Tag: History

ABC of City of London Wards

This is the forth post about the wards that make up the the City of London. These links will take you to the post about Aldersgate, Aldgate, Bassishaw. 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 within the… Continue reading ABC of City of London Wards

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

The Monster Of London

There have been many violent and disturbing crimes committed in the Capital over the centuries, some single incidents, and others of a more serial nature. The latter attract much more attention, sometimes with the culprits achieving cult status. Obviously Jack the Ripper is usually the first to come to mind, along with latter-day perpetrators, John… Continue reading The Monster Of London

Thomas Cubitt

Today you have companies like Balfour Beatty and the Kear Group who predominately do most of the construction work in the UK, but back in the early 19th century there were no massive firms that undertook building projects, that was until Thomas Cubitt came along. During the early 19th century parts of London were going… Continue reading Thomas Cubitt

Pagani’s

Sometimes when you look at a block of buildings you think to yourself, that doesn’t look right. One block that I noticed was in Great Portland Street. The imposing building on the far left was previously a bank and now a Post Office. The characterless office block far right shouts post war redevelopment, it’s the… Continue reading Pagani’s

Dogstones

Now there’s a word for you, “Dogstones”. Gallstones found in canines perhaps, or some type of artisanal device for holding something in place? If you Google it, it appears there’s a large stone in Oban in Scotland, but that’s not it. Let me cloud the waters even further by linking the Dogstone with a Hen… Continue reading Dogstones