Historical street oddities in London
As you walk around London you may come across one of these green huts by the side of the road. They are Cabmen’s shelters and they are amazing relics of Victorian London, but also a fantastic example of living history, as many of them are still in use today. Read on for the history behind
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One of my favourite oddities to spot around London are ‘bluecoat’ statues. You will occasionally see them, most often in a pair, a girl and a boy, on the front of buildings. They are usually there because the building was once what was known as a ‘bluecoat’ school. Bluecoat, sometimes spelt ‘blewcoat’, schools were charitable
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With any question starting with ‘what is the oldest x’ in London, whether that is the oldest pub, church or sculpture, the answer is always more complicated than you would think. Today, I thought I would tackle one of those: the oldest statue. This only includes outdoor statues, otherwise museums would come into play. There
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In Bermondsey, once a very industrial area of London, you will find the old Leather, Hide and Wool Exchange building. Look closer and you will see, around the frontage, five decorative roundels relating to the history of the building and the industry that dominated this area for hundreds of years. Bermondsey In the medieval period,
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In Stoke Newington you will find a building with a very unusual feature leftover from World War Two. Stoke Newington Town Hall was built in 1937, designed by the architect J Reginald Truelove. Laid out in a sweeping crescent shape, it has art deco design motifs throughout and lavish portland stone dressings on the exterior.
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