Doors of Clerkenwell: Six Thresholds and a Two-Hour Walk Through Hidden London
Photo: Jim Osley , CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A doorway is a promise. It tells you what kind of building you are about to enter, or what kind of building someone wanted you to think it was. Clerkenwell is full of these promises, from medieval stone to concrete optimism, and the best way to read them is on foot. This two-hour walk links six doorways, each with a story attached, and turns a simple afternoon stroll into a scavenger hunt through London's past. Print the Best LDN Walks map, put on comfortable shoes and start at the edge of Smithfield.
1. The Norman portal at St Bartholomew the Great
Begin at St Bartholomew the Great on West Smithfield, a short walk from Barbican or Farringdon. The church's main doorway is a survivor: a rounded Norman arch from the 12th century, built when this was an Augustinian priory outside the City walls. Look at the worn stone and the way the entrance sits lower than the modern street, a reminder that London has risen around its oldest buildings. The doorway has seen pilgrims, plague victims, actors and film crews. Step inside if it is open — the quiet nave is one of the City's great surprises — then head east along Cloth Fair towards St John's Lane.
2. St John's Gate on St John's Lane
St John's Gate is a Tudor gatehouse on the site of the medieval Priory of St John, the English headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller. The doorway here is a proper threshold: heavy, arched and built to impress. The order was dissolved in the 16th century, but the gate survived, later becoming a pub and a printing works. Today it houses the Museum of the Order of St John. Look up at the carved arms and the stonework, then walk through into the courtyard. This is a doorway that has outlived the world it was built for, which is a very Clerkenwell story.
3. The Georgian door at Marx Memorial Library
Walk down to Clerkenwell Green and find number 37a, the Marx Memorial Library. The door is a sober Georgian entrance to a building that has been a school, a pub and a radical meeting place. Lenin worked in the library during his London years, and the building still holds an impressive collection of socialist history. The doorway is not grand — a fanlight, a solid door, a plaque — but it is a threshold between respectable Clerkenwell and its long tradition of dissent. Pause on the green and imagine the crowds who have gathered here for speeches, protests and arguments.
4. The old pub door at The Jerusalem Tavern
Turn onto Britton Street and look for The Jerusalem Tavern, a tiny 18th-century pub with a doorway that seems designed for a different century of drinking. The building was originally a house and later a pub, and the door is narrow, dark and slightly bowed. Inside, the rooms are small enough to make strangers into acquaintances. This is a good halfway stop for a pint or a coffee. The pub's name nods to the Priory of St John and the crusading past of the area, though the current doorway is more about London's ordinary drinking history than holy war.
5. The church portal at St James's Church, Clerkenwell Close
Walk up to Clerkenwell Close and St James's Church, an 18th-century building by James Carr. The main doorway is a classical affair: stone steps, a pediment and a sense of Georgian confidence. The church was built when Clerkenwell was a mix of fashionable houses and workshops, and the doorway still faces a quiet close that feels oddly removed from the traffic. Look at the details — the doorcase, the ironwork, the worn steps — and then walk around the churchyard. This is a good place to sit for five minutes and let the walk slow down.
6. The concrete entrance to Golden Lane Estate
Finish at Golden Lane Estate, a post-war council estate designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, the architects behind the Barbican. The estate is not strictly brutalist, but it has the same concrete confidence, and its entrances are a world away from Norman stone. Find the main pedestrian entrance off Golden Lane and look at the clean lines, the raised walkways and the careful landscaping. This was designed as a better kind of city living, with light and air and community spaces. The doorway is a threshold into a different London: optimistic, municipal and still very much in use.
The route at a glance
The full walk is about two miles and takes two hours without stops, or three with a pub break. Start at St Bartholomew the Great, finish at Golden Lane Estate, and use the printable Best LDN Walks map to keep on track. The route is mostly flat and pavement-based, with a few cobbles and steps. Farringdon, Barbican and Old Street stations are all nearby for the journey home. Best done on a weekday morning if you want the doorways to yourself, or a Saturday afternoon if you like a bit of bustle with your history.
