Owen & Thomas, linen drapers, 376-378 Bethnal Green Road, E2

 

I took a quick snap of this when I spotted this last year, but being as that was a very dull day and there was some scaffolding covering half of the wall, I am here showing a screengrab from Google Streetview.

It's a simple sign for Edward Owen and William Thomas who were trading here 100 years ago. Thus far I can only confirm the two Welsh linen drapers here in the period 1910-15, and I understand that they also had another shop in Battersea. I am also informed that a younger Williams brother was running this shop in 1926. 

You can bet that this shop was much more attractive than those that front the businesses along this busy market street today. Oh to be able to time travel to get glimple of the gilded shop fronts and window dislpays of old. Sigh.

Drapers' Hall – a guided tour

This follows on neatly from last week's post about Cutlers' Hall. 

Last month I met up with a group from London Historians for a guided tour of Drapers' Hall.

Drapers' Hall is thought by many to be the grandest of the livery halls which, I suppose, befits their standing at No.3 on the order of precedence.
It is indeed very impressive; festooned with gorgeous reliefs, chandeliers, tapestries, carpets, sculptures and paintings – each item with its own story to tell. Also impressive is the silver vault.
The Drapers' animal is the ram, who sits on top of the coat of arms. He appears here and there throughout the building though I didn't see as many different depictions of rams as I did elephants at Cutlers' Hall, or rhinos at the Apothecaries' Hall*.
You can glean more info about Drapers' Hall from their site – there is even a virtual tour available – but it's not the same as being there yourself and walking into each room not knowing what to expect and involuntarily saying "ooh!".

The rooms of Drapers Hall form a square ring around a quadrangle (not accessible on the tour).
I was intrigued by this space and the mouldings/carvings around the windows each depicting a different country. I also liked the reflections of the outside world and the rooms opposite, and the rams' heads above the upper windows.

*Oops!  Just checked my archives to link to the Apothecaries Hall and it turns out I never wrote about it. So many things; so little time.