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 that merge myth and reality such as Springheeled Jack. Perhaps more horrendous than any of… Continue reading The Ratcliffe Highway Murders
Category: Cool Britannia
The ticking timebomb shipwreck that could damage half of London
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 known, even visible to us today. Out of them all, there can’t be any more… Continue reading The ticking timebomb shipwreck that could damage half of London
Ratcliffe Cross Stairs – Where fires raged, explorers set sail and pirates hung
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 Ratcliffe itself is all but forgotten and subsumed by Limehouse which is itself unknown by… Continue reading Ratcliffe Cross Stairs – Where fires raged, explorers set sail and pirates hung
The Kazakhstan art exhibition in a disused London power station
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 along old Wapping High Street, one of the most unexpected sights you might see is… Continue reading The Kazakhstan art exhibition in a disused London power station
London – The first National Park City in the World
One way or the other, London is famous for many things. Whether it be History, finance, empire, culture or just the weather. One of the things that might not spring to mind when you think of London, however, is just how green it is even though by area, it has by far more green and… Continue reading London – The first National Park City in the World
Give Peas A Chance – London loses its most seen graffiti
There aren’t many things in life that one can rely on in life and over the last few days hundreds of thousands of London commuters have had to deal with something that even puts Brexit in the shade. Namely the loss of possibly the most seen graffiti in London if not all of the U.K.… Continue reading Give Peas A Chance – London loses its most seen graffiti
Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling
Two weeks ago you may have seen my post on the Painted Hall in Greenwich which is often referred to as the Sistine Chapel of England. The artwork is 300 years old however and due to age, wear and tear and earlier attempts at preservation, the imagery had become very dark and rather indistinguishable from… Continue reading Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling
The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel
Said by many to be the English equivalent of the Sistine Chapel, The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich is one of the most spectacular and important baroque interiors in Europe. You might get some idea what awaits when you first arrive at the Cutty Sark station or as I prefer to… Continue reading The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel
The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London
Whilst preparing for a tour tomorrow to the Natural History Museum in London, I thought I should do a reconnaisance sortie as well as a bit of research. The museum is a work of art and shows what value Victorians placed on education. Amethysts were used as charms by the ancient Greeks to… Continue reading The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London
The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I
Ever since I wrote the post Thomas Harrison – Executed whilst cheerful! who was hung drawn and quartered, I have been thinking about the tulmultuous events leading up to the execution of King Charles I. Regicide as it is known, is very rare in British history and usually when it was comitted, it was done so 1500… Continue reading The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I
Stephen Liddell 