was the tallest structure in the City.
Not much further away is the Bank of England, created in 1694 to finance the war against France. Known as “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street”, it has been in its current location since 1734.
But, perhaps the most authentic and most romantic location in the City is Leadenhall Market. It dates back to the 14th Century, though it is believed that a forum of some kind has existed on this site since Roman times.
Here you can find fresh produce, flowers and charming restaurants. High up on the arches of each of the entrances is the dragon from the City of London’s coat of arm, bearing its fangs threateningly, and beneath its wings you can see the red sword of St Paul, The City’s patron saint.
The current building was designed in 1881 by Sir Horace Jones to replace the previous structure which was damaged in the Great Fire of 1666.
The palpable aura of power running through the Square Mile is undeniable, with its smart shops and businessmen and women who barely have time to grab lunch, there are also pubs and elegant restaurants for business dinners. The reality is that some two million Londoners come into The City during the week, though the area’s actual inhabitants number scarcely 10,000 and the number of people who work there does not exceed around 320,000.
This means that while there may be bars, galleries and shopping arcades, The City is mostly deserted over the weekend.
Origins
What we now know as London’s sprawling metropolis had its roots in the quarter known as The City.
It was the major victim of the Great Fire of 1666, so very little of the original fabric of the area remains. Over the course of its reconstruction, the centre of The City migrated westwards.
And the buildings which stand there today went up during the reign of Queen Victoria and also the construction boom which transformed The City during the 1980s.
We know that the Square Mile, or cradle of London, was traditionally a seat of opposition power. “The City’s largest traders and financiers took full advantage of their wealth, in other words, the power to vote or wage unfeasible wars, strike out on colonial adventures and build ample mansions, in a bid, over the years, to erode the power of the reigning monarch”. (“Historias de Londres”, Enric Gonzalez)
It was they who contributed most to the moulding of Britain’s political system. And this history is borne out by the fact that many of the business travellers who visit The City on a daily basis come from all over Europe. These are travellers who arrive into London City Airport, situated 9 kilometres from London, and targeting this variety of business man or woman to connect the whole of Europe to the Square Mile.
What endures
The City still maintains the privileges granted it by William the Conqueror, who invaded in the 11th Century, including its Lord Mayor, its Guilds and its own police force. It’s like a city within a city. The Corporation is The City’s landlord, as it owns one third of the land and real estate in the Square Mile.
The mayor is the city’s figurehead, presiding over Britain’s smallest fiefdom, both in terms of geographical size and population.
Defining its exact boundaries is no mean feat, mainly as it is permanently expanding, even though it is fenced in by Westminster to the west, Camden to the northwest, Islington and Hackney to the north, Tower Hamlet to the East and Southwark to the south.
The last twenty years have seen an expansion towards other areas such as Canary Wharf, due to the impossibility of putting up new buildings in an area that has been developed to such a degree.
In fact, Canary Wharf has become London’s second financial centre because this is where a large number of the major banks, offices and other institutions, previously located within the Square Mile, are now to be found. For all of that, a trip to The City is the best prism through which to really see the beating heart of commercial London. This excursion is a must for anyone and everyone because it is after all to Europe’s major economic engine room. (The Prisma memoirs)
(Translated by Viv Griffiths) – Photos: Pixabay
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