This neighbourhood is focussed around the pedestrianised artery of Watling Street, which leads from Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Underground station up to the iconic dome of St Paul’s Cathedral. The narrow road is lined with a number of highstreet shops that take up the ground floors of its impressive Victorian terraces, and Ye Olde Watling and the Pavilion End are two local pubs frequented by local workers after a hard shift. The busy thoroughfare to the east of the road is a convenient transport hub and is contrasted by the peaceful Festival Gardens to its west, a popular spot for lunch on a sunny afternoon.

Watling Street is famous for its churches, St Augustine and St Mary Aldermary. The former was first recorded in 1148 and was apparently dedicated to St Augustine of Canterbury, while the latter is said to have been on the site for over 900 years, becoming the property of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1400. Much of the area was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 and neither church was spared the same fate. Both were rebuilt after the fire and designed by Christopher Wren, who also built St Paul’s Cathedral, and, according to Nikolaus Pevsner, St Mary Aldermary was “the most important 17th-century Gothic church in England.” The area was once again ruined, this time during the Blitz, but St Augustine came out of it the worst and was destroyed in 1941, though its scarce remains were designated Grade I listed in 1950.

St Augustine’s church was also famous for its lovable cat, rather aptly named Faith. A couple of days before the church was destroyed in the Blitz, Faith was seen taking her kitten, Panda, down to the basement, taking her back down every time she was brought back upstairs. On the morning after the air raid, Faith was found amongst the smoking debris, still protecting her kitten. Her premonition and courage made her world-famous, and her death in 1948 was reported on four continents!

The area’s City of London location and proximity to the busy Queen Victoria Street mean it is susceptible to both noise and air pollution. Its situation beside St Paul’s Cathedral also makes it crowded with tourists, though this is no bad thing for the shops that line Watling Street.

The entire City of London area is a hotbed of development. Per year, the CLC has announced that they will be creating 14,000 square metres of retail space, as well as around 200,000 square metres of office space. Nonetheless there is little in the way of planned future development on Watling Street specifically, already being densely populated by luxury offices and lunchtime eateries. However work is completing on renovation work at nearby Bank station. New step free access will be provided to the DLR as well as an expanded Northern Line platform, while passengers can gain access via a new entrance on Cannon Street which will take up the ground floor of a new office development.