Running along the south side of Fenchurch street, this neighbourhood area is an exhibition of the financial district’s grandeur. On the western end of the street sits one of London’s most recognisable skyscrapers, 20 Fenchurch Street, also known as the Walkie Talkie. In 2017, the extravagant, top-heavy structure with a ‘Sky Garden’ on its top floor broke records by selling to a Hong-Kong company for £1.3 billion. The building, however, was making headlines prior to this as well. Having established itself as a ‘love-it-or-hate-it’ type, the Walkie Talkie has been criticised for being out of place as well as for its extreme sunlight reflecting cladding, known to melt the bumpers of cars parked in the streets below. Adjacent to this friendly giant is one of the capital’s largest office complexes: Plantation Place is a 10,200 sq m block, occupied by various banks, insurance companies, and consultancies. Like its neighbour, it has a large area of roof gardens, occasionally open to visitors. Fenchurch Street Railway Station is one of London’s smallest termini and is unique for not having a connection to the underground. It takes commuters to east London and Essex.

Fenchurch Street station was opened in 1841 and was the first to have been allowed to come this close to the City – prior major termini only received permission to be built on what were then suburbs of the capital. Designed by William Tite, the same architect who built the Royal Exchange at Bank, Fenchurch Street station was also peculiar in that its trains were powered not by steam engines but by stationary boilers located at other stations. Between 1864 and 1967, a tube station stood at Mark Lane, currently completely occupied by office buildings. Nonetheless, an unlikely piece of medieval history is preserved at the western corner of Mark Lane; this stone tower used to be part of All Hallows Staining – a church of twelfth century origin which was demolished in 1870. The office complex, Plantation Place, takes its name from Plantation House which stood here in the 20th century as a global centre for the tea trade.

Samuel Pepys, the well-known English diarist, lived in a nearby parish for fourteen years. He is said to have prevented the Great Fire of London from spreading to St Olave Hart Street by removing the adjoining timbers, thus saving the ancient church where he is now buried. Pepys is best known for his chronicling of the English Restoration period between 1660 and 1669 in London. Of humble Huntingdonshire origin, Pepys was a talented man and upon graduation from Cambridge worked for several noteworthy figures before being appointed as clerk to the Navy Board.

Pepys excelled at this job and rose through the ranks of the aristocracy, all the while documenting the major events of the decade, including the Great Plague, the Fire, and the Second Dutch War. Becoming closely associated with the King, Pepys found himself in danger of being on the wrong side of politics, numerous times. Still, he was able to quietly retire from public life, his name untarnished.

In his memoirs of fellow writer Joseph Conrad the 20th century novelist, Ford Madox Ford, tells how the latter would spend his leisure time at Fenchurch Street. The renowned Polish-British author would fit right into a sailors’ hub, frequenting all of the local bars and observing every “huskily earringed fellow”.

Unless one is arriving from Southend or Basildon, in which case Fenchurch Street station is most convenient, the likely transport link to this area is via Bank and Monument stations. These have long been complained about by commuters for their insufficient capacity to deal with the masses of people during rush hour. Luckily those working here are also just a short walk east of Aldgate station which is slightly quieter than its more central counterparts. Ferhat, who works in a local restaurant, sometimes goes for a drink with his boss at the Sky Gardens: “What’s cool is that you can appreciate the view of the City from outside, as it stands just beyond that cluster.”

Commuters will be pleased to hear that recent improvements have been made to Bank Station. A new entrance on Cannon Street, upgraded concourse, and an expanded Northern Line platform with step free access have been added. Above this new entrance will also sit a new office block. Taller than originally planned, planners recently gave permission for TFL to add an eighth floor to their plans, with work scheduled to start by the end of 2022. Planning has also been approved for the redevelopment of the site at 50 Fenchurch street. Plans detail a 35-storey mixed use commercial development with ground floor retail and a huge green wall extending up past a public terrace garden on the 10th floor.