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
In 2019, Scotland welcomed almost 3.5 million inbound visitors who spent approximately £2.5 billion in the country. This has resulted in the UK Government earmarking £19 million to promote destinations across Scotland. The influx of visitors has helped secure the UK’s position in the top five countries globally when it comes to inbound visitor spending.Thanks to this [...]
The former London home of Sir Thomas More, stands on Chelsea Embankment adjacent to Chelsea Old Church (More’s home is the central grey stone building in the featured picture). Originally situated in Bishopsgate it was moved here in 1910 since Chelsea was the location of More’s Beaufort House and estate (only recalled now by local [...]
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. The canal 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 [...]
Pushing the boundaries of ‘beyond London’ here, but wanted to share some pictures taken of Ostia, the ancient port city of Rome. Brought to our attention by Mary Beard and her excellent TV show ‘Meet the Romans’. Ostia kept Rome’s population fed with imported grain from Africa - freely dispensed to citizens to keep them [...]
Completed in 1816, the Royal Opera Arcade predates it’s better known cousin, Burlington Arcade in Piccadilly, by three years. For the wealthy, it symbolised the dawn of shopping as a leisure pursuit - and no longer a chore undertaken by staff. The Regency period shopfronts were designed by one of London’s most famous architects; John [...]