Here is the street outside the entrance to Liverpool Street Station in London. The station is both an underground station and a main line station, so it is a busy hub in the capital.
It is on the edge of the City Of London in one direction and the East End around Brick Lane in the other direction. The two could not be further apart in the way they look and the people who inhabit or work there.
Between the two is Old Spitalfields Market, now art and craft stalls and shops and cafes.
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What a conglomeration! I’m glad to see that the U.S. is not the only place that has a mishmash of buildings. The term Spitalfields is an interesting one! I had to look it up a while ago. There is a shop in Seattle called All Saints Spitalfields, such a strange name (now altered to All Saints) and I was drawn to it by the huge display of antique sewing machines in the windows. I so wanted to photograph them but it’s difficult given the window glass and glares, and I did not have a long lens with me. I went in one day to explore the high end clothing shop, and wondered about the machines.
I recognized the word when I was watching the BBC series Victoria, when she visited Spitalfields, known for its fabric, if i remember correctly. Then I saw the connection to clothing.
I have found a link to whole story for the Seattle shop. It also explains the name All Saints. It’s like going down a rabbit hole. It’s all very London, so you might get a kick out of it. No one here would understand the name.
I may have to go back and try again to photograph the sewing machines. But the shop has such a posh and snooty intimidating vibe. I hate to feel like a rank tourist. I thought it would make a good story for some medium, about how they have snapped up all the antique sewing machines. I have two old ones and just love them.
https://www.girvin.com/all-saints-spitalfields-seattle-2/
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Thanks. Digging a bit, the word seems to be a corruption from Spytal Field, which is a corruption of Hospital Field.
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Well, that is interesting too! Perhaps there was a hospital nearby the fabric or silk mill in Spitalfields. I recall from Victoria’s visit (on the TV series) it was a poor area and she tried to promote the sales of fabrics from there. Was it silk or lace?
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Leave that with me, I’ll see what I can uncover being ‘on the spot’.
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