The Sign Of The Two Headed Swan

I was prompted to take this uninspiring photograph after coming across an old image of the same location. The first picture is Gresham Street in 2020 and the second image is the same street a hundred years earlier in 1920. The most prominent building in the second image is Pickfords the removal company and I…

Cock And Pye

To make a Peacock Pye. Pick it, and leave the Feathers on the Neck, cut the Neck off close to the Body, skin the Neck close to the Head, and cut it off; put a Stick tight into the Skin up to the Head, dry it in an Oven; cut off the Legs, and keep…

……..AND THE BONUS BALL IS

The Nation Lottery started in the UK on the 19th November 1994, however, this was not the first nationwide lottery to be run in Britain. “The Lottery” by William Hogarth 1721 showing the two lottery wheels. The first state lottery was the idea of Master of the Royal Mint, Thomas Neale in order to raise…

The Yorkshire Stingo

At the Lisson Grove end of Marylebone Road, you will find Westminster Magistrates Court. What to my mind is a rather drab building has been enlivened by the addition of an art installation by artist and blacksmith Bex Simon. The artwork references Marylebone life and in particular the former building that sat on the site…

Owen’s Fields

The entrance to this small park was once the entrance to a school playground that separated Dame Alice Owen’s Girls’ School and Owen’s Boys’ School and is now known as Owen’s Fields in Clerkenwell, London EC1. The girl’s school was built in 1890 and was a substantial building with underground cellars. At the outbreak of…

A Little Bit of The Pharaohs In Piccadilly

Egyptian House 170-173 Piccadilly is one of those functional early 20th century buildings that in the next hundred or so years people will begin to love. It’s a bit of a hybrid, echoes of Georgian and Victorian architecture muddled up with just a glimpse of what was ahead in terms of Art Noveau and Art…

The Strange Tale of Mr Fribourg and Mr Treyer …….. and Mr Fribourg and Mr Pontet

Friborg and Treyer were fashionable snuff sellers in the 18th century. Based at 34 Haymarket their clientele included King George IV, the actor David Garrick and all-round dandy Beau Brummell. The Fribourg’s had originally come to England from Switzerland, and the claim is, that the firm was started in 1720 by P. Fribourg, although the…

It’s Virtually The Same

Not being able to wander London’s streets during Lockdown is a bit of a problem for a tour guide, and obviously the lack of customers is also a disadvantage. So, my time is spent online, researching, writing and generally indulging in all thing London (Geek). When I come to plan A London Miscellany tour, the…

Greek Street, Then and Now

I’ve always found Greek Street in Soho to be a bit of an oasis, if a slightly shabby one, when compared to some of it’s more garish neighbours. With the relative tranquillity at its northern end of Soho Square it’s always struck me as a street that’s a bit more laid back, perhaps not as…

The Monster Of London

There have been many violent and disturbing crimes committed in the Capital over the centuries, some single incidents, and others of a more serial nature. The latter attract much more attention, sometimes with the culprits achieving cult status. Obviously Jack the Ripper is usually the first to come to mind, along with latter-day perpetrators, John…