There was no place grimmer on this planet than Newgate Prison and as someone once wrote…“It was, almost from its beginning, an emblem of death and suffering… a legendary place, where the very stones were considered ‘deathlike’…it became associated with hell, and its smell permeated the streets and houses beside it.” Indeed if something is… Continue reading Touching a doorway to hell – the old door of Newgate Prison
Category: London
The stained undershirt worn by King Charles I for his execution
Even though I work every day in London and surely spend more time walking its streets and alleys than anyone but the most enthusiastic police officer, I never really get to enjoy the attractions of London. I’m always busy. I see what things are coming months or even years in advance but always working so… Continue reading The stained undershirt worn by King Charles I for his execution
A London street transformed to look like WW2 in The Blitz
A few weeks ago I was giving a Churchill Walking Tour to a family of 8 in London. It was a cold wintery Sunday morning and the streets were largely quiet until towards the end of the tour we came across a filming unit down a side-street near Parliament. There were a few doorways surrounded… Continue reading A London street transformed to look like WW2 in The Blitz
My New Book: Angels of Postman’s Park
For the last two years or more I have been working on my new book which I’m very happy to have released on the 28th March as my little tribe to my wonderful mother who died 10 years ago on that date. Sat almost in the shadow of St Pauls Cathedral, Postman’s Park is a… Continue reading My New Book: Angels of Postman’s Park
The Holy Thorn Reliquary
If you go in the big long gallery on the right of the ground floor of the British Museum, most people will flock to the legendary Rosetta Stone which these days rather politically correctly is a duplicate of the original. I was there recently and it is a marvellous object though the crowd of Spanish… Continue reading The Holy Thorn Reliquary
The Lamassu or Shedu of Khorsabad
Do you have a favourite ancient civilisation? Probably you’ve never really thought about it. There are so many to choose from though the mainstream media seem to obsess over the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks and of course those pesky Romans get everywhere. There are so many more major civilisations to learn about and they… Continue reading The Lamassu or Shedu of Khorsabad
St Mary le Strand – The finest 18th century church in London
St Mary le Strand is a justly celebrated architectural gem and a widely recognised landmark building. It has a grand and dignified worship space which makes it a sanctuary and place of peace in the heart of the district. After the Great Fire and the subsequent rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral, the City Commissioners proposed a… Continue reading St Mary le Strand – The finest 18th century church in London
A new look for Aldwych
On Saturday whilst giving a James Bond Walking Tour, I had a brief opportunity to see the changes at Aldwych in Central London. Aldwych has always been funny kind of place. Neither here nor there really. A gateway to Covent Garden, except it’s not. Roads leading down to the river, Fleet Street and the City… Continue reading A new look for Aldwych
Tiny the rat catcher extrodinaire
Very close to the wonderful Bunhill Fields (previously bone hill) is the pub that was in Victorian times as The Blue Anchor but which is now the Artillery Arms. The 1835 Cruelty to Animals Act prohibited pastimes such as bull baiting, cock fighting and dog fighting but no mention was made of rats – a… Continue reading Tiny the rat catcher extrodinaire
Jumping a Double-decker bus over Tower Bridge
It’s the sort of thing that might be seen onscreen in a bit of far-fetched action but one day a regular London Double-decker bus jumped the gap at Tower Bridge. On 30th December 1952, Albert Gunter was happily going about his day job, driving the number 78 bus over Tower Bridge towards Shoreditch. To his… Continue reading Jumping a Double-decker bus over Tower Bridge
Stephen Liddell 