Postmans Park

The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice

Postman's Park

Saturday I found a great new restaurant that I will tell you more about later, but on the way there I knew we'd pass Postman's Park, a tiny beautiful park near St. Pauls Cathedral that I had been wanting to visit since we moved here.  

It was in the movie Closer, but besides that it has a great story behind it.

Who Natalie Portman stole her name from in the movie Closer

Now for the story of the park:

In 1887 Watts wrote to The Times proposing a project to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee of that year. He believed that stories of heroism could uplift and stimulate and should therefore be commemorated. As his idea was not taken up he created the memorial himself in the form of a 50ft long open gallery situated in the public gardens on the site of the former churchyard of St. Botolph, Aldersgate. On the southern boundary lay the General Post Office and many postmen spent their breaks there, hence the inevitable name by which it became known. Along the walls of the gallery Watts placed tablets, each describing acts of bravery that resulted in the loss of the hero or heroine's life.
The tablets consist of a number of ceramic tiles, initially manufactured by William De Morgan and later by Doulton of Lambeth, with an inscription and appropriate decorative motifs.
Following the original 13 tablets that Watts erected, Mary added a further 34 after his death. The stories that the tablets tell are touching, often involving children and usually concerning fire, drowning or train accidents. In Watts's letter to The Times proposing the idea, he drew upon the plight of poor Alice Ayres, her inscription finally read ‘daughter of a bricklayer's labourer, who by intrepid conduct saved three children from a burning house in Union Street, Borough, at the cost of her own young life. April 24 1885.’

Postman’s Park offers an insight into the human capacity to love, to live and to die for what we believe in. 

Another little tidbit of info from Wikipedia:

Postman's Park is a park in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, King Edward Street, and the site of the former head office of the General Post Office (GPO), it is one of the largest parks in the City of London, the walled city which gives its name to modern London. A shortage of space for burials in London meant that corpses were often laid on the ground and covered over with soil instead of being buried, and thus Postman's Park, built on the site of former burial grounds, is significantly elevated above the streets which surround it. It is best known as the location of the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice.
Opened in 1880 on the site of the former churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph's Aldersgate church, it expanded over the next 20 years to incorporate the adjacent burial grounds of Christ Church Greyfriars and St Leonard, Foster Lane, as well as the site of housing demolished during the widening of Little Britain in 1880, the ownership of which became the subject of a lengthy dispute between the church authorities, the General Post Office, the Treasury, and the City Parochial Foundation. The park's name reflects its popularity amongst workers from the nearby GPO's headquarters.

I really enjoyed reading the tiles and imagining what those people "heroes" went through and found it touching to be reminded that there really are good people in the world. Mike on the other hand said "All of those stories are probably lies" (I wanted to punch him, but didn't) I just said back to him "Sometimes it's nice just to let yourself believe". 

Cheers,
WMMc