Historical locations, people and buildings in London
Brick Lane, in east London, is a fusion of market stalls, vintage emporiums, street-food outlets and alternative fashion brands. It’s east London’s answer to Camden Market in the north of London. If you’re a fan of Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine – it’s home to London’s best. Over the last ten years, it has become [...]
Soho is a well-known district of the City of Westminster in London. This article describes how Soho evolved into the epicentre of London’s entertainment scene. Soho is thought to take its name from the hunting cries used when it was a royal hunting park belonging to King Henry VIII, who hunted here with members of [...]
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. [...]
Nonsuch Park is named after the 'unequalled' palace built for King Henry VIII in 1538. Nonsuch Palace was the first great Renaissance building in England taking nine years to build and costing £24,000, a phenominal sum at that time. The palace passed to King Edward VI and then Queen Mary I, who sold it to [...]
Regent’s Canal was London’s main thoroughfare for heavy freight from the 1820’s – used by horse-drawn barges taking goods from sea-faring vessels on the River Thames into mainland England. It stretches 13.5 km from Little Venice in the west of London to Limehouse Basin in the east, today’s Docklands. The canal drops around 30 metres [...]
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 [...]
Ever wondered what London would look like without people? Take a look at these shoots taken last Saturday and Sunday on my permitted daily exercise. Astonishing to see it and hear it, but hoping for a return to normality. Thank you front line workers.
Like me, you're probably hoping we get on the other side of this global pandemic soon! Once we do, here is a pub-walk through one of London's most historical and well-heeled residential areas. Mayfair, named after its raucous annual fair, was purpose-built during the mid to late-1700's. Many wealthly residents moved here from Soho - [...]
In 1896, Charlie Chaplin, his mother and brother presented themselves at the door of the Lambeth Workhouse in south London. Charlie’s father had left them and with no secure earnings they were destitute. Making matters worse, Charlie’s mother, Hannah, also suffered from mental problems. Over the next few years, the family passed in, and out, [...]
The history of Hatfield House starts in 1485, when the Bishop of Ely (Cambridgeshire) constructed Hatfield Palace, today called the Old Palace. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-41), Hatfield Palace was acquired by King Henry VIII, passed down in sequence to his children; Edward, Mary and Elisabeth and then inherited by King James I [...]
