LONDON on the Ground

A blue plaque under the south side of London Bridge claims the steps are where Nancy is murdered in Dickens' Oliver Twist. This is not true, but the plaque prompts discoveries about 19th century poor laws, workhouses and the rebuilding of the bridge. The plaque does not include details of who placed it there, but it is unlikely to be either Southwark Council (the local authority), or the City of London Corporation (which is responsible for London Bridge). The blue plaque nex

The River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge is narrower than it has ever been, thanks to a new embankment, which also means the City of London has grown! Named after the Victorian engineer who built central London’s sewerage system, the Bazalgette Embankment is part of the Thames Tideway Tunnel super sewer and includes a public park. The Thames Tideway Tunnel is London’s first major new sewerage infrastructure, and the Bazalgette Embankment its first new embankment, since 187

A post-war church with 17th century origins has a remarkable set of 20th century secular stained glass windows. The current church, the third on the site, is a 1950s brick-clad building of modest (although not unimaginative) external appearance. However, the church’s most engaging feature is inside, where its exceptional windows celebrate the history of the church and the surrounding area, particularly in the second half of the 20th century. They depict both ordinary lives a

A notorious 18th century London ghost attracted crowds, the press, debates on religion and morals - and an inquiry led by Samuel Johnson. The spirit, thought to be Fanny Lynes, late wife of William Kent, made scratching and knocking noises around the bed of a sleeping young girl. In séances ‘Scratching Fanny’ accused William of poisoning her. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On The Ground guided walks and tours, please click here. THE MAIN CHAR

A network of alleys in a tiny wedge of land in the City of London left a legacy in the economic and social history of London, the UK and the world. On 25 March 1748 a fire broke out at Mr Eldridge’s, a periwig market, in Exchange Alley. The fire devastated a dense network of alleyways between Cornhill and Lombard Street in the City of London. In addition to residences, the fire consumed banks, booksellers, insurance offices, law firms, barbers, shops, taverns, alehouses and

A career aeronaut, one half of the 19th century’s ballooning power couple and a high profile media-savvy celebrity, she died in obscurity and was buried in an unmarked grave. On 28 June 1826, Margaret Graham became the first British woman to fly solo in a balloon, or in any flying craft. Her short flight across Islington from White Conduit Gardens covered only around one and a half miles, but assured her an enduring place in UK aviation history. This weekend is the 200th ann

The world’s largest illustration museum is housed in historic 18th/19th century waterworks near Sadler’s Wells Theatre. I recently visited the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, which officially opened on 5 June 2026. The largest dedicated space for illustration in the world and the UK’s only charity for illustration, it is located in the historic New River Company’s former waterworks in Clerkenwell. Walks available for booking For a schedule of forthcoming London On

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