After the flurry of activity at Bow for the Lansbury 150th anniversary it is a further surprise to find English Heritage recognising the historic spot.

It must be the proximity to the Olympic Park.

EH this week listed a tomb and lavatories at Bow.

The grave is in the churchyard and the toilets are at the churchyard entrance where Gladstone stands above. Last Sunday I noticed the disgraceful condition of the closed WC which the Victorian prime minister seems to be pointing out to passers-by.

The listing details even include bollards in Kit Kat Terrace which is named after a former rector.

The the Tomb of Joseph Dawson is classed Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Special architectural interest as a high-quality Portland stone monument in the neo-classical style featuring his profile in relief and a draped urn;

* Of historical interest as a monument erected by public subscription to a local philanthropist, commemorated by a powerful epitaph recording his virtues;

* Of group value with St Mary’s Church and other listed buildings and structures.

See pages 116-118.

Bow Church is open this week Monday 23 February to Thursday noon to 4pm for visitors to view a small exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of George Lansbury’s birth.

Lansbury was  a local councillor who became the MP and Leader of the Labour Party. He was a member of the church and his funeral was held there in May 1940. It was a huge occasion attended by famous people.

Yesterday I went to a memorial service held in St Mary’s where Fr Ken Leech was the preacher. This was a very enjoyable occasion with student George Lansbury, great great grandson, present along with descendants from America. There was also the daughter of someone who had sung in the funeral choir and a grandson of someone who had worked alongside Lansbury.

Tributes were paid by Bruce Kent and Professor Bob Holman. The Bishop of Stepney read from the diary of his predecessor Cosmo Gordon Lang who visited Bow.

This was a huge history lesson held on the high ground above the River Lea. Indeed we were sitting in a church which was once the focus of a riverside village at the foot of Bow Bridge, the crossing into London.   

The exhibition includes a copy of the Evening Standard for Friday 10 May 1940 -the day Churchill formed the war government just days before the funeral -which previews Lansbury’s funeral.

This is an opportunity to get inside the church which at present is only open on summer Saturdays. In 2011 the church celebrates its 700th anniversary.

Next Saturday 28 February a George Lansbury History Walk starts at Bow Road Underground Station at 2pm.

See pages 116-117.

Plans for the Olympic Park after 2012 are to be revealed at a series of roadshow and workshop events across London starting this month. 

Landscape architects Latz & Partner has been appointed to lead a team to design a section of the proposed Lea River Park from above the Olympic Park to the Thames. 

The plan is for continuous linear parkland called for some unknown reason the ‘Fatwalk’.

The section covered by Latz & Partner’s design covers the first part of the ‘Fatwalk’ – a new riverside cycling and walking route, Three Mills ‘Green’ – a new community park and East India Dock Basin where the Lea Valley Walk used to end before the switch to the Limehouse Basin

We shall have to see if the Lea Valley Walk benefits from all this. 

The full list of venues for the consultations can be found on www.legacynow.co.uk