St Alfege Church & Greenwich Market

This church stands where, according to tradition, an Archbishop of Canterbury was killed by Vikings. In 1011 a Danish army captured Archbishop Alfege at Canterbury and brought him to their camp here in Greenwich, demanding a huge ransom. He refused to let anyone pay it. At a drunken feast in April 1012 his captors pelted him with bones and the heads of cattle, and one of them finished him off with the back of an axe. The church that grew up in his memory is where Henry VIII was baptised in 1491. Its roof collapsed in a storm in 1710, and the building you see now was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and finished in 1714. Buried here are the composer Thomas Tallis and General James Wolfe, who died winning the Battle of Quebec in 1759. Incendiary bombs destroyed the roof and much of the interior in 1941, and it took until 1953 to restore. Across the street is Greenwich Market. It was granted a royal charter in 1700, and the profits went to the naval hospital by the river. Look for the words over the entrance arch: 'A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.' A Bible verse, and a fairly clear message to anyone tempted to cheat on the scales. But enough about scales. What you should really do here is eat. The market is packed with stalls serving seriously good street food from all over the world, so take your time, have a wander and grab whatever smells best.