These plain Georgian houses over shops are opposite the churchyard of St Bartholomew the Great, which almost alone among City churches escaped the Great Fire of 1666.

They were sold to us by the late Paul Paget, who had rescued them many years before, with No. 41, the only remaining house in the City built before the Fire. Round the corner is Smithfield market with its robust architecture, sights and smells, facing the noble buildings of St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Further along Cloth Fair are new houses, bringing domestic life to this part of the City.