Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 813 )

• Tower Bridge Mortuary

  

  Today, about 50 bodies a year are recovered from the Thames. In the Victorian period, the number was much higher: more river activity and fewer people able to... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Locked up

  

  After it has closed for the day, the Tower of London looks extremely forbidding - and with good reason. It was built as a fortress to protect the monarch from... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• King's Cross Western Concourse

  

  On a Monday morning, King's Cross Station is usually populated by rushing commuters. However, yesterday they were supplemented by photographers: the new... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Transport Backstage

  

  Most museums have storerooms, but if your institution showcases buses, trams and tubes then you need more storage than most. The London Transport Museum has a... Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Convoy's Consultation

  

  The developers of Convoy's Wharf, Hutchison Whampoa, are holding a 'community consultation' on Saturday. Details in the flyer are vague and there is no... Read more

  Posted on 14 March 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• A Fountain of

  

  Queuing for the monthly candlelit evening at Sir John Soane's Museum, I had plenty of time to admire a Victorian fountain just across the road. Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2012 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Owen & Bowen, Depicting Britain

  

  If you needed to make a long journey in eighteenth-century Britain, you might find yourself very grateful to John Owen and Emmanuel Bowen. Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2012 CULTURE

• People's Building Society

  

  Above eye level on Lewisham High Street is a reminder of the building society which once had its head office here. The People's Building Society has left equall... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Royal Oak, John Street

  

  Doughty Street, Bloomsbury home of the Charles Dickens Museum, becomes John Street a little further south. Sticking out from one of the terraced buildings is a... Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Ghost Signs (66): Next Best to New

  

  Among London's street art curiosities are noses placed discreetly on the walls of Soho by artist Rick Buckley. There is a legend that if you see all seven, you... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2012 DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Holborn Schoolchildren

  

  I've posted on several occasions about the figures of schoolgirls and boys placed above the school entrance. They served not only to advertise the educational... Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2012 CULTURE, HISTORY

• Abraham Valpy, Feeding the Flame

  

  This fine sign in Red Lion Court, one of the alleyways off Fleet Street. Alere flammam means 'feed the flame', and the hand in the image is doing just that. Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Vinegar Valentines

  

  We may think of the Victorian age as a politer time, when greetings cards featured sweet children, cute kittens, lacy borders and the language of flowers. Read more

  Posted on 14 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Victorian Multitasking

  

  With the extravagant Royal Courts of Justice in the background, this lampstand would always have to be elaborate to compete. However, there's a reason behind... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• 1930 Refreshments

  

  The stylish motorist of 1930 and his elegant companions would wish to take refreshment on their excursions. Advertisements in Reginald Wellbye's Picturesque... Read more

  Posted on 10 February 2012 HISTORY

• Stepney Nature Study Museum

  

  The former mortuary in the churchyard of St George's in the East became the Borough of Stepney Nature Study Museum in 1904. It was largely the work of curate... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Motoring, 1930

  

  Sponsored by Dunlop, Reginald Wellbye's Picturesque Touring Areas in the British Isles has pages of advertisements clearly aimed at motorists. Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Alton Towers, 1930

  

  Alton Towers was the home of the Earls of Shrewsbury from the 15th century. It underwent a major transformation when the 15th Earl, Charles Talbot, employed... Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• 'Fairyland of the British Isles'

  Reginald Wellbye's book Picturesque Touring Areas in the British Isles was published in 1930, and while it may not be an entirely reliable guide today, the... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2012 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Edwardian Lassie

  If you enjoyed Lassie, then Rescued by Rover is the silent film for you! The title does rather give away the plot, but there's plenty to enjoy even without a... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2012 HISTORY