The Kings Arms in Newcomen Street, one of many excellent pubs in the little side streets off Borough High Street, sports a colourful depiction of the lion and the unicorn above its door. Nice. The pub has been painted a bright shade of green since I took the pic below back in March 2025.
On the opposite side of the street there are two large buildings that are boarded up, waiting to be renovated*. These buildings or, rather, the information on them, intrigues me.
Above the entrance to number 66 there is the name John Marshall with two dates given in Roman numerals:
The date on the right side is 1853. But I'm struggling with the date on the left which looks like MDCFFOII, from which I deduce is 17th century but I cannot tie it up with either the date he died or the the date his church was constructed, more of which you can read here. Eight distinctly different faces adorn the building either side of the four street level windows. I am not sure who they depict, if anyone specific at all.
To the left of this building is Emily Davison House, a terrace of 5 houses. A plaque on it tells us it was 'purchased by Guys Hospital in 1959 as a bequest by Mrs Emily Davison' which, in most places I have looked, is attributed to Emily Wilding Davison, the Suffragette who died at the Epsom Derby in 1913. This would mean that she made a very forward-thinking bequest for some time in the distant future. It's worth noting that the lady on the plaque is a Mrs, yet the Suffragette never married. Also, EWD did not die at Guys Hospital, but near the incident at Epsom. I am still trying to fully find out if/how the two ladies are connected. Any additional info is more than welcome.
*often referred to as 'gentrification' – a word that makes no sense these days. I very much doubt that any lords and ladies or members of the landed gentry will be in need of a tahn harse here.
