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!
Tag: London
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!
Metroland Memories
Just a quick post this morning, brought on by listening to a CD (ask your parents) in my collection of poems by John Betjeman. This one has stuck in my head so I suppose it could be classed as an earworm. Here’s a link to hear the man himself recite it on YouTube Middlesex by John… Continue reading Metroland Memories
Milo The Cretonian
Apparently Milo was an ancient Greek wrestler and strongman sometimes depicted carrying a bull on his shoulders. His link with London is that his feats are celebrated on a rather strange adornment that graced the front of the Queens Hotel built in 1830. The hotel was situated on the corner of St Martin Le Grand… Continue reading Milo The Cretonian
Echoes
I have in my collection a picture entitled Elephant and Tram taken in 1936. It shows an elephant eating an apple from the tram driver. A bit of research shows that the picture was taken in the Grays Inn Road, making the tram a number 31 (I enjoyed looking that up). So an elephant in… Continue reading Echoes
Nice story, but….
Today in 1988 the grave of Boadicea / Boudica, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe who fought the Romans in Britain was located by archaeologists (possibly). Following her victories in Anglesey and the sacking of the Roman Garrison at Colchester, she turned her attention to the fort and small collection of buildings that made… Continue reading Nice story, but….
STAAAAAANDAAAAART!
I threatened last week to start posting reminiscences of childhood in Metroland. Well here’s the first one and goes back to the late 60s when I was around ten years old. For a ten year old back then there were three types of gainful employment, one poor, one middling and the third the pinnacle. The… Continue reading STAAAAAANDAAAAART!
A Good Book
Thought I’d share a picture that hangs in my hallway which I received as a birthday present some years ago. It was taken by photographer Jack Ambridge at Farringdon Underground Station, which is one of my favourites due to it’s wrought iron columns, mellow brickwork and slightly dishevelled appearance. Although a busy station it seems… Continue reading A Good Book
The Winter Garden of Oxford Street
Feeling a little peckish as you wander along Oxford Street (when the shops re-open) ?Forgo the delights of the numerous fast food outlets, and even give a pub lunch a miss. As you saunter east towards the junction of Tottenham Court Road, pass the tailors Hawes & Curtis and then take the next open door… Continue reading The Winter Garden of Oxford Street
Here Be Dragons
The City of London, the mile square area that roughly constitutes the Roman settlement of Londinium in the 1st century AD and is commonly referred to as “The City” is guarded by a fearsome creature. The City’s coat of arms depicts two of these, for they are the London Dragons. The use of them as… Continue reading Here Be Dragons
A LONDON MISCELLANY 