We all have some idea of the devastation caused by the Great Fire of London in 1666. It destroyed 80% of the City including over 13,000 houses, making 100,000 homeless. It also destroyed 87 churches. But a silver lining to this devastation was that the task of rebuilding public buildings – including churches – was […]
A Haven Of Peace In The Heart Of Mayfair Mount Street Gardens is a public garden off Mount Street in Mayfair created in 1890. But the origin of the garden can be traced to St George’s Hanover Square which is located several blocks away to the east. Towards the end of the 1600s, London experienced
The Mid-Autumn festival, Diwali, Yule, Hanukkah, Christmas … All these celebrations of light, that helped us forget that the nights were getting long and dark, are gone by now. Candles, lanterns and decorations have been put away for one year… The nights are still long though, as we are left to enter the dull tunnel
If you type ‘’Blood Alley’’ in Google Maps, the app will take you to Vancouver, Canada. A bit too far for a day trip… But guess what, there is one in London too ! Or used to be at least… Vancouver’s Blood Alley, now a very lively road with plenty of renowned restaurants, is said to have
Walking east along Cheapside, pause at the corner with Ironmonger Lane and have a look at the wall. You will see a plaque saying that Thomas Becket, Chancellor, Archbishop and Martyr, son of Gilbert Becket, Mercer, was born here c1120 and just above it you can see an image of Thomas himself. There’s some dispute
The Castle The Castle is a decent pub next to Farringdon underground station, popular with travellers and workers in the neighbouring area of Clerkenwell. It was recently closed for a spruce up and a new lick of paint; a confident sign in an age when more pubs are closing than being renovated. If this blog
If you are passing by 51 Buckingham Gate close to Buckingham Palace, you might easily miss a small plaque above an entrance to a courtyard: “On this site stood Emanuel Hospital Founded 1594 by Lady Dacre Re-established 1883 as Emanuel School” Nowadays, the site is known as St James’ Court and is occupied by a
I often make my way down to the river Thames to escape the bustle of the City. There is something instantly calming about being beside its flowing water. Photo: Peter Mujtaba I used to think of the Thames as London’s river, but it’s actually over 200 miles long (nearly 350 km), flowing eastwards. from its
Attending the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in the 1700s Attending a Covent Garden opera performance in the eighteenth century was a very different experience from what we know today. So let’s step back in time, let’s say around 1735, and let me take you to a performance of Handel’s Italian opera ‘Rinaldo’, performed at
Don’t look up! Walking in older parts of London is always a pleasure, with fine Georgian town houses, historic churches, elegant garden squares and mysterious mews. But if you look down rather than up there are clues to some almost forgotten parts of London’s rich history. In many of the older streets in wealthy areas,