Today Bunhill Fields is a wonderful slice of calm alongside the busy Old Street roundabout. But its history is macabre, curious and full of surprises. History of Bunhill Fields Its name is a derivation of bone hill, literally where cartloads of bones from St Paul’s Cathedral’s Charnel...
Standing in the shadow of St Paul's, this stone arch often gets overlooked. However Temple Bar is not only older than the current Cathedral, but it was designed by the same architect! Its history is a strange (and sometimes gruesome) tale...
If there’s one certainty in the City of London, it's change. Historic fires and bombs coupled with modern development means the Square Mile is in a constant state of flux. But often this means that older history is revealed anew, like this chunk of Roman...
Just off Bishopsgate, the busy thoroughfare with towering new skyscrapers behind, glance down Spital Yard and you seem to have stumbled back in time. Given a closer look, this Georgian townhouse isn’t quite as authentic as it might appear. However it still has plenty of interesting...
Having visited most of them, I thought it would be a fun long-term project to write about every City Church. There are 43 within the Square Mile (give or take a couple, depending on which you include) and in this post we're visiting the only...
Recently I’ve been spending a bit of time researching private walks in Kensington and Chelsea. As such, one of the wonderful little historic gems I’ve stumbled across is the hidden Jewish Cemetery on Fulham Road. While taking a picture of Sokol Books (more on that later)...
In Sutton you can find an amazing historic gem, a surviving house - built c.1500 - that's now a brilliant local history museum. Here’s why you should visit Whitehall Historic House...
While planning a bespoke private tour in the back streets of Kensington I noticed an odd marking on google maps; “The Hole in the Wall”. When I saw it in person it’s rather more substantial than a hole and a little plaque gives a hint...
Have you ever noticed the Eastcheap camels on Peek House? Looking up along Eastcheap provides plenty of interesting things to spot. From the juxtaposition of old (St Margaret Patterns) and the new Walkie Talkie, to one of London’s most intriguing (and tiny!) sculptures But the camels deserve...
Until 23 March 2023 The London Metropolitan Archives have a free exhibition of epic London maps. As if that wasn’t enough to pique my interest, they have on display the oldest surviving map of London. This is Civitas Londonium, a print dating from c.1633 but which depicts...