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 […]
No matter where you are in Britain it seems you are never far from a post box. From isolated hamlets to busy city centres, it’s more likely than not there is one of Royal Mail’s cylindrical red pillar boxes just around the corner from where you live. Most […]
The names Pompeii and Herculaneum strike the fear of death. Even if you can’t recall the date of AD79, you will probably know that these cities in southern Italy were wiped out when the volcano on nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted. Thousands of lives were lost in the ash […]
Visitors to London a century ago would have found plenty of attractions to keep them occupied. From the British Museum to Westminster Abbey, the 1900 publication ‘Baedeker’s Guide: London and its environs’ provides a wonderful overview for railway travellers of all that London has to offer. In addition […]
England’s towns were once enclosed by towering defensive walls that minimised the chances of would be attackers entering and causing havoc. And they performed an important role in regulating business – meaning that only those that were part of official guilds or livery companies could trade. Looking at […]
Drive through the centre of Bristol and you can’t miss a tatty old office block completed in 1972 for the now defunct Avon County Council. Towering into the sky, this brutal piece of architecture continues to blight the city’s skyline 17 years after the authority was abolished. But […]
The railways transformed Britain when they were introduced as a mass mode of transport in the 19th century. For the first time we had a nationally integrated economy where major brands were established, professional sports leagues blossomed and seaside excursions became possible for many. Towns that were on […]
Behind the hustle and bustle of King’s Cross station, a huge swathe of waste land is being transformed. Developers are turning what was once a dirty, industrial area into a new district that will house 6,000 residents and 30,000 office workers. At the heart of King’s Cross Central, […]
Hearing Boris Johnson’s £10 million plan today to get more commuters on the Thames made me chuckle. It’s not that I’m against the river travel – I have quite the opposite view in fact. As a Tube user and seeing how clogged up London’s streets get in peak […]
Tucked away in an industrial estate amongst car repair shops and builders’ merchants, there’s a Metropolitan police station that’s more famous that most in the capital. Sun Hill was portrayed on the ITV series the Bill as being in Tower Hamlets, but it was actually filmed in a […]
Past In The Present 