Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital
On the railings outside the Coram charity’s HQ in Bloomsbury is a white children’s mitten. Or, rather, what appears to be a child’s mitten, because […]
Articles by donbrown
Soho Square, Ancient and Modern(ish)
There is an ancient hut in the centre of Soho Square, a half-timbered affair with beams that sag and bow. It gives the impression of […]
The London Plane – our very own tree
In Brunswick Gardens, a stone’s throw from the Coram foundation, is one of the ‘Great Trees of London‘, a huge, and 230 year old, London […]
30 Years of Warfare: from the Nery Gun to the V2
Go down into the central atrium of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, and one of the first things you see is the ‘Nery Gun’. […]
The Eagle Squadrons Memorial in Grosvenor Square
Before decamping to Nine Elms, Grosvenor Square was the home of the US Embassy for the best part of a century, first at No. 1, […]
The D Day Story and the Overlord Embroidery
Portsmouth’s D Day Story is a small museum on the seafront a literal stone’s throw from the Tudor castle at Southsea (where Henry VIII watched […]
“Saul has slain his thousands” | The Machine Gun Corps Memorial
Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands The inscription above, which is on the memorial to the Machine Gun Corps at […]
Book Review | Vic Keegan’s Lost London 2
A coffee in the Onion Garden with the inestimable Vic Keegan – journalist, oenologist, poet and historian of London. His ‘Lost London’ column ran weekly […]
The Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum
One of the lesser-visited galleries in the IWM is on Level 5 (the top floor), the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses […]
The Charing Cross: Victorian Medievalism
According to etymologists, the word ‘charing’ seems to come from the old English – “cerring”- meaning a bend, hence ‘charing’ appearing on many old maps, […]