Incidentally, I noticed today that a huge site is being redeveloped on the
north side of Victoria Street, opposite the cathedral. What was there
before, and was it pretty?


It was an extremely ugly block of buildings, centred upon a high-rise office
block once the Esso headquarters. The shops along Victoria Street ranged from
Boots, Post Office, Rymans, Ryness, a bookshop, Aberdeen Steak House, Lloyds
Bank and a couple of others. On the Stag Place side, there were a couple of
cafes (one appropriately called "Queens" - unofficially the staffroom annex for
our gay masters at Westminster City School in Palace Street which I attended
from 1976 to 1984), a Robert Dyas ironmonger and a couple of others.

The Palace Street frontage had no shops except for the bank on the corner of
Victoria Street. There was also a service road runnning from North to South
mid-way through the block, parallel to Victoria Street and Stag Place.

Prior to the late 1950s, the whole site which is now demolished was occupied by
Watney's Stag Brewery, now located in Mortlake. Rumour had it that there was a
connecting pipe to the staffroom at my old School!

I am not sorry to see the ugly monolith gone, but have no idea what is being
put in its place.

Marc.