Searching for Alsatia

Scott’s fantastic The Underground Map is the inspiration for this post, specifically his most recent article about Alsatia, an historical sanctuary within London’s Whitefriars. Why Alsatia?

On the borders of modern France and Germany, lies the Alsace. It was long disputed territory and the region gained privileges outside legislative and juridical lines to keep it sweet. The Latin neutral name (since use of the French term Alsace or the German term Elsaß meant taking sides as soon as you opened your mouth to talk about it, in a Derry/Londonderry way) was Alsatia.

I’m not sure why but I’ve recently been drawn to photograph in this part of town. It has a curious atmosphere.

Scott’s post really fired my imagination. I’d never heard of Alsatia before and its status as a slightly anarchic, self-governing refuge for “perpetrators of every grade of crime” sounded fabulous. A few years ago I was lucky enough to take part in Ruth Ewan’s project Liberties of the Savoy, celebrating the Peasant’s Revolt by taking over the hotel’s Lancaster ballroom for an afternoon of music and cakes with 200 young people, including some from my school who took charge of the documentation. It was a reminder of London’s radical history. Alsatia conjured up a similar spirit.

Scott kindly posted a map of the territory of Alsatia. I used this to make a version that followed the contemporary streetscape. I took a bit of a liberty by including the magnificent Temple Gardens, slightly beyond the Alsatian bounds. It amused me to see the similarity between the shape on the map and a Hasselblad.*

I’ve worked at Thomas Tallis School for 35 years, so an added delight was the prospect of visiting Tallis Street which, like my school, is named after the father of English church music. After a very brief appointment on Tottenham Court Road to get my ears cleaned (?!), I headed East via Holborn, along Fleet Street and through Lincoln’s Inn, to see if I could locate the fabled home of the White Friars.

Here are some pictures of the area. There’s lots of construction in progress. It’s a strange combination of massive office buildings and secluded courtyards. Despite the attentions of some hi-vis officials, I managed to escape prosecution!

A charter was granted in 1608 by King James I to the inhabitants of Whitefriars, acknowledging a certain measure of self-government. This ‘sanctuary’ of Whitefriars became called the ‘liberty’ since a liberty is what you could take here.

— from Alsatia: What a liberty!

I was lucky with the weather and I did get a bit obsessed with Temple Gardens, mainly because it’s a stunningly beautiful oasis. I forgot to visit the crypt which is located under the modern 65 Fleet Street building. I’ll need to return. I definitely took some liberties with the precise location of Alsatia, so I hope Scott can allow me to “get away with whatever”. I would urge you to read his account of the history of the place and subscribe to his fascinating Substack.

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* See what I mean?