Category Archives: Cool Britannia

Posts predominantly related to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The famous farting lamp of London

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

Last week I wrote on The Great Stink of 1868. By chance todays post is on a related subject. Many people will be aware that in the Victorian age, much of London was lit with gas lamps and in deed … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London, Science and Engineering | Tagged Carting Lane, Joseph Webb, London, Sewage lamp, Sewers, The Savoy, Webb Patent Sewer Gas Lamp | 6 Comments

The Great Stink of 1858

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

If like me, you suffered through the blazing London summer of 2018 with seemingly wall to wall sunshine heat and humidity from Easter to the end of September, squashed on your commute in airless tube trains and wondering how you’d … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London | Tagged 1858, Greenwich, London, River Thames, Sewers, Sir Joseph Bazalgette, The Great Stink | 2 Comments

An eerie old mortuary from Jack The Ripper and the world’s oldest Police.

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

Whilst out on one of my walks and whilst taking some photos for Mondays post on The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, I made it my business to hunt out a new (for me) location related to Jack The Ripper. Hidden away … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, history, Life, London, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged East End, Elizabeth Stride, halloween, Jack The Ripper, Murder, River Police, River Thames, St George In The East Church | Leave a comment

The Ratcliffe Highway Murders

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

It’s Halloween and I’ve done a number of related posts on the origins of Halloween, hauntings, the modern day Enfield Poltergeist and of course the infamous Jack The Ripper. Real life figures such as the Victorian poisoner Mary Cotton and figures … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London, Popular Culture | Tagged halloween, Limehouse, London, Murder, Police, Ratcliffe Highway Murders, Shadwell, St George In The East Church, Wapping | 12 Comments

The ticking timebomb shipwreck that could damage half of London

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

Every now and then a newly made discovery of a long-lost shipwreck makes the news with everything from RMS Titanic to the lost ship of Captain Cook and everything in between. There are a few shipwrecks however that are well … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London, WW2 | Tagged Bombs, Life, London, River Thames, S.S. Richard Montgomery, Shipwreck, war | 5 Comments

Ratcliffe Cross Stairs – Where fires raged, explorers set sail and pirates hung

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

Last week whilst scouting out a new walking tour of just a small part of East London, one of the places I most wanted to visit is the slipway which was once known as Ratcliffe Cross Stairs. The village of … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Limehouse, London, Martin Frobisher, Ratcliffe Cross Stairs, River Thames, Town of Ramsgate, Wapping | 6 Comments

The Kazakhstan art exhibition in a disused London power station

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Stephen Liddell

Whilst out and about scouting a new walking tour in the East End of London, I had the good fortune to come across one of those hidden treasures which I still do so regularly even after all my exploration. Going … Continue reading →