As you walk through a passageway that links the cloisters to the Chapter House in Westminster Abbey, you walk past a doorway that is generally lit with a spotlight on a stand. Next to it is a sign: ‘Britain’s Oldest Door’.
One of the loveliest and most peaceful spaces in London is literally in the centre of one of the busiest. The Tower of London gets some two million visitors a year, and in high season one can wait several hours to shuffle past the Crown Jewels, and the space in the White Tower around the […]
Thanks very much for following the blog this year, and for coming on the virtual tours (and the handful of real life walks) that have been organised. There have been over 8,000 visitors to stuffaboutlondon.co.uk with over 11,000 views – a record year on both counts. It is very much appreciated. There’ll be more posts in the […]
Along the Albert Embankment wall of St Thomas’ Hospital, directly over the Thames to the Houses of Parliament is an incredible piece of public guerrilla art. Hand painted on the wall are thousands upon thousands of red and pink hearts, each one representing a victim of the Covid pandemic. Some have the names of individuals […]
A bit more medieval from the British Museum (read all about a 700 year old citole here), but this time we’re not in my favourite Room 40, but Room 2a, the home of the Waddesdon Bequest. We’re going to look at the Holy Thorn Reliquary, a late 14th century gold, enamel and rock crystal devotional […]
WHAT: Statue of William IV WHERE: Greenwich Park (map) BY WHOM: Samuel Nixon WHEN: 1844 Poor old William IV. The last of the Hanoverian kings of Britain, he is all but forgotten today, succeeded as he was by his niece Victoria (whose name is virtually a synonym for the entire 19th century), and preceded by […]
As well as the stuff I’m doing for UKToursOnline I’ve also got a bunch of things coming up with Context Conversations. This includes ‘one-offs’ such as tours of Stratford upon Avon, the Churchill War Rooms and Americans in London (full list here), but also some four part courses. Each Saturday in February will be given […]
I’ve got three talks coming up this month with UKToursOnline – on London’s WW1 memorials, Americans in London, and bizarre Oxford University traditions. Details below.
To the new Second World War gallery at the Imperial War Museum. And it’s really rather good. The previous WW2 ‘experience’ in the museum focussed on ‘hinge’ points during the war, giving not a comprehensive overview of the conflict, but using artefacts from the collection to look at turning points such as D-Day, Dunkirk, the […]
Hyde Park Gate is a cul de sac off the Kensington Road, a stone’s throw from the Albert Hall and Albert Memorial. It’s a mix of houses from the second quarter of the 19th century and some fairly dreadful modern additions. Wander down the street and you’ll pass blue plaques to Robert Baden-Powell, the founder […]
