At a time when we are rightfully lauding the efforts of all NHS staff for their work during the pandemic I’d like to take you back to a time when the medical profession was not quite as caring and helpful as today. Let’s focus on Dr. William Butler, born in Ipswich around 1535. He attended… Continue reading The Doctor will see you now
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Tunnel Vision
Its funny how when you start to research a subject some fact or unknown story gets thrown into the mix worthy of further investigation. Yesterday’s post contained a piece about a supposed private station beneath Buckingham Palace for the Queen to use if a rapid departure was needed from central London. I had heard the… Continue reading Tunnel Vision
Hook, Line and Stinker
Thought I’d take a quick look at three London urban myths. Whilst writing this I started to feel a bit bad about dispelling these myths as each one has a certain charm about it, but as these are all well documented I decided to press on. However I don’t think that I’ll ever directly tell… Continue reading Hook, Line and Stinker
Station to Station (Part 2)
Continuing with the toponyms while travelling the Northern Line eastern section. Stockwell: Recorded as Stokewell in 1188. The name can be interpreted as “The stream with a footbridge consisting of a tree trunk” from the Old English Stock (trunk) and Wella (Stream) Up until the 1860s Stockwell was still a small rural village. The station… Continue reading Station to Station (Part 2)
The Vile Adulterator Windy Miller
Aficionados of Camberwick Green will all know that Windy Miller was definitely a single guy about town and I have long suspected that he knows more that he lets on about Mrs Honeyman’s baby (there’s never a mention of a Mr Honeyman). I believe that he is also familiar with some of the Green’s married… Continue reading The Vile Adulterator Windy Miller
All Washed Up
Sadly, on average around thirty corpses are fished out of the River Thames each year. However, this is a dramatically reduced number when compared to the 19th century. The amount of traffic and industry that took place on the river would have contributed to this number by accident alone, and there is evidence that people… Continue reading All Washed Up
Left High and Dry
I was recently looking through a collection of paintings by the 18th century artist Canaletto. Some of views of London took my interest, but one in particular, titled The Thames At Westminster. What grabbed my attention was the tower that dominates the skyline on the bank. Looking closely to get my bearings I could see… Continue reading Left High and Dry
Station to Station
One thing I’ve really missed during lockdown is riding the Tube, it’s been over a year since I last had the opportunity, so to try and lessen the desire, I thought I’d take a virtual journey and look at the place names on certain lines. We’re going to start down in the South on the… Continue reading Station to Station
Tea, Debauchery and Sewage
I recently came across a 17th century location on the banks of the River Thames called Arnold’s Outlet (if you have the same puerile sense of humour as me, you’ll have sniggered at that). This schoolboy double entendre does have an element of fact about it, as it was actually a sewer outlet that dumped… Continue reading Tea, Debauchery and Sewage
It’s a matter of taste
How do you taste London’s past? That’s an easy one and a subject close to my heart; food and drink. Of the two, drink is the trickier to get to grips with. Nobody that I know of in the city brews anything that resembles the medieval ale that Londoners would have drunk. All the ancient… Continue reading It’s a matter of taste
A LONDON MISCELLANY 