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Statues of King Lud (centre) and his sons in the vestry porch of St Dunstan-in-the-West in the City of London. Author Matt Brown

Back in London’s mythological times, this guy was a real player.

He’s the King who reputedly gave his name to the city – Lud’s Town – which eventually became known as London, the city we love.

He was, for all intents and purposes, the first Ludoner!

Now if you’re thinking that’s bit of a dubious link, there are of course many explanations to the etymology of London – including Celtic names for the River Thames which sounded vaguely like the word London. A bit too scholarly for me.

One of the privileges of being a tour guide is you get to choose your favourite sources, and what better than a story of a King that loved the city so much, he was prepared to put his name to it. That’s true commitment.

So, who is King Lud and where does he fit into things? Well needless to say it’s all a bit fuzzy exactly what was going on around that time. Geoffrey of Monmouth the 11th century chronicler and never a guy to spin an outlandish yarn, wrote that Lud was a descendant of Brutus of Troy and when he became King, was appalled at the state of the city and was determined to rebuild. Now don’t ask what he built, remember we are still talking mythological times, but because of his dedication, he was celebrated by the naming of the area where he ruled as Lud’s Town – now known as Ludgate Hill and Ludgate Circus.

Legend says he’s supposed to be buried under Ludgate, the eastern entrance to the city, and in the 16th century a statue of King Lud and his two sons was erected by the Roman Gate that stood here.

When the gate was pulled down in 1760 and in order to keep the memory of King Lud alive, the statues were moved to their current location next to St Dunstan’s in the West in Fleet Street, where they remain, looking a bit dilapidated, but a great bit of ancient history all the same.