A guide to the alleys, courts, passages and yards of Central London by Ivor Hoole This page is taken from Ivor Hoole’s sadly defunct GeoCities site listing the alleys and courtyards in Central London, last updated in 2004 and now taken offline. The Underground Map blog lists this information as is, with no claim of …
Category: General
London snow
With a little snow forecast for the afternoon of the day this is being written, some London winter scenes through the years… During the “Little Ice Ages” period, deep frosts were more normal, and the most bizarre sign of the times was London’s legendary Frost Fair – a carnival of bear-baiting, gambling and ice skating …
Winter 1962-3
A London bus struggles through the snow during the infamous winter of 1962/3. This particular winter set in on Boxing Day 1962 with the last of the snow not melting until March 1963. Once this photo had been published on The Underground Map Facebook page, the following comments were received: Chris Gray: My favourite winter. …
Underground for Business or Pleasure
Underground for Business or Pleasure; by FE Witney, 1913 The first graphic posters were commissioned by Frank Pick, who was made responsible for London Underground’s publicity in 1908. Then, as now, the Underground was primarily used by commuters but the works he authorised sought to promote the benefits of the transport network and provide London …
The Tate Gallery by Tube
The Tate Gallery By Tube; by David Booth of the agency Fine White Line, 1986 The Tate Gallery By Tube poster was commissioned for Art on the Underground, a poster-commissioning initiative launched in 1986. Quite separate from the Underground’s main publicity campaigns, Art on the Underground posters were designed to fill unused advertising space. This …
The execution of Charles I
King Charles’s decapitation was scheduled for Tuesday, 30 January 1649. Two of his children remained in England under the control of the Parliamentarians: Elizabeth and Henry. They were permitted to visit him on 29 January, and he bid them a tearful farewell. The following morning, he called for two shirts to prevent the cold weather …
Victorian and Edwardian London
Made as the Victorian era morphed into the Edwardian, this is the earliest known movie footage of London. It shows a number of scenes taking in locations such as Hyde Park Corner, Parliament Square and Charing Cross Station. We see crowds of people disembarking from a pleasure steamer at Victoria Embankment, pedestrians dodging horse-drawn …
The Fall Of The Leaf
Fall of the Leaf; by Walter E Spradbery, 1933 Just as leisure travel into the areas beyond central London was promoted to increase revenue during off-peak periods, commuters were encouraged to live further out from the city in the new suburbs for commercial reasons. Posters advertising days out by Tube, bus or tram were prominently …
The London Blitz in colour
On the anniversary of the launch of Winston Churchill’s ‘V for Victory’ campaign on 19 July 1941, we are featuring these Time Life Pictures/Getty Image photographs which show the full horror of the destruction inflicted by Nazi bombings across London. Workers wielding pick-axes and shovels are tasked with clearing away the remains of bombed building …
The making of Sgt. Pepper
Just going a bit off topic here. A 1992 documentary about the making of the Sgt. Pepper album. Includes the story behind how George Martin patched together Strawberry Fields…