Articles by donbrown

soho square black and white half timbered hut

Soho Square, Ancient and Modern(ish)

08/08/2024 donbrown 0

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 […]

brunswick gardens plane tree

The London Plane – our very own tree

04/08/2024 donbrown 0

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

10/07/2024 donbrown 0

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’. […]

elizabeth frink eagle sculpture

The Eagle Squadrons Memorial in Grosvenor Square

09/07/2024 donbrown 0

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, […]

LCT7074 at d day museum southsea

Days Out: The D Day Story and the Overlord Embroidery

09/06/2024 donbrown 0

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 […]

machine gun corps memorial by francis derwent wood

“Saul has slain his thousands” | The Machine Gun Corps Memorial

08/06/2024 donbrown 0

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 […]

cover of vic keegan's lost london 2 book

Book Review | Vic Keegan’s Lost London 2

08/06/2024 donbrown 0

A coffee in the Onion Garden with the inestimable Vic Keegan – journalist, oenologist, poet and historian of London. His ‘Lost London’ column ran weekly […]

composite - victoria cross and george cross

The Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum

08/06/2024 donbrown 0

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

18/05/2024 donbrown 0

According to etymologists, the word ‘charing’ seems to come from the old English – “cerring”- meaning a bend, hence ‘charing’ appearing on many old maps, […]

Feeling Sorry for Marble Arch

10/05/2024 donbrown 0

If it’s possible to feel sorry for a pile of stones, the Marble Arch is probably deserving of sympathy. Like a Hollywood megastar now scratching […]