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

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

The social housing scheme in Southwark was founded in 1887 by Octavia Hill, a social reformer and housing pioneer. Red Cross Cottages,...

The Parliament architect honed his Gothic Revival design skills on four Islington churches. Architect Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) is...