Month: December 2023

blue plaque to emperor napoleon iii

Vive l’Empereur! London’s oldest blue plaque

14/12/2023 donbrown 0

One of the underappreciated glories of London is the Blue Plaque scheme, the commemoration with 19” (48cm) ceramic discs of the places associated with history’s […]

herbert and sons lion sculpture in west smithfield london

“Justice and Strength”: the Smithfield Lion

13/12/2023 donbrown 0

Just across the street from where the new London Museum (nee Museum of London) is emerging in copper-covered glory from the old Poultry Market is […]

battersea park peace pagoda

The London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park

06/12/2023 donbrown 0

In 1829 the Duke of Wellington, the then Prime Minister, fought a duel with the Earl of Winchelsea on Battersea Fields, an area of common […]

western pumping station pimlico

Victoria’s Campanile – the Western Pumping Station

03/12/2023 donbrown 0

As one rattles across the Thames in to Victoria station an elegant building appears on the Chelsea Embankment on one’s left. It’s a building on […]