Having gone through something of the history of the Southwark Mint and its somewhat trepidatious old workhouse, I wondered if I might find anything of the spot today. There are still several old workhouse buildings around but I knew that this one had long since vanished. What started off this whole escapade was this old… Continue reading Visiting the spot where Oliver Twist asks for more
Tag: Southwark
St. Saviour’s Union Workhouse at Mint Street
Following on from the previous post on the dismal history of the Mint Street area in Southwark, I thought I’d investigate more to see how just this one example was the inspiration for a very famous Charles Dickens moment. Maybe even find a way to jazz up my original Ye Olde England Tours Charles Dickens… Continue reading St. Saviour’s Union Workhouse at Mint Street
The Southwark Mint – “The Grand Receptacle of Superfluous Villainry”
Recently I’ve been doing quite a few Charles Dickens Walking Tours for my little company, Ye Olde England Tours. I’m always improving all my tours, it’s my job! I have done a 3 hour walk for six or seven years and this summer started offering the option of a 5 hour version as well as… Continue reading The Southwark Mint – “The Grand Receptacle of Superfluous Villainry”
The newly unearthed Roman Mausoleum in Southwark
Fast on the heals of the remains of some Roman docks being found by Upper Thames Street in London, last weeks another Roman find made the news in the U.K. What the archeologists involved call a “Completely unique” Roman mausoleum. Though the news sites have just mentioned them, it is something that I’ve known about… Continue reading The newly unearthed Roman Mausoleum in Southwark
Standing in the footsteps of Walt Disney
In some quarters it is almost sacrilgeous to say so but I’ve never watched a classic Walt Disney animated film. When other children were doing so, I was much more interested in live action and often rather bloody history and war films. In fact the only Disney production I saw was Black Hole which is… Continue reading Standing in the footsteps of Walt Disney
The Statue of King Alfred The Great that isn’t all it might appear.
Every where you go in London, it is hard to move without bumping into statues and the politics behind who is worthy of a statue, where it should be and how high a status it has in comparison to other figures especially in statue-dense areas are things that get the proponents and opponents quite worked… Continue reading The Statue of King Alfred The Great that isn’t all it might appear.
The Legend of Mary Overie
Everyone knows of that famous old miser Ebenezer Scrooge in the the literature of Charles Dickens but right in the heart of one the most Dickensian feeling part of Central London there is a story that predates Ebenezer by 1,000 years and is largely unknown by everyone except for a few hardy visitors to explore… Continue reading The Legend of Mary Overie
The life and death of Doorkins Magnificat who put the Cat into Southwark Cathedral
The week between Christmas and New years is a strange one in the U.K. so many American and other tourists arrive and forget that they are in a foreign country and that having no national holidays since the summer, we are all finding a way to muddle through about 10 days without going to work,… Continue reading The life and death of Doorkins Magnificat who put the Cat into Southwark Cathedral
You shall not pass! (on London Bridge)
Many people will have seen the terrorist attack on and around London Bridge last week with the remarkable image of him being overpowered by a man armed with an antique Narwhal Tusk, a fire extinguisher and a pair of fists. A quite amazing and brave feat by any stretch of imagination and worthy of note… Continue reading You shall not pass! (on London Bridge)
A video of the re-opened Borough Market
Borough Market has long been one of my favourite parts of London and so aside from the more obvious issues following the recent attack there and the adjoining London Bridge, I have been waiting to get back inside both for professional and personal reasons. Having been a few times in the last week to see… Continue reading A video of the re-opened Borough Market
Stephen Liddell 