April 2021 archive

Abbey Road

Not a zebra crossing in sight.

London movie pioneers

A history of London filmmaking pioneers.

Stratford High Street

Stratford High Street is a DLR station and the location of an earlier station from 1847 to 1957, known initially as Stratford Bridge and later as Stratford Market.

Market Square, BR1

Bromley was granted a market charter in 1205 and the square dates from then.

TUM Book Club: Londonopolis – A Curious History of London

The next in our series of London books to enjoy is “Londonopolis: A Curious History of London”. This curious history of London whisks you down the rabbit hole and into the warren of backstreets, landmarks, cemeteries, palaces, markets, museums and secret gardens of the great metropolis. Meet the cockneys, politicians, fairies, philosophers, gangsters and royalty …

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Beyond the Colony of the Pigkeepers

‘Beyond the colony of the pigkeepers at the end of Pottery Lane’, the ‘Old Inhabitant’ anonymous vicar historian wrote of an outpost alongside the Counter’s Creek boundary stream (by then the Common Sewer) and the West London Junction Railway line; where Latimer (formerly Boundary) Road was coming into existence (as Latymer Road, named after the …

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Jubilee Crescent, E14

Jubilee Crescent was built in 1935 by architect G R Unthank.

Monza Street, E1W

Monza Street lies south of the Shadwell Basin.

Aldwych, WC2B

The name Aldwych derives from the Old English eald and wic meaning ’old trading town’ or ’old marketplace’; the name was later applied to the street and district.

Notting Hill in the Crimean War

Notting Hill in the 1850s had a similarly bad press to the coverage the area would receive in the 1950s. Ladbroke Gardens was known as ‘Coffin Row’ because ‘the windows had that ghastly form’, and ‘Goodwin Sands’ after the dangerous sandbanks off the Kent coast. Elgin Crescent was nicknamed ‘the Stumps’. According to the Building …

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