See the Clerk's Well

Though it has not been in formal use since the middle of the 19th century, the Well which lent its name to Clerkenwell is still visible through a window on Farringdon Lane.


Open to the public by appointment six days a week, the Well disappeared for many years before being rediscovered as part of building work in 1924. It is not known exactly how old the well is, but it was featured in William Fitzstephen's description of London in 1174.

For more, and to book a visit, see http://www.islington.gov.uk/leisure/heritage/heritage_borough/bor_sites/clerkswell.asp

Learn about the Order of St John

The Museum of the Order of St John reopened late last year after extensive renovations at its base in St John’s Gate, the entrance to the former Priory of the Knights of St John in Clerkenwell. Through various displays it recounts the history of the Knights from their foundation in Jerusalem in 1099 to their modern role with the St John Ambulance.


The priory was the English base of the Knights from the 1140s, and the museum follows them from their base in Jerusalem to Cyprus then Rhodes, and more recently Malta. The Gate, meanwhile also has an interesting history, and we learn that it was here that this website's patron, Dr Samuel Johnson, was given his first job in London, writing reports for The Gentlemen’s Magazine.

The Museum is open daily, except Sundays, and is free. For more information, see http://www.museumstjohn.org.uk/

Do some research at the London Metropolitan Archives

The London Metropolitan Archives are operated by the City of London Corporation and are the main archives for Greater London, apparently containing enough documents to fill nearly fifty miles worth of shelving, dating back to 1067.


The archives are now situated on Northampton Road in Clerkenwell, and are open to everyone Monday - Friday and occasional Saturdays, with late opening on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are a range of events, which this week include a talk on recording oral family histories and a behind the scenes tour.

For more information, click here.

Attend a service at St Peter's Italian Church

There have been Italians in London for hundreds of years, and the population started to rise significantly in the 19th century. By the middle of the century, around 2,000 Italians had settled in the slums around Clerkenwell, and a Roman Catholic priest decided they needed a church. St Peter's opened on 16th April 1863, operating as a church for all Catholics in the community, with a distinctly Italian look and feel.


Designed by the Irish architect Sir John Miller-Bryson, using plans drawn by Francesco Gualandi of Bologna, modelled on the Basilica of San Crisogono in Trastevere, Rome, the church was originally the only one in the country in the Basilica style.

St Peter's offers lunchtime services on weekdays, with other services on Saturdays and up to four on Sundays. There are also various other community groups and an annual pilgrimage to Aylesford, Kent.

For full details, visit http://www.italianchurch.org.uk/

_{^Picture from Wikimedia Commons, © Lonpicman used under Creative Commons^}

Play table-football at Cafe Kick

Trading in Exmouth Market, in Clerkenwell, since 1997, Cafe Kick is a 'continental cafe/bar' with a great range of food and drink on offer, which bills itself, and its sister bar in Shoreditch as 'the only places in London where table football is more than just a decoration or a feature'.


It has a relaxed attitude, serving up cocktails, tapas and sandwiches, alongside football and table-football, with three tables up for grabs in a relatively small bar, and walls decorated with bank notes and football memorabilia from all over the world.

Cafe Kick is open Monday to Thursday, from noon until 11pm, and Friday and Saturdays until Midnight. On Sundays, it is open from 1.30pm until 10.30pm. For more, see http://www.cafekick.co.uk/cafe-kick/

The Three Kings of Clerkenwell

The Three Kings of Clerkenwell, on Clerkenwell Close, is a great little pub in an area which is lucky enough to be full of them. Will the Guardian's decision to move to Kings Cross have an impact on this the rich seam of excellent establishments, with less rich upper middle class Guardianistas to rinse away their cash there? Who knows. For now, let's just embrace them.


Your author sometimes feels he writes too much about pubs, but when you have so many excellent ones in town, and there are other countries in the world with none at all, he thinks this is fine. The Three Kings is a cosy little pub with an eclectic interior with a range of art-school rhino head and chinz style features, but not too much to make it overbearing.

It's a friendly place too, with an excellently stocked bar and food at lunchtimes and in the evenings, and when your author once stumbled into an upstairs poetry reading by mistake he was asked to join in, so we can add welcoming to that.

For more information, click here to see a review from the Guardian kids themselves.

_{^Picture by MattFromLondon^}

Eat at the Passage Cafe

Your author doesn't pretend to be a 'foodie', so if you're fussy you may disagree, but he loved The Passage Cafe, on Jerusalem Passage in Clerkenwell. It is a lovely little French bistro run by Katarina and Pascal Brunet.


Reasonably priced and small enough to warrant a clichéd term like 'intimate' the cafe overflows onto the street and the waitress, who your author can only assume is Katrina, rushes around in an attempt to make everyone feel like they are very important, and achieves her aim very well indeed.

Mains are all about a tenner, and are very tasty, and it has a nicely French atmosphere, with the walls sporting a good mix of Toulouse Lautrec prints, vintage Ricard ads and various impressionist prints.

All in all, it's lovely, and the people who are supposed to know about these things tend to agree. The cafe is at 12 Jerusalem Passage EC1V 4JP, and can be called on 0203 217 0090. It is open Tuesday to Friday from 11 am to 11 pm to Saturday 5 pm to 11 pm. For more, visit http://www.thepassagecafe.com/

_{^Picture by Katarina and Pascal Brunet^}

Drink in the Jerusalem Tavern

Built on the site of a medieval tavern of the same name, the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell is the only pub owned by the Suffolk based St Peter's brewery.


It's a gem of a place, serving a range of ales in a pleasant little pub, and often on the pavement outside. It's also a rather social little pub, where it's easier than most places to strike up a conversation with the happy customers.

Named after the Priory of St John of Jerusalem, founded in 1140, the current Tavern building dates from 1720. Your author agrees with the website blurb that it is one of the finest pubs in London and is pleased to report that it was voted 2009 Town Pub of the Year by the Good Pub Guide.

For more information, and even a podcast, visit http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/london/default.htm

_{^Picture by James Cridland^}

Go shopping in Exmouth Market

Whilst our city is famed for its history, your author, as a relatively new addition to the nation's capital, is sometimes concerned when he learns how new some nice things are. Exmouth Market has only been running a since 2006, and whilst it used to be every Friday and Saturday, Wikipedia tells us that it now runs only weekdays with food stalls running primarily 11-2.


Now that the Guardian has moved to Kings Cross, taking the organic cous-cous eating Guardianistas with it, and it's no longer open when the rest of us have time off, how much longer will it last? Well for now the market is intact, but how can any twee slow-food establishment fare in an economic downturn? We will see.

It will probably be fine. Exmouth Market, has, after all been a market place since the 1890s and is a lovely little street with a range of independent retailers and good bars and pubs.

For more information, visit http://www.exmouth-market.com/.

_{^Picture from Flickr courtesy of Phillie Casablanca^}