And the word was “Doves“. I was skimming through a book that I was given for Christmas, the excellent A Field Guide to Larking by Lara Maiklem. I’d wanted this book as it’s packed with loads of information regarding a new hobby I’m starting, that of Mudlarking on the banks of the river Thames. I… Continue reading In the beginning was the word
Tag: Death
ABC of City of London Wards
This is the fifth post about the wards that make up the the City of London. These links will take you to the post about Aldersgate, Aldgate, Bassishaw & Billingsgate. The City of London is divided into 25 wards. These wards are a survival of the medieval governmental system that allowed very small areas to exist as self-governing units… Continue reading ABC of City of London Wards
PC49 was ‘ere
Graffiti is part of everyday life it seems. It annoys some and delights others. It can we witty and insightful or plainly banal and pointless. Recently on a trip up to Hadrian’s Wall I marvelled at some graffito dating back to the Roman occupation. One was a disparaging comment about a roman soldier by a… Continue reading PC49 was ‘ere
He’s behind you!
“Oh no he isn’t, oh yes he is”. Sorry but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to slip in a pantomime reference considering the time of year. Afraid this might be lost on anyone outside of the UK. Took some American cousins to a pantomime a few years ago and to begin with they were… Continue reading He’s behind you!
The Cock Lane Ghost
In my last post I related the tale of a less that virtuous parson who apparently haunted an hotel in Covent Garden. As Christmas is usually the time for ghost stories I thought I’d relay one that was the talk of London during the 1760s The ghost of Cock Lane also known as “Scratching Fanny”… Continue reading The Cock Lane Ghost
Stumped!
Ok, so not the most inspiring photo, but as they say, “Every picture tells a story”. What you’re looking at here was the proposed site for the London terminus of the Great Central Railway in the 1890s. An enterprising businessman, Frank Crocker somehow got wind of these proposals and realising that the terminus would need… Continue reading Stumped!
Bucolic Bonnington Square
Bonnington Square in Vauxhall was built during the 1870s. Only a “six” away from the Oval cricket ground it comprised compact neat rows of London brick houses surrounding a central double terrace primarily used to house railway workers who were employed at Nine Elms Goods Yard close by. Booth’s map has the square marked as… Continue reading Bucolic Bonnington Square
Learn to talk proper
I recently came by a fascinating old book called Passing English of the Victorian era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase (published 1909) written by James Redding Ware, the pseudonym of Andrew Forrester a British writer who created one of the first female detectives in literary history in his book The Female Detective (1863). The… Continue reading Learn to talk proper
How Curious
There is a small area of central London crammed in between Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Strand and Aldwych. The area is known as Clare Market and is taken up in the most part by the London School of Economics (LSE). The area of Clare Market was originally centred on a small market building constructed by… Continue reading How Curious
Captain Ralph Douglas Binney
On Saturday I posted a picture of a spoof sign that I’ve passed many times and never stopped to read. A matter of feet away is another sign, which again I was aware of but had never taken the time to look at closely, this one has a bit more gravitas. It concerns this man,… Continue reading Captain Ralph Douglas Binney
A LONDON MISCELLANY 