Part of
TCCE London Winter Walking Weekend.

Walk Guides: Professor Phil Baines & Dr Catherine Dixon, Central Saint Martins.

Duration: about an hour and a half

Britain has a particularly rich tradition of public lettering which encompasses formal carved inscriptions on grand buildings, as well as many more utilitarian examples. The visual success of the larger examples is due to a combination of factors in addition to the quality of the lettering itself. Scale, position and material all have a crucial role to play.

Smithfield is an area dense with examples, from small scale architects’ dedications at St Bart’s, to grandiose naming by the Port of London Authority there is much to see, admire, and discuss.

The walk forms a circuit round the streets surrounding the market and includes St Bart’s, it starts and finishes at Farringdon Underground station.