St Dunstan-in-the-East

I've been meaning for an age to go to the ruins of St Dunstan-in-the-East - which is extremely easy to get to from Wimbledon - one just gets off at Monument - by the Monument, all tall and glittering in the sun at its crown.  St Dunstan's was originally built around 1100, and then extended over the next few centuries, and then - well, the proximity of the Monument tells the story: it was substantially damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666.  Then it was partly restored, and partly rebuilt - with a steeple by Christopher Wren.  Then in the early C19th it had to be rebuilt, because the weight of the nave roof was pushing the walls out.  And then it was largely destroyed in the Blitz - and the decision was made to keep the ruins as ruins (although the Wren tower remains), and to create a really pretty public garden.  

It was chilly today, and the air just slightly hazy.  You can see The Shard in the distance.  The biggest surprise was the palm trees, which looked decidedly unhappy in the cold.  I loved it all.

There was, of course, lichen.