Carreras Cigarette Factory is one of London’s most curious buildings. Discover the spot where Egyptian Revival architecture meets Art Deco in Mornington Crescent. You may not know it, but London in the 1920s gave birth to a rather curious architectural subset of the Art Deco movement – Egyptian Revival Architecture. The world had gone gaga …
Ensconced down a small side street off of The Strand near Covent Garden, Carting Lane is home to one of the 19th century’s most bizarre (and brilliant) inventions. On the face of it, it looks like the other gas lamps dotted around the area, but the Patent Sewer Ventilating Lamp is anything but. The Story …
Standing well above eye level on the corner of Cock Lane and Giltspur Street on what used to be a rather unpalatable part of the City of London, there’s a statue of a curiously fat golden boy, arms crossed and staring petulantly into the distance. This is the very spot where the Great Fire eventually …
Any walk through Soho throws up all kinds of oddities, from noses plastered against the walls to the seedy shops. Still, there’s one that often flies under the radar and it’s located outside The John Snow pub on Broad Street: the Broad Street Pump. Why does the pump exist? More importantly, what’s the story behind …
London – we all know it. That massive heap of buildings, parks and weird (but wonderful) people who can’t look at each other on public transport. No wonder London has attracted a fair few nicknames over the years. I’ll wager you’ve heard of some of London’s nicknames – like The Big Smoke – but maybe …
Spotted the rather controversial parakeets in London? No doubt you’ve seen them darting across London’s skies. A flash of bright green splitting through the air, quickly followed by another and another. It used to be that the most exciting colour you’d see on a bird was the red plumage on an aggressive robin, but that …
You’ve probably heard of Little Venice… and you’ve definitely heard of Chinatown… but have you heard of London’s Little Italy? Packed with delicious restaurants, charming bars, and plenty of Italian culture, this area is one of the coolest (yet underrated) spots to hang out in the capital. If you’re confused, don’t fret – we’ve got …
An Egyptian obelisk on the shores of the Thames at Embankment? Cleopatra’s Needle may well be London’s strangest landmark. When we first stumbled across Cleopatra’s Needle, we had to do a double-take – it might just top the list of random London landmarks that barely make any sense. Which is saying a lot really, as …
London has a long and interesting history – so perhaps it’s no surprise that it has given rise to a number of weird and wonderful tales over the years. From forestry to fire, disaster to destitution, and one or two well-known facts that are actually red herrings. We’ve been dipping deep into the history books …
The history of the Iguanodons at Crystal Palace Park and the rapid discoveries that put them out of date almost immediately. We’ve written before about our love of the Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs. They’re a wonderful part of the rich history of London. Even the members of our team who didn’t grow up in the …
