This is Carter Lane. It tells a story familiar to us all.
This is a place that I love. It is pretty but means nothing until we look a little deeper.
Carter Lane runs alongside St Pauls in the City. Few people see it- which is a pity.This is St Paul's. As you see, it is big. It was designed by Christoper Wren who wanted it to be the centrepiece of a new and modern London of wide streets and straight lines. A bit like Paris... but big.
It seemed the right time for central planning. The people, left to their own devices, had just burned the place down in the great fire of London. Surely it was time for the professional?
Unfortunately for Mr Wren, but fortunately for the rest of us the people moved in and built faster than he could plan. The homeless simply returned to their old homes and built a replacement where the old one stood before. This recreated the winding street plan of the old city.
By walking down this lane it is possible to understand the difference between central planning and the human scale. The buildings have changed but the medieval layout remains.
The first thing one notices is the silence. Most of the streets are too narrow for traffic and the twists and turns in the lane seem to absorb the noise of the city. Even the materials chosen have this effect. Architects prefer marble and glass. The people prefer wood and brick. These materials absorb sound.
It is a place of small independent cafes that are surprisingly cheap- for London at least.
Creative people create beauty.
As ever.. if we leave civilised people to their own devices they produce beauty. If a community is engaged in wealth creation they may be trusted to create beauty in their neighbourhood also. Only welfare dependent or parasitic people create squalor.
Only independent retailers are found here.
These places remain viable as planning permission prevents the retail chains and the office developers from building over it all. It is unlikely the Youth Hostel Association could pay the sort of money usually demanded in the City.
This youth hostel is found in the most expensive area in Europe.
This battle- between the institutions and the community are as old as time. The new always seems like progress at the time but hardly ever is. If Christopher Wren had got his way Carter lane would be a wide open street full of lorries belching forth diesel fumes- a place to hide from rather than a place of quiet charm.
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