LONDON on the Ground

A small part of the City of London once gave immunity to criminals, entirely outside the control of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen. In medieval times churches could provide 40 days of sanctuary, while monastic precincts came to offer wrong-doers unlimited shelter from the law. St Martin’s Le Grand, just inside the walls of the City of London near Aldersgate, was a notorious sanctuary. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks an

Islington’s cricketing legacy includes Lord's, the MCC, Middlesex County Cricket Club and women’s county cricket. The Gentlemen’s Club playing on White Conduit Fields, by Robert Dighton 1784. Source: Yale Centre for British Art, public domain. Today, Islington is well known as the home of Arsenal Football Club, while the sport of cricket hardly features. The borough is home to only one public cricket pitch (Wray Crescent off Hornsey Road), but Islington played an important ro

Inspired by Arsenal’s historic achievements in 2026, this blog post looks at the origins of the streets on its trophy parade route. Arsenal Football Club will be parading in four open top buses around Islington on 31 May 2026 to celebrate the men’s team’s clinching of its first Premier League title since 2004 and the women’s team’s victory in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup. The men’s team may also be celebrating a UEFA Champions League win if they beat Paris St Germain on 30

A selection of drinking houses on which last orders were called long ago, but which have left a legacy in the Square Mile. The City of London still has a large number of pubs, but its history is crowded with a vast array of vanished inns, taverns, alehouses and hotels that thrived catering to the Square Mile’s once large population of residents and its numerous visitors. In the first of what could be an occasional series of posts on this theme, here is my selection of six of

Built in 1907 as a Christian Science Church, the Byzantine Revival hall is now one of London’s foremost music venues. The 950 seat concert hall is home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and offers a programme that also includes other top orchestras and choirs in addition to rock, pop, jazz, folk, musical theatre and other events. After visiting this unusual and interesting building recently for the first time (for a concert by the English Chamber Orchestra), I decided to

It sounds like an episode of Harry Potter, but the Trial of the Pyx is in fact a test of coins made by the Royal Mint and one of the UK’s oldest judicial procedures. One of the earliest forms of consumer protection, with 12th century origins, the Trial of the Pyx has been the exclusive responsibility of the Goldsmiths’ Company since the 16th century. Since 1870 it has (almost always) taken place at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London. Inside Goldsmiths’ Hall The Trial's st

A selection of London’s lesser known, or lesser noticed, public clocks - time pieces that tell a tale. Everyone knows clocks such as ‘Big Ben’ and the one at Waterloo Station, but London is teeming with lesser known clocks, or at least clocks that most people pass without noticing. Here is my selection of ten less celebrated clocks of the capital. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here. 1. ‘B

The residential estate in the City of London is "arguably one of the country’s most important early 1950s housing estates". So says English Heritage in its Grade II listing of the estate. It is certainly one of the more imaginative examples of modernist residential architecture. Commissioned by the City of London Corporation and completed between 1952 and 1962, it stands between Golden Lane and Goswell Road at the northern border of the City. Built on a bomb site, the esta

From its roundel, tube map and station architecture to clocks, wall tiles and lamps, London Underground is a major patron of art and design. The Underground has been essential to the commercial, leisure and tourist life of London since 1863. It is also home to a stunning array of iconic designs, many of which go unnoticed by travellers on its more than 1.2 billion annual passenger journeys. Here is my personal selection of 10 design icons of the Underground. Walks available

Idyllic mosaics in a small Hackney park, a genuine hidden gem. The Shepherdess Walk Mosaics combine imaginative and joyful art with a community project and an attractive urban park. They are also hardly ever looked at. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here . Shepherdess Walk, a street in the Hoxton area of Hackney, runs between the Regent’s canal at its northern end and City Road at its souther

The gardens of one of London’s most famous historic buildings offer unexpected delights (but go on a sunny day). Westminster Abbey’s appeal extends beyond the main attraction of the ancient church itself. There are also some wonderfully secluded and historic gardens, which combine beautiful plants and trees with unfamiliar views of the Abbey and the nearby Palace of Westminster. Westminster Abbey – strictly the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster – was originally

The Partners’ work included Eltham Palace and post-war restoration of London churches, St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey. John Seely and Paul Paget, Partners in life as well as in business, produced architecture that combined old and new with sensitivity and flair in the middle decades of the 20 th century. They met in around 1920 at Cambridge University, where Seely read Architecture and Paget read English (but he never graduated), and became great friends. On 7 March 1926

The Wren church near St Paul’s has many interesting features and a hidden courtyard of surprises. First, let me explain the unusual name of this church. Vedast was a sixth century bishop of Arras, in the border region between France and Flanders. Known as Vaast in Flemish, his greatest claim to fame is probably his conversion to Christianity of the Frankish king, Clovis. St Vedast was venerated by Flemish merchants who came to England in the 12 th century, when his name w

A 17th century City of London Livery Hall for a 600 year old company around the corner from St Paul’s Cathedral. Tucked away in a small courtyard off Ave Maria Lane near St Paul’s Cathedral, Stationers' Hall has stood on the same site since 1606. It is one of those locations, where time appears to stand still, that are hidden away across the City of London. The Stationers are among the 39 City of London Livery Companies that have their own Livery Hall, used for dinners, rec

The influential artist, educationalist, philanthropist, feminist and suffragist was ahead of her time, but is little known today. Barbara Bodichon portrait by Samuel Laurence , 1880 (from a sketch in 1861). Source: Wikipedia, public domain Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon co-founded Britain’s first women’s suffrage group and Girton College Cambridge - Britain’s first residential college for the degree level education of women. She also successfully campaigned to allow married wom

A moving memorial to animals that took part and died in 20 th century wars and conflicts. The Animals In War Memorial is a tribute to horses, mules, donkeys, dogs, pigeons, elephants, camels, oxen, bullocks, cats, canaries and - perhaps most surprisingly - glow worms that served and lost their lives alongside British and Allied forces. As an inscription on the monument says, “They had no choice”. It is in Park Lane, at Brook Gate, close to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. It

A range of non-religious stained glass windows telling London stories. Very often associated with saints and scenes from the Bible, stained glass is an art form that also portrays secular history. My eclectic selection illustrates aviation, pioneering women, printing, the law, civic governance, actors, artists and writers. It is only a fraction of the wonderful secular stained glass in - and about - London. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On T

News of the admiral’s death reached London, via HMS Pickle, more than two months before his brandy-pickled body. The funeral of Britain’s most celebrated naval commander took place in St Paul’s Cathedral 220 years ago (yesterday), on 9 January 1806. It was the first state funeral at St Paul’s and the grandest yet for anyone outside the royal family. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1 st Viscount Nelson, died more than 11 weeks earlier, during the closing stages of his greatest

Greater London recently reinstated its 60 year old coat of arms, while the City of London’s arms have evolved over eight centuries. St Paul, Thomas Becket, the cross of St George, lions, dragons, the Thames and the spires, towers and walls of the City have all featured in more than 800 years of designs representing London. Greater London's coat of arms The Greater London Authority (GLA) assumed the historic coat of arms of its predecessor, the Greater London Council (GLC), in

A London-related anniversary with a Christmas connection for every day from 1-24 December. If you have been following my social media, you may already have seen my daily series from the start of December to Christmas Eve. This blog post draws together all 24 entries in the London On The Ground London Advent Calendar. My walking tour A Christmas Carol in the City of London looks at how Dickens' well loved story still influences the way Christmas is celebrated today and also