Nowadays “Doing a tour” seems to consist of looking and photographing memorable structures or places within the city. You might (if finances allow) actually enter some of these to see inside and exit through the ubiquitous Gift Shop. The Georgians had a slightly different take on the matter and although I’m sure they visited St… Continue reading Doing the tour
Author: endean0
Hi, I'm Steve, a London tour guide and owner of A London Miscellany Tours, a guided walking tour company who specialise in small number tours of the greatest city in the world!
John Donne, Heaven or Hell?
I must admit I’m not strong on the Metaphysical poets, but when I came across the statue of John Donne on the south side of St Paul’s Cathedral I thought I’d better take a look at some of his poetry. Not really my cup of tea on examination, however I did take a look at… Continue reading John Donne, Heaven or Hell?
A load of hot air
In a recent post I looked at the ingenious ways that designers used to provide ventilation solutions. A couple of novel designs sit close to each other in the heart of the City. The first sits under a statue of the Victorian Civil Engineer James Greathead which is apt. Greathead was the inventor of the… Continue reading A load of hot air
What were they thinking?
Should you be in the vicinity of St James’s Park take a walk along Horse Guards Road, enter the park opposite King Charles Street and walk along to Duck Island. At the islands entrance you will see the very quaint bucolic Duck Island Cottage. The cottage was built on the island on the site of… Continue reading What were they thinking?
Fancy a dip in the Thames?
Although the river is a lot cleaner today than in previous years, the stretch that flows through the environs of Central London is not immediately the first place you’d think of for swimming. The completion of Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s London sewer system in 1870 meant that the quality of water in the River Thames was… Continue reading Fancy a dip in the Thames?
Ban The Bun
Easter as we now know starts around the 26th December when that staple of the period, the Hot Cross Bun appears on supermarket shelves. To be honest if I see another advert for luxury buns containing obscure Sultanas that can only be found in the Amazonian rainforest or some ghastly concoction of salted caramel and… Continue reading Ban The Bun
The art of the picnic
Easter Sunday dawned overcast and a little chilly, ideal weather for the great British picnic. As we cast around for a collection of foodstuffs that could be combined into a dining experience Al Fresco, I was reminded about a catalogue I’d been looking at for the department store Gamages which was situated at 16-128 Holborn… Continue reading The art of the picnic
Nefarious activity at the Kentish Drovers
Following yesterday’s post I’d looked up the Kentish Drovers Public House in the Old Bailey database. In all there were six cases stretching between 1845 to 1912 and in a nice little twist they are bookended by two coining offenses. The first case concerns a Catherine Hacket who appeared on 24th November 1845 charged with… Continue reading Nefarious activity at the Kentish Drovers
…and now to travel news
….due to an incident. Next there are around 20 minute delays on the A2 Old Kent Road in both directions due to a large volume of cattle, police are advising ….. Well, you might have heard that had there been travel news and radios to hear it on in the 18th and early 19th centuries.… Continue reading …and now to travel news
The odd post
I like oddities. I like finding out why they are odd, perhaps that makes me a little odd too? There’s this lamp post that’s sort of fascinated me, just across from the Royal Courts of Justice. It sits quite happily on the island bordered by Aldwych and Strand that is home to St Clement Danes… Continue reading The odd post
A LONDON MISCELLANY 