Dulwich Village is one of the most picture perfect postcard spots in South East London. With an array of interesting independent shops, upmarket cafes spilling out on the pavements and protected from the main road by wide grass borders (themselves surrounded by white picket fences), visiting here seems […]
Eltham Palace in 1828 was in sorry state. “This stately hall is now used as barn, and the men thresh the corn where, in ancient days, Edward III held a Parliament, and gave a sumptuous entertainment to the captive King John of France,” reported the Sussex Advertiser. And […]
The entrance to Woolwich foot tunnel on the south bank of the Thames is not the most pleasant of places to start a Bank Holiday walk. While Waterfront Leisure Centre – the first landmark I spotted bar some public toilets – may be a fun place for children […]
Market day in Brixton is a noisy affair. The minute you step out of the Tube station and onto the main shopping stretch you are struck by a sea of music and chanting. Gospel choirs, steel drum bands and gig promoters all compete for the attention of passers-by. […]
Until 1750 the only crossing point in England’s capital over the Thames was London Bridge, a factor vastly limiting development on the south side of the river. But in that year, after much wrangling, Westminster Bridge finally opened, followed by Blackfriars Bridge in 1769. The significance of these […]
Shad Thames is today one of the trendiest parts of London. It’s a glitzy stretch on the south bank of the river Thames with smart restaurants, fashionable boutiques and expensive apartments in converted Victorian warehouses. While the development has been popular for some time now, the opening of […]
Even when temperatures plummet the Thames does not completely freeze over these days, as it did in the past during the so-called “little ice age”. Demolishing the old London Bridge in 1831 improved the flow of the river and following the construction of its replacement structure, with wider […]
The Crystal Palace was “the most remarkable work of its kind the world has ever witnessed, appealing to appreciation of the wonderful with a force unknown in this country, and unrivalled in any other,” noted Bradshaw’s guide to London. Officially opened by Queen Victoria in Penge Park, next […]
Approaching Convoys Wharf is like nearing many other sites prime for development along the Thames. Looking through the tall gates, there doesn’t appear to be very much on this brownfield land bar remnants of a few tatty industrial sheds in the distance. By the entrance, a security guard […]
Like other areas of London, Rotherhithe’s population exploded in the 1800s; growing from close to 10,000 people in 1801 to some 38,000 a century later. Workers flooded into the area as new docks were dug and warehouses built, creating employment for an army of dockers. By the mid-1820s […]
Past In The Present 