Essential History | The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
The people, places and events that have shaped our history and culture
Places to eat and drink in London
Spitalfields is an historic area to the east of the City of London. Since the 1660's, it has been the traditional first stop for immigrants arriving in London - and has suffered its share of poverty and destitution. Today, however, the area is a melting pot of the creative industries, street art and bohemian residents. [...]
Little Venice is the name given (by Browning or Byron, no one knows) to the intersection of two canals in west London. These are the Grand Union Canal and Regent's Canal. The former was completed in 1814 and the later 1820 - both key to London's industrial infrastructure, before (and after) railways arrived in London [...]
Borough Market is one of London’s oldest markets, first mentioned in 1276. This is owing to its position on the south side of London Bridge - the only bridge across the river until 1750, when Westminster Bridge opened. Borough Market served travellers arriving or departing London from places to the south east of London, in [...]
In the previous post we gave an overview of this historical area. We continue in this post - and take in the next four pubs! Foreign embassy capital Belgrave Square is home to around twenty foreign embassies; among them Norway, Spain, Germany, Austria, Brunei, Portugal, Bahrain, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico and the Ivory Coast. In the [...]
A short history of Belgravia Belgravia is an area in the south west of London known for its concentration of large mansions, wealthy residents and foreign embassies. However, less than 200 years ago the area was a marshy wasteland frequented by vagrants and criminals. How did it make this transformation? In 1677, the 200 acre [...]