I spotted these random little figures whilst I was out getting lunch earlier. They’re on a building on Hatton Garden, at the corner of St Cross St, and I wondered what they were.
The plaque to the left of the doorway explains that this building used to be a church, and then became a charity-run school at the end of the 17th century. That lasted until WWII when the interior got bombed to pieces. After the war it was rebuilt and converted to offices, but these figures (clothed in scholarly garb) were replaced as a nod to the building’s previous life.
Incidentally, Hatton Garden is one of those weirdly-numbered streets you find from time to time. Most British streets have odd numbers on one side, and even on the other, both increasing in the same direction. Number 1 is opposite 2, 3 opposite 4, and so on.
This street however, counts from 1 to around 60 on one side, then from 61 (ish) upwards on the other in the reverse direction. Number 11 is opposite 108, for example. One of those little oddities…
