Hidden Gem: Postman’s Park

By Robin Tozer

For a hidden gem, I suspect this place is pretty well known being in the heart of the City. However, Postman’s Park never ceases to be a calming place to visit and something I have missed during lockdown. Near St Paul’s, most people bypass the garden on their way to the City. There was a big revival in interest in Postman’s Park following the release of the Hollywood film, Closer, starring among others Julia Roberts. The park featured prominently in the courtship of the characters played by Jude Law and Natalie Portman.

The main feature of Postman’s Park is the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice put in at the beginning of the twentieth century. Created to recognise ‘ordinary’ people who had died while saving the lives of others, the memorial records their names and deeds on beautiful ceramic tablets.  

The memorial was the work of a Victorian artist and sculptor, George Frederic Watts. A friend of royalty and the aristocracy, Watts was much revered in his day. However, a lot like the film Closer, Watts’ work hasn’t aged well... His work drew heavily on the styles of ancient Rome and Greece, and the ideas of the Romantics of the previous century. Now it looks very dated, dark, and imperial.

I had a dislike of Watts ingrained in me as a child. I grew up in Surrey close to the village of Compton. My school would make us visit Compton’s medieval Church to do brass rubbings, which I loved, but we would also have to visit Watt’s Gallery. Tedious hours spent doing boring worksheets in a dark, boring gallery full of dull paintings. A friend of mine lived in part of Watt’s old home. I was more impressed by the fact his stepdad was friends with the actor Arthur Bostrom, who played the policeman in ‘Allo ‘Allo (“Good Moaning”)

It was only much later in life I realised the connection with Watts and Postman’s Park. And because of that George, I am happy to set aside our differences, and I forgive you.