LONDON
The alternative roots of London's Clerkenwell neighborhood
The yellow poster printed in red and black ink is pasted to the side of one of London's famous red telephone boxes. It compels people to protest against government and corporate tyranny.
"Victory to Tamil Tigers!"
"End occupation of Iraq & Palestine!"
"Kick out the Brown government now!"
The Workers Revolutionary Party is organizing the protest, a march to Trafalgar Square in central London. The gathering spot -- a few miles to the east -- is a square named Clerkenwell Green. It's a fitting place for a demonstration. Dissenters have sought haven, and been welcomed, here for centuries.
Visiting Clerkenwell
Bunhill Fields and Wesley's Chapel are on the western edge of the former village of Clerkenwell. The nearest Tube station is Old Street, on the Northern Line.
Most of the other worthwhile sights are within easy walking distance of the central green. Richard Jones, author of several books about London, leads walks through the neighborhood's streets and also offers a thorough, self-guided tour -- free -- on his website ( www.walksoflondon.co.uk ).
Several other companies also offer guided tours of the area. The best known is London Walks ( www.walks.com ).
Only the occasional tourist makes it to this neighborhood, even though it's just a few stops by Tube from both St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London. Many guidebooks don't include Clerkenwell; in those that do, it gets only a brief mention.
As a governmental district, Clerkenwell (pronounced "CLARK-uhn-well") no longer exists. But the village's history dates to the Middle Ages.
For those who've already seen Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and London Bridge, Clerkenwell's a good antidote, a place to get away from the swarms of tourists and learn about the district's alternative roots.
To put things in perspective, a good first stop is Bunhill Fields, the local cemetery. This is the final resting place of some of England's most famous religious dissenters, people such as poet William Blake; Daniel Defoe, author of "Robinson Crusoe"; and George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends. Many of Fox's fellow Quakers -- along with Jews and Puritans, all of whom refused to subscribe to the doctrine of the once-omnipotent Church of England -- are also buried in this unconsecrated ground.
Just across City Road, behind the chapel named for him, lies the grave of another nonconformist: John Wesley, an ordained Anglican minister who later founded the Methodist Church.
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