Author: Stephen Liddell

I am a writer and traveller with a penchant for history and getting off the beaten track. With several books to my name including several #1 sellers. I also write environmental, travel and history articles for magazines as well as freelance work. I run my private tours company with one tour stated by the leading travel website as being with the #1 authentic London Experience.

Recently I've appeared on BBC Radio and Bloomberg TV and am waiting on the filming of a ghost story on British TV.

I run my own private UK tours company (Ye Olde England Tours) with small, private and totally customisable guided tours run by myself!

Wooden Spools of times past outside a beautiful old Spitalfields House

I’ve written countless posts over the years about Spitalfields, Whitechapel and Aldgate and many of them have been on less than savoury subjects but recently when I was out and about walking through the area I decided to revisit one of the more upmarket districts. Of course at one point the whole area was very… Continue reading Wooden Spools of times past outside a beautiful old Spitalfields House

Fenstanton Man – A Victim of Roman Crucifixion in Cambridgeshire

Last week a rather interesting bit of news caught my eye relating to an archeological dig from 2017 but for reasons relating to Covid, the findings which have only just been released. As I’ve mentioned previously from time to time, it is common practice for archaeological work to be carried out in the UK before… Continue reading Fenstanton Man – A Victim of Roman Crucifixion in Cambridgeshire

Snooping around a Charnel House (House of the dead) in Spitalfields, London.

Whilst I was out looking for my beigel a few weeks ago in Spitalfields, I decided to do a bit of a detour to look for an old ruin which if not quite in plain sight then is at least walked over by thousands of people every day without their ever really knowing. I’ve written… Continue reading Snooping around a Charnel House (House of the dead) in Spitalfields, London.

Covid Diary 82: Warming up a 200 year old house

I’ve lived in my new house now for almost 2 years but due to being Excluded and without income or any government support, things that in normal times I could get done in weeks are currently taking years. My house is split into two sections. The original chuck of the house from about 1824 and… Continue reading Covid Diary 82: Warming up a 200 year old house

Theodora Grahn – The heavy drinking, transgendered celebrity of Regency London

Whatever else Regency London has going for it (and there was a lot), breaking the gender stereotypes was not one of them. Much more than race was ever an issue in London, people from the LGBT community such as it was had it particularly hard. Homosexuality was illegal and brought the risk of capital punishment… Continue reading Theodora Grahn – The heavy drinking, transgendered celebrity of Regency London

Coronavirus Diary 81: Visiting London’s oldest Beigel Shop

For many if not most people, life is well on the way to being back to normal, in deed from what I can tell many peoples lives were barely impacted at all aside for a few weeks. For myself and many others in the UK however, we are effectively unable to work and I’m about… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 81: Visiting London’s oldest Beigel Shop

Charles McGhee – The penniless Crossing Sweeper with a heart and pot of gold.

Today sometimes if you’re unlucky enough to be driving in London, you might get harassed in traffic jams around junctions to have your windscreen cleaned whether you want it or not by road-side workers who seem oblivious to the fact that cars have had washers for decades. 18th Century London had a whole wealth of… Continue reading Charles McGhee – The penniless Crossing Sweeper with a heart and pot of gold.

My first Remembrance Service at Bushey Memorial

Due to Covid, Sunday was the first opportunity I have have had to attend the local Remembrance Sunday ceremony at 11am as it didn’t run last year so despite having moved almost 2 years ago, this was the first time I got to witness it in person. I’d been to the memorial last summer and… Continue reading My first Remembrance Service at Bushey Memorial

150 years of disasters at Liverpool Street Station

It is nearly 150 years old and the third busiest railway station in the U.K. and only behind London Waterloo and London Victoria Station with around 64 million passengers every year acting as a London gateway and exit to travellers from Cambridgeshire, Essex, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. But over the last century it’s… Continue reading 150 years of disasters at Liverpool Street Station