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
Tag: History
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
Sounds of the past
Following on from the post yesterday on touch, I’m going to try the sense of hearing. I thought this might be a tricky one, how do you hear the past? Well there’s audio history, memories of people who were in a certain place at a certain time. These are really valuable to historians and the… Continue reading Sounds of the past
How Convenient
Let’s say you’re a subject of her majesty Queen Victoria, and are of the middle classes. You’ve travelled into the metropolis for the day and are currently walking along Fleet Street heading towards St Paul’s cathedral. When all of a sudden you feel the need to answer a call of nature. Now this is where… Continue reading How Convenient
Hold the line please
A short walk from Temple Underground Station you’ll come across several statues of Cherubs. Nothing particularly amazing about that as there are probably hundreds of Cherubs in London, however these are slightly different. What makes these Cherubs slightly different is that they’re talking on early telephone equipment. These Telephonic pioneers stand outside the former home… Continue reading Hold the line please
The Trembling Lady
The Albert Bridge crosses the River Thames from Battersea on the south bank to Chelsea on its north side. It was designed by Rowland Mason Ordish and Joseph Bazalgette. Construction started in 1870 and the bridge was opened on the 23 August 1873. The bridge acquired the nickname of “The Trembling Lady” because of its tendency… Continue reading The Trembling Lady
A little part of Texas in St James
Should you be in the area of St James and looking for some fine wines, then you’d be likely to visit the shop of Berry Bros. & Rudd. Even if you’re no connaisseur its worth visiting the premises which opened in 1698 in St James’ Street just round the corner from their new shop in… Continue reading A little part of Texas in St James
A small glass of Old Tom
As you may know Gin or “mothers ruin” was the scourge of the working classes in late 17th century Britain, as depicted in the famous engraving by William Hogarth, Gin Lane. By the early part of the new century moves were afoot to stamp down on the availability of the demon drink but it wasn’t… Continue reading A small glass of Old Tom
BANG!
St Michael, Crooked Lane was an ancient parish church dating from 1304 situated on the west side of Fish Street Hill in the City of London. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire to a design by Sir Christopher Wren, and demolished in 1831 to provide better road access to the newly built London Bridge. .Crooked… Continue reading BANG!
Criminals, Vandals & Visigoths!
It’s a pity that Town Planners can’t be in some way held responsible for the decisions that they make. There are very few instances of architects or planners being held to account for shocking decisions. If in my fantasy world there was a supreme court for atrocious planning decisions, then the first defendants in the… Continue reading Criminals, Vandals & Visigoths!
A LONDON MISCELLANY 