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London On The Ground
See London from the steeple of St Mary's Islington
Compare the view today with how it appeared in 1789. St Mary's Church on Upper Street in Islington is offering a rare opportunity to tour...
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London On The Ground
- Sep 16
- 5 min
City of London proclaims the new King
I took my camera to an occasion resplendent with ceremony, pageantry and symbolism. The Royal Accession Proclamation took place on the...
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London On The Ground
- Sep 9
- 3 min
Wood, not gold, paved the streets of London
Timber blocks once paved much of London. Some of it can still be seen. Introduced from the early 19th century, wood paving has a number...
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London On The Ground
- Sep 2
- 4 min
Flushing out the truth: Jennings, Crapper and the public convenience
George Jennings should be much better known. He, and not Thomas Crapper, invented the flush toilet. 19th century installations bearing...
52 views0 comments
London On The Ground
- Aug 28
- 7 min
Would Elizabeth I recognise Islington today?
An old greetings card shows 'The Village of Islington or Iseldon In the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I'. I recently came across an old...
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London On The Ground
- Aug 19
- 3 min
Old Dr Butler's Head: City pub named for James I's physician
The pub is named after a self-proclaimed specialist in nervous disorders, who had no medical degree. According to its website a pub was...
58 views2 comments
London On The Ground
- Aug 12
- 3 min
The delicate terracotta Cutlers
An exquisitely shaped frieze depicting skilled craftsmen adorns a red brick Victorian building in the City of London. The building is...
55 views6 comments
London On The Ground
- Aug 5
- 3 min
Spitting image: Ben Wilson turns used chewing gum into art
Cross the Millennium Bridge and see tiny artworks painted on old chewing gum in the grid of the walkway. For years I walked across the...
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London On The Ground
- Mar 28
- 3 min
A London modernist icon: Isokon Flats
Britain's first modernist block of flats was home to intellectuals, spies and Agatha Christie. The strikingly sleek and simple 1930s...
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London On The Ground
- Mar 16
- 15 min
Wall to wall: Britannia Row, Pink Floyd & the City of London
A quiet Islington side street tells of urbanisation, social history, post war reconstruction - and two walls. Britannia Row is a quiet...
96 views0 comments
London On The Ground
- Feb 11
- 2 min
Seven Ages of Man: Shakespeare, BT & brutalism
Shakespeare's 'All the world's a stage' inspired a 22ft sculpture at BT's brutalist City of London building. The statue, entitled 'Seven...
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London On The Ground
- Feb 4
- 7 min
Old Queens: Ten of Six in the City
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee prompts a look at ten public statues of six past queens in the City of London. By my count, ten statues of...
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London On The Ground
- Jan 28
- 6 min
Bracken House: The Financial Times, Churchill And The Sun
Named after a friend of Winston Churchill and designed by an architect who preferred candles to electric light. Bracken House, the City...
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London On The Ground
- Jan 21
- 5 min
Knights of the Round Church at London's Temple
12th century Temple Church is one of the most historic and architecturally significant churches in the City of London The church was...
136 views2 comments
London On The Ground
- Dec 22, 2021
- 6 min
Top 10 other songs inspired by London
My favourite London songs part two: top 10 songs about or inspired by London (but without 'London' in the title). The first part revealed...
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London On The Ground
- Dec 18, 2021
- 6 min
Top 10 songs with 'London' in the title
For the holiday season, this is a departure from my usual history-themed writing, but still very much about London. It reveals my...
731 views2 comments
London On The Ground
- Dec 10, 2021
- 4 min
London knights: Cnihtengild statue guards Devonshire Square
Unusual bronze sculpture evokes a guild of knights of 1,000 years ago. This impressive work of art in the east of the City of London was...
116 views0 comments
London On The Ground
- Nov 28, 2021
- 4 min
The Beatles, the rooftop & London
London was the Liverpool band's backdrop and stage. This picture, taken by photographer Ethan Russell on 30 January 1969, combines two of...
135 views4 comments
London On The Ground
- Nov 12, 2021
- 3 min
Monument to the slave trade: Gilt of Cain in Fen Court
A poem and sculpture hidden away in the City of London commemorates the abolition of the slave trade. Sculpted by Michael Visocchi with...
172 views0 comments
London On The Ground
- Nov 5, 2021
- 6 min
Number 1 Poultry: Stirling work divides opinion
A postmodern City of London building shows how the Establishment can assimilate outsiders. Number 1 Poultry was designed by the...
56 views2 comments