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Queenhithe Mosaic

Queenhithe Mosaic: Telling The History of The City

Posted on June 30, 2020
in City of London, Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London
9 Comments

On a quiet riverside spot, the story of the City of London unfolds in the most beautiful way. Have you see the Queenhithe Mosaic?...

Devonshire Gates Green Park

History Behind the Devonshire Gates in Green Park

Posted on May 17, 2020
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London, West London
6 Comments

You can spot the gas holders easily, but there's also a secret garden hiding nearby too...

London's Worst Typos

London’s Worst Typos

Posted on April 14, 2020
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London
0 Comments

Incorrect plaques, glaring mistakes and wrong dates - these are the worst gaffes!...

Best London Clocks

The Best London Clocks and the History Behind Them – Part 2

Posted on December 30, 2019
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London
0 Comments

These fabulous clocks are worth giving the time of day! Here are the best London Clocks (and the fun history behind them)...

Sculptures above piccadilly

History Behind These Curious Sculptures Above Piccadilly

Posted on December 27, 2019
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London, West London
1 Comment

Heard the myth you're never more than 6ft from a rat in London? Well on Oxford Street it's other rodents (and their intriguing history) you should be looking for!...

Marchmont Street Token Sculptures

The Sad History Behind The Marchmont Street Token Sculptures

Posted on November 26, 2019
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London, West London
0 Comments

It's worth looking down in Bloomsbury, these sculptures reveal a sad bit of history...

Oxford Street Beavers

Oxford Street Beavers

Posted on September 10, 2019
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London, West London
3 Comments

Heard the myth you're never more than 6ft from a rat in London? Well on Oxford Street it's other rodents (and their intriguing history) you should be looking for!...

North Audley Street Roundels

North Audley Street Pavement Roundels

Posted on July 2, 2019
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London, West London
4 Comments

I know I'm usually looking up, but these North Audley Street roundels on the floor recently caught my eye....

Chiltern Street History

Fire, Dragons and Gods: Chiltern Street History

Posted on March 1, 2019
in architecture, City of London, Hidden Gems, London
9 Comments

Home to Chiltern Firehouse and super trendy shops and cafés. You've got to look up for the history...

Best London Clocks

The Best London Clocks and the History Behind Them – Part 1

Posted on February 25, 2019
in Hidden Gems, London, Look Up London
0 Comments

These fabulous clocks are worth giving the time of day! Here are the best London Clocks (and the fun history behind them)...

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Although it’s no longer a pub, The Turk’s Head Although it’s no longer a pub, The Turk’s Head in Wapping was lucky to survive at all!  Gutted after a fire and left derelict in the 1980s, a local woman; Maureen Davies led a group on a campaign to save the building. They were brilliantly known as the ‘Wild Women of Wapping’!  Today it’s a cafe and - as far as I know - still offering takeaways at the moment. As for the name, it’s actually a reference to a type of knot, rather than a severed head of someone from Turkey. However on a more macabre note, they claim the pub used to be the location for the final drink of condemned pirates facing their fate on execution dock 😅  #lookuplondon #wapping #turksheadwapping #londonhistory #EastLondon #wappinghistory #explorelondon #londonpubs #londonpubhistory #discoverlondon #londonguide #visitlondon #londoncorners #cutelondoncafes #localhistorylondon #londonwalks @theturksheadwapping
Well doesn’t this just lighten the mood?! Spott Well doesn’t this just lighten the mood?!  Spotted this Mary Poppins-esque figure on the side of The Harrison Pub in Bloomsbury. It’s been there since at least 2009 (from a google street view stalk!) but I don’t know the artist or what prompted it to be painted.  I suppose nestled in Bloomsbury it’s in good literary company and JM Barrie - author of Peter Pan - lived an 8 minute walk away between 1885-1888.  Ever spotted it?  #lookuplondon #london #londonStreetArt #bloomsbury #theharrison #londondetails #explorelondon #londonwalks #discoverlondon @harrisonpub
Fancy brightening up your Thursday Evenings? From Fancy brightening up your Thursday Evenings?  From 21 January I’m running my fifth series of virtual tours! At 7pm we’re kicking off with “Greenwich: Heroes & Villains” - a look a the iconic sights and surprising hidden gems of this beautiful London neighbourhood.  Other tours include;  • Hampstead & Highgate - 28 Jan, 7pm
• Holborn & Fleet Street - 4 Feb, 7pm
• Along Regent’s Canal - 11 Feb, 7pm  Can’t make them live? No problem! Book membership for £32 (plus booking fee) which gives you access to ALL four tours and the catch up recordings!  📍 link in bio to join the fun! @look_uplondon 👈🏼  What people say about the tours 🗣  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “The Very Best. If you’ve never done a virtual tour before this is the best place to start (and stay).” - Judith  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Lockdown means nothing when you have Katie ‘walking’ you around interesting parts of London” - Lavender  #london #visitlondonfromhome #londonguide #londonvirtualtour #londontour #londonguide #lookuplondon #explorelondon #lockdownlondon #londontour #visitgreenwich #thingstodoinlondon #greenwichhistory
FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO IS UP! 📺 📍link in bio! FIRST YOUTUBE VIDEO IS UP! 📺  📍link in bio! Tap 👉🏼 @look_uplondon to watch!  It was hard to pick a first video - the presssure!! But it’s... 🥁  The Hidden History of Tower Bridge.  Aside from Big Ben, probably THE most recognisable building in London and yet there are many sneaky symbols and little details which contribute to its history, plus I’m sharing some of my favourites stories which are stranger than fiction!  Really hope you enjoy it ☺️  #lookuplondon #london #visitlondon #thisislondon #londonhistory #TowerBridge #TowerBridgeHistory #londonhistoryvideo #londonviews #londonphotography #londondetails #hiddenhistorytowerbridge
I used to think graveyards were creepy. 
Don’t I used to think graveyards were creepy.

Don’t get me wrong, I probably wouldn’t wander through one alone at night but living beside one and regularly walking through, I now find them kind of inspiring.  Before lockdown I managed to squeeze in a self-guided visit to Highgate Cemetery and one of the more unusual graves is that of Thomas Sayers, the Victorian bare-knuckle prize fighter.  His burial was one of the largest ever seen here, with reportedly 10,000 people in attendance! Chief mourner, riding just behind the coffin in the funeral procession, was his pet dog; ‘Lion’. His statue can be seen lying on his master’s tomb today.  📍This is one of 10 strange London memorials I’ve written about on the blog. Tap my bio link to have a read! 👉🏼 @look_uplondon  #london #highgatecemetery #londoncemetery #londongraves #londonhistoryblog #lookuplondon #londoncemeteries #highgatelondon #visitlondon #exporelondon #discoverlondon #londonoffthebeatentrack #londonguide #londonwalks #londontourguide #bludebadgetouristguide #thomassayers #londonstatues #hiddenhistory #londonhiddenhistory @highgate_cemetery
Along Barking Road you’ll spot the extraordinary Along Barking Road you’ll spot the extraordinary West Ham Central Mission.  Today known as the Memorial Community Church, it was founded as the West Ham Central Mission back in 1871.  The current building was finished in 1922, the whole - impressive - structure serving as a memorial to local men who were killed during the First World War.  There’s a further memorial in the form of 10 bells hanging in the East Tower. There are 172 names cast into the bells, 169 closely associated with the church, one dedicated to the Unknown Warrior and another to Prince Maurice of Battenberg, the youngest grandchild of Queen Victoria and the only member of the Royal Family killed during WWI.  In June 1921 a report in the Tabernacle Messenger stated that “The music of the bells will ever remind us of the heroic sacrifice of our men who gave their lives for us.” #lookuplondon  #londonhistory #plaistow #eastlondon #eastlondonhistory #BarkingRoad #warmemorials #Londonhiddenhistory #londonoffthebeatentrack #explorelondon #londonguide #westham #discoverlondon #byzantinearchitecture #londonarchitecture #londonchurches
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