The title of this piece wasn’t hard to come up with, however I wasn’t sure what the source was. It actually comes from the Bible. Well in this, the Den of Thieves is known as a Patter-Free Lumber. There were many of these dotted around London, one of them was located at 23 New Boswell… Continue reading Den of Thieves
Tag: History
Who had the Lamb Bhuna?
Fancy a curry? Today you’ll be spoilt for choice, takeaways and restaurants have proliferate on our high streets for many years, but how far back would you have to go before finding it almost impossible to get your favourite dish? The answer is probably a lot earlier than you might be thinking. The Hindoostane Coffee… Continue reading Who had the Lamb Bhuna?
Stairway to Heaven
A few weeks ago I went on a bit of a “Jolly Boys outing” taking in both the London Transport Museum depot at Acton and later a tour of Dover Street underground station. Never heard of it? Well, the reason is that it’s an abandoned station that sits within the structure of todays modern Green… Continue reading Stairway to Heaven
Pavements in the sky (part 4)
This is the last part of a hunt for the remains of the London Pedway system that was proposed by architects and designers in the 1970s. You can find the preceding parts here. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 So, in part 3 I found that remains of what was known as the Bishopsgate system… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (part 4)
Pavements in the sky (Part 3)
The continuing hunt for the remainder of London’s abandoned pedway system. If you’ve made your way here via part one and part two, thanks for sticking with it. In part two I wandered around the Barbican, which is the area with the only properly functioning pedway remaining. At the end of the piece I had… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (Part 3)
Pavements in the sky (Part 2)
So, hopefully you’ve arrived here from the first part of Pavements in the sky and have watched the video? If not, part two isn’t going to make much sense. Make yourself a nice cuppa and sit down for thirty minutes and catch up on the video and then come back here. London is always changing,… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (Part 2)
Pavements in the sky
I’ve been wanting to write on this subject for a long time, but never managed to find the time to do so, however I find that it’s too long for just one post, so will have to break it down into separate parts. Lets start at the end of the Second World War. The City… Continue reading Pavements in the sky
Five Years of Wandering: Why Self‑Guided Audio Tours Still Win
It’s a strange thing to realise, but it’s now been five years since I published my very first self‑guided audio tour. Five years of wandering streets, poking around corners, chasing down odd bits of local history, and trying to capture that quiet thrill of discovering something most people walk straight past. When I released that… Continue reading Five Years of Wandering: Why Self‑Guided Audio Tours Still Win
Washing History
Back in 2020 the UK saw a spate of statue removals throughout the UK. Characters no longer deemed to be politically correct were consigned to the storeroom or in one case the dockside of history. I recently came across this empty plinth in Cavendish Square, and wondered who it was that had upset public opinion.… Continue reading Washing History
What did you get for Christmas Sam?
The Sam in question being Samuel Pepys, the answer is obviously a new diary. I decided that this year I’ll try and read each of his diary entries on the day he wrote them over three hundred and sixty years ago. Luckily his first ever entry is January 1st 1660, so I can start right… Continue reading What did you get for Christmas Sam?
A LONDON MISCELLANY 