I only really noticed Carthusian Street at all because of its peculiar second road sign that is, for no apparent reason, in French. The sign underneath, 'Borough of Finsbury 
Bondary 1906'(?), is quite charming too. Having got a picture of that, I felt I better go on a hunt for other points of interest.
It's a pretty short road, so I wasn't too optimistic. Apart from a disused pub and a hairdresser with attitude there was nothing that immediately caught my eye. And then, tucked unassumingly away, I came across The Chamber of Shipping, with its lovely 1920s crest (below left), including crossed ships near the top. It seems to have quite a long history, but has only been located in Carthusian street since 1994. Its purpose seems to be to act as a trade association for UK ship owners, which seems fairly evident from the 
name. I 
was intrigued, however, by the comment here that the £4.3bn gross income of the British Shipping industry makes it 'one of the largest earners of invisibles'. What with that, the inexplicable foreign road sign, and a name like 'Chamber of Shipping', one can't help but wonder if one has stumbled into JK Rowling territory.
(Oh, and if you're thinking that the lighting looks suspiciously summer-y, it is. I am soo behind with writing up these entries!)
3 comments:
I've walked down that street many times without noticing the extra name signs.
But did you know that just off here in Charterhouse Square, is where Poirot lives. In the films, at least.
Well despite being on the lookout, I failed to notice that apparently there's another Banksy along there somewhere.
Of course it might have been and gone, or yet to have arrived, which is reassuring. I'd hate to think I was being unobservant.
This post is getting an awful lot of hits today, from people searching for the French Road sign in Carthusian Street. I wonder why?
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