One Word Sunday Part of the now defunct London “Pedway” system from a time when we were all going to live and work in Streets in the sky.
Tag: History
Gog and Magog Giants of Albion
Six word Saturday These two figures adorn the clock of St Dunstan’s in the West, Fleet Street. They are meant to represent the Giants that inhabited the land of Albion (Britain) and were discovered by Brutus of Troy. This story is all down to Geoffrey of Monmouth who wrote a history of Britain around 1136,… Continue reading Gog and Magog Giants of Albion
The Entente Cordiale
I think it’s true to say that Victoria is probably not my favourite area of London. It’s one that seems ill at ease sitting next to the very grand Belgravia and the less grand Pimlico estates. If I go there at all it’s usually to Victoria Railway Station, never a pleasure, always a chore! However,… Continue reading The Entente Cordiale
The Hand and Shears
I’ve been in for a pint on numerous occasion and always enjoy the slightly dark interior and no nonsense decor. The pub sits on the corner of Middle and Kinghorn Street in a delightful Georgian enclave tucked away in the shadow of St Bartholomew’s church. I knew that the building dated from the mid 1800s,… Continue reading The Hand and Shears
ABC of City of London Wards
I was recently looking through a list of Wards in the city, and thought it might be a good idea to run through the list giving a bit of background on each Ward. 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… Continue reading ABC of City of London Wards
Ship Ahoy!
I tend not to labour on a subject for too long when writing this blog, but I seem to be on a bit of a roll with the 1893 OS map of London. As described in an earlier post, Cartophilia told how the Cartographers that put the map together had the insight to add inscriptions… Continue reading Ship Ahoy!
Quantity not quality
I’ve just received a copy of the 1937 edition of Ward Lock’s London, a quirky little 7 x 5 inch tourist guide. Ward, Lock & Co. was a publishing house that started as a partnership and developed until it was eventually absorbed into the publishing combine of Orion Publishing Group. Ebenezer Ward and George Lock starting a… Continue reading Quantity not quality
The Pepperers
No, not some obscure 1970s animated children’s TV series with characters made from pepper pots (That’s an idea, perhaps I could pitch it to Cbeebies) but a group of merchants that inhabited the City of London in the early 1100s In last Friday’s post, I expressed my fondness for the 1893 OS map of London… Continue reading The Pepperers
Cartophilia
I’m a Cartophile loud and proud and don’t care who knows it. Sound dramatic, but actually its only the love of maps. Old or new I can spend long periods of time perusing them without any plan in mind. If you can have such a thing, one of my favourites and an item I would… Continue reading Cartophilia
Three London Friars, Two Without Shoes
Six word Saturday Before the Henry VIII and his right hand man, Thomas Cromwell embarked upon the Dissolution more than thirty monasteries, convents, priories and hospitals jostled for room within the City’s ‘square mile’ or sheltered outside in the shadow of the still surviving Roman wall. Two of these orders that are commemorated with statues… Continue reading Three London Friars, Two Without Shoes
A LONDON MISCELLANY 