Come share in London’s history…
London Bridge is falling down
The children’s nursery rhyme ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’ was first published in the mid 1700’s though its origin’s probably lie further back in the Middle Ages. If there had been social media at the time you would have said that the nursery rhyme must have gone...
The hotel of spies
If you’re a fan of James Bond and spy stories and looking to book a hotel in London, then St Ermin’s in Victoria could be a good choice. It’s a rather lovely looking hotel built in 1887 in the red brick Queen Anne style in a horse shoe design around a charming...
The handsomest barn in England
Have you visited St Paul’s yet? I’m not talking about the famous St Paul’s Cathedral in the city, but it’s lesser-known namesake, St Paul’s Church, located in the heart of London’s Covent Garden. When Covent Garden was redeveloped in the 17th century, St Paul’s...
For whom the bells toll
The story of Jack the Ripper is tragically woven into the very fabric of Victorian London. Everyone seems to have heard of him. These days, much of the London where he carried out his horrific murders has either been knocked down or redeveloped, but if you want to go...
‘When the lions drink, London will sink’
I can already hear you saying what? This is actually a saying from the 19th century and refers to a row of bronze lion’s heads with open mouths that line the Thames along the Victoria Embankment. They were put there in 1868-187 at the same time the river was being...
Mount Street – a surprising origin
Mount Street is well known to London’s cab drivers. With its beautiful 18th century Queen Anne architecture, it’s home to expensive restaurants, fashion houses, jewellery shops and one of London’s finest hotels, The Connaught – a hotel so exclusive it was said you...
John Snow – pioneer in the study of Cholera
If there was ever a case of ‘I told you so’, this pub in Broadwick Street is it. It’s named after the British epidemiologist and anaesthetist John Snow who, in 1854 during the Soho cholera epidemic, was virtually the lone voice in identifying contaminated water as the...
Bleeding House Yard
Evocative street names abound in London but one that definitely hints at a troubled past is Bleeding Heart Yard, a cobbled courtyard just off Greville Street in Hatton Gardens. Origin? Ready for a good yarn or two? One legend tells the story of the wife of the Lord...
The dark secret of Strand Lane
It's unsurprising that a city as old as London has such an abundance of narrow alleys and tucked away lanes. Many are well trod, the oldest and most attractive, tourist attractions in their own right, developing a kind of 'film set' quality over the years. But there...