Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 790 )

• Auber, Fading Underground Wonder

  

  Auber station, just behind the Paris Opera, serves the RER (local railway): you can catch a train from here to Disneyland. However, there's little magic and... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2017 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• A Breton Chapel

  

  Small chapels are liberally scattered around Brittany; many villages have several. They are testament not only to the importance of faith in the region's histor... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2017 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (127): Moorgate Station

  

  Moorgate Station is being stripped and retiled, and for the most part the walls are strangely bare - with an intriguing exception. Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2017 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Engineers' Art Nouveau

  

  Almost a century after they were established, TJ Boulting Sons adorned their new premises with richly-coloured, Art Nouveau signs. Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2017 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Remember the Poor's Box

  

  Before the National Health Service ensured free medical treatment for all, the sick were often dependent upon charity. The wealthy hospital of St Bartholemew's... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2017 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (126): Gosta Green

  

  One frosty morning, walking across the campus of Birmingham's Aston University, I nearly slipped over as this ghost sign distracted my attention from the icy... Read more

  Posted on 03 January 2017 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Review of the Year

  

  It's that time again: as a new year arrives, we take a look back at the most popular posts of 2016. Top five of the year. Archaeology certainly caught our... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• London's Smallest Museum?

  

  On Strand is one of London's very smallest museums - and its gift shop is larger than its exhibition! This is the Twining's shop, which has been here for three... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2016 TRAVEL

• Adieu, Banbury North

  

  A few months ago, Banbury North Signal Box was a crucial part of the railway network as well as a landmark for train passengers. Now, it's boarded up and... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• More Menier Magic

  

  The mill at Noisiel's former Menier chocolate factory may be exceptionally eye-catching, but its neighbours also deserve our attention. Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (125): Alwyne Lane, N1

  

  In Canonbury, this sign advertises the services of John C Mather, builder and decorator, plumber and gas and hot water fitter. Among all those skills, he offere... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Menier's Magical Chocolate Mill

  

  One of the most extraordinary of industrial buildings, the mill at the former Menier chocolate factory in Noisiel is enchanting. Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs Page Update

  

  Want to explore the ghost signs on this site? The ghost signs overview page has had a much-needed update: visit for a general introduction, further reading,... Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (124): Centaur Cycles, Cambridge

  

  On King Street, Cambridge is a large sign for Centaur Cycles - 'the best the world produces'. A closer look and some careful deciphering reveals the words... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Marylebone Coach Station

  

  There is, of course, no coach station in Marylebone. However, I discovered on a tour of the railway station that one was almost built on its site in the 1980s. Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2016 DESTINATIONS

• Through the Victorian Looking Glass

  

  Linley Sambourne, cartoonist for Punch, made 18 Stafford Terrace his family home in 1875. It stayed in the family, barely changed, well into the twentieth... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Holland House: a Strange Centenary

  

  2016 is an unusual centenary year for a building, because 1916 was the middle of the First World War. However, as the name suggests, Holland House in the City o... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Country House Telephones

  

  Although today, we visit stately homes for their historical interest, they were once eager to be technologically up-to-date. Their wealthy owners could afford... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Shedding Light on Lambeth

  

  Turn your back on Lambeth Palace, and across the road towards Lambeth Bridge is a rather fine lamp post. There's no mystery about how and when it got here,... Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• C a Mistake?

  

  Dulwich is full of historical details, but here are a couple of letter Cs which may give you pause. The first is on the former Grammar School of the College of... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2016 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY