THE REPOSITORY
The Hand and Shears
I’ve been in for a pint on numerous occasion and always enjoy the slightly dark interior and no nonsense decor. The pub sits on the corner of Middle and Kinghorn Street in a delightful Georgian enclave tucked away in the shadow of St Bartholomew’s church. I knew that the building dated from the mid 1800s,Continue reading “The Hand and Shears”
ABC of City of London Wards
I was recently looking through a list of Wards in the city, and thought it might be a good idea to run through the list giving a bit of background on each Ward. The City of London is divided into 25 wards. These wards are a survival of the medieval governmental system that allowed very small areas to existContinue reading “ABC of City of London Wards”
Ship Ahoy!
I tend not to labour on a subject for too long when writing this blog, but I seem to be on a bit of a roll with the 1893 OS map of London. As described in an earlier post, Cartophilia told how the Cartographers that put the map together had the insight to add inscriptionsContinue reading “Ship Ahoy!”
Quantity not quality
I’ve just received a copy of the 1937 edition of Ward Lock’s London, a quirky little 7 x 5 inch tourist guide. Ward, Lock & Co. was a publishing house that started as a partnership and developed until it was eventually absorbed into the publishing combine of Orion Publishing Group. Ebenezer Ward and George Lock starting aContinue reading “Quantity not quality”
The Pepperers
No, not some obscure 1970s animated children’s TV series with characters made from pepper pots (That’s an idea, perhaps I could pitch it to Cbeebies) but a group of merchants that inhabited the City of London in the early 1100s In last Friday’s post, I expressed my fondness for the 1893 OS map of LondonContinue reading “The Pepperers”
Cartophilia
I’m a Cartophile loud and proud and don’t care who knows it. Sound dramatic, but actually its only the love of maps. Old or new I can spend long periods of time perusing them without any plan in mind. If you can have such a thing, one of my favourites and an item I wouldContinue reading “Cartophilia”
Three London Friars, Two Without Shoes
Six word Saturday Before the Henry VIII and his right hand man, Thomas Cromwell embarked upon the Dissolution more than thirty monasteries, convents, priories and hospitals jostled for room within the City’s ‘square mile’ or sheltered outside in the shadow of the still surviving Roman wall. Two of these orders that are commemorated with statuesContinue reading “Three London Friars, Two Without Shoes”
Washing History
2020 saw a spate of statue removals throughout the UK. Characters no longer deemed to be politically correct were consigned to the storeroom or in one case the dockside of history. I came across this empty plinth in Cavendish Square, and wondered who it was that had upset public opinion. Looking at the plinth IContinue reading “Washing History”
Time and tide wait for no man
A saying that perhaps conjures up visions of King Canute, though some scholars attribute it to Geoffrey Chaucer. I’ve used it in the context of if you wait long enough then something that you’re waiting for will wash up at your feet. Actually it’s been a week of having long standing mysteries solved just byContinue reading “Time and tide wait for no man”
Not Avenues, But Alleyways
Once you’ve designed a tour, walked it countless times, discovered new things along the way to add in and found bits to leave out, you do have a slight proud parent vibe going on. I’m please to say that I’ve finished tinkering with this tour and it’s probably my favourite of all of them. ThereContinue reading “Not Avenues, But Alleyways”
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