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• 26 May 2002 – Ten minutes later – News Direct 97.3 reports the BBC Radio Five report
is wrong.
GREYFRIARS TOWER
There's not much left of the place the Greyfriars once called home. Most of it was torn
down long ago. But the tower remains, and is a symbol of pride for the people of King's
Lynn and the surrounding area. The tower was part of a large friary -- one of several in the
area.
At one time King's Lynn was the third largest port in the country, making it an impor-
tant center of trade and transportation, and there were four different orders of monks based
here. Today only the Greyfriars' tower stands tall – not because they were more venerated
that the others, but because of its location – it helps mariners find their way. The other 60
or so friaries were not so lucky. Just three remain in all of England.
• The Greyfriars got their name because of the color of their clothes.
• 1230 – The Greyfriars establish a friary at what was then known as Bishop's Lynn.
• 1538 – The friary is torn down by Henry VIII's soldiers.
• 1911 – The gardens surrounding the tower are laid out for the coronation of King George
V.
• 2003 – The Greyfriars Tower is entered in a television contest where historic landmarks
compete for millions of pounds in restoration money. It does not win.
ANCIENT SCAFFOLD
This piece of anti-architecture is important because it no longer exists. It is a plaque in a
walkway near Tower Bridge. The inscription reads, "Site of ancient scaffold. Here the Earl of
Kilmarnock and Lord Balmerino suffered 18th August 1746." This is the site of the last public
hanging in London. It was the last because at the time hangings had become spectator sports,
and bleachers had to be erected to accommodate the crowds. When the moment for this double
execution came, the audience leaned forward en masse, causing the risers to collapse, killing a
number of people in the audience.
CANADA SQUARE
While ordinary in appearance, this was the tallest office building in Europe at the time
this photo was taken. The building's signature is a 130-foot stainless steel pyramid cap
weighing 11 tons. Canada Square managed to rise in spite of overwhelming odds.
The Canadian company that commissioned it went bankrupt, bomb threats closed the ob-
servation deck, and a real IRA bomb attack shattered the lower floors. It exists as a symbol of
the area's rebirth.
In 1981 the region consisted of block after block of abandoned industrial sites. The gov-
ernment set up the London Dockland Development Corporation to revitalize the area. It offered
incentives for new construction and reuse of urban land. The Docklands got its own automated
rail system (Docklands Light Railway), and businesses began moving back in.
Some of them high-profile newspapers like the Daily Telegraph. One Canada Square is now
the jewel in the Corporation's crown. It was sold in 1995 to new owners (A Canadian-Saudi
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