Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Aldgate Pump

Detail of the wolf head on the Aldgate Pump, Aldgate High Street, City of London

Detail of the wolf head on the Aldgate Pump
Aldgate High Street / Fenchurch Street
Leadenhall Street, City of London
London, October 2009

“Served by one of London's many underground streams, people began to complain about the ‘funny’ taste of the water. Upon investigation, this was found to be caused by the leaching of calcium from the bones of the dead in many new cemeteries in north London through which the stream ran. In 1876, the New River Company changed the supplies to mains water. The wolf head on the pump is supposed to signify the last wolf shot in the City of London.” (Aldgate Pump, Wikipedia)

3 comments:

cieldequimper said...

That's a lovely detail!

Dina said...

Eeuw, a scary story on both counts.

tapirgal said...

Interesting on all counts, and I love the worn brass on the uneven white stone.