Memorial: Barbican frieze
Erection date: 1975
{On a plaque to the right of the frieze:}
This frieze was removed from numbers 53 and 54 Barbican when it was demolished in 1962 and re-erected by the Corporation of London in 1975. Numbers 53 and 54 Barbican were the premises of W. Bryer & Sons, gold refiners and assayers whose trade is depicted in the frieze. The building was one of the few which survived when the area was largely destroyed by incendiary bombs in December 1940.
Our photo shows just one section of the frieze which covers the full width of this structure, behind the word "Barbican".
Site: Fann Street corner (2 memorials)
EC1, Aldersgate Street
For 56 years this junction had a substantial drinking fountain on the south-east corner (pictured), but now has a plaque on the west side commemorating that fountain, and this south-east corner displays a frieze rescued from the buildings demolished to make way for the Barbican.
In this section Aldersgate Street is effectively a dual-carriageway, which we're sure it was not in 1878, or even in 1934. This excessive road widening probably happened when the Barbican was built.
A London Inheritance looks at the history of this street.
