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30/12/2025

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John Rich (c.1692–1761) was a central figure in 18th-century London theatre and a key architect of pantomime as it is st...
28/12/2025

John Rich (c.1692–1761) was a central figure in 18th-century London theatre and a key architect of pantomime as it is still understood today. As manager of Lincoln’s Inn Fields and later founder of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1732, on the site of today’s Royal Opera House, Rich transformed popular entertainment through visual storytelling, music, dance and stage illusion.

Performing himself as Harlequin (“Lun”), above, Rich adapted Italian commedia dell’arte into a distinctly English form, creating wordless, comic pantomime driven by physicality, spectacle and transformation scenes.

This sculpture in Dovehouse Green, Chelsea was designed in 1998 by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, but only unveiled in 2024, long...
20/12/2025

This sculpture in Dovehouse Green, Chelsea was designed in 1998 by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, but only unveiled in 2024, long after the artist’s death.

Paolozzi lived and worked just around the corner on Dovehouse Street, and chose to honour Oscar Wilde, who lived nearby on Tite Street, writing works like The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Finally cast from Paolozzi’s original model for the centenary of his birth, it’s a late meeting of two great creative minds — rooted firmly in Chelsea.

This colour coded map, produced by the Home Office in 1941, documents the bombing campaign from June 1940, clearly showi...
15/12/2025

This colour coded map, produced by the Home Office in 1941, documents the bombing campaign from June 1940, clearly showing the intense bombardment around the Thames, Central London, and the docks.

At West Brompton you can still spot an earlier style, painted by hand rather than machine.The giveaway is the W: two ove...
14/12/2025

At West Brompton you can still spot an earlier style, painted by hand rather than machine.

The giveaway is the W: two overlapping Vs in a quirky, once-common variant. Look closer and you’ll see an asymmetric E, a slightly odd B, and letter spacing that’s charmingly imperfect. The strokes are slimmer than modern standards, yet the perfectly round O, a hallmark of Johnston, anchors it in familiar territory.

Harrods Furniture Depository, Barnes.This iconic salmon-pink warehouse by Hammersmith Bridge was built around 1900 as Ha...
12/12/2025

Harrods Furniture Depository, Barnes.

This iconic salmon-pink warehouse by Hammersmith Bridge was built around 1900 as Harrods’ fireproof store for bulky goods. Today it’s Grade II-listed and reborn as Harrods Village, a familiar landmark along the Boat Race course.

Map of where bombs dropped by Zeppelins & aircraft fell during World War One 1914 - 1918
05/12/2025

Map of where bombs dropped by Zeppelins & aircraft fell during World War One 1914 - 1918

From 5th - 9th December 1952, a thick mix of fog and coal smoke settled over London and created the Great Smog. For five...
05/12/2025

From 5th - 9th December 1952, a thick mix of fog and coal smoke settled over London and created the Great Smog. For five days the city was covered in heavy, choking air that stopped transport, seeped indoors and left people struggling to see or breathe. Around 4,000 deaths were recorded at the time, though later studies estimate more than 10,000. The disaster led to the Clean Air Act of 1956 and became a turning point in how Britain approached pollution and public health.

This photo shows Barking Road in Canning Town, around 1930. It includes the second Canning Town station (opened 1888, us...
03/12/2025

This photo shows Barking Road in Canning Town, around 1930. It includes the second Canning Town station (opened 1888, used until 1994), then served by North London line trains to North Woolwich. A circular public urinal stands at the corner of Stephenson Street in the foreground. The station building was later replaced during the mid-20th-century Dock Approaches Scheme.

Meet Kaspar, the iconic black cat of The Savoy Hotel.In 1898, a rich diamond tycoon named Woolf Joel hosted a dinner for...
30/11/2025

Meet Kaspar, the iconic black cat of The Savoy Hotel.

In 1898, a rich diamond tycoon named Woolf Joel hosted a dinner for 14 guests at The Savoy. At the last moment, one guest cancelled, leaving only 13 at the table. A superstitious attendee warned: the first person to leave would face doom. Joel dismissed the warning, was the first to leave… and just weeks later, he was shot dead in Johannesburg.

This tragedy sent shockwaves through the hotel. To prevent ever seating just 13 diners again, The Savoy initially assigned a waiter to act as the “14th guest.” However, in 1927, they decided to create a sleek black cat sculpture, Kaspar, to occupy the extra seat, complete with a napkin and a full place setting, whenever there were only 13 diners. 

London’s to riverside hidden gems: Trinity Wharf.Founded in 1803, the Wharf served as the Thames workshop for Trinity Ho...
30/11/2025

London’s to riverside hidden gems: Trinity Wharf.

Founded in 1803, the Wharf served as the Thames workshop for Trinity House. For over 180 years it was the place where buoys, chains, and lightship equipment were built, repaired, stored, and tested before going out to sea.

Docked at the Wharf is SS Robin, the only complete Victorian steam-ship in existence and the only one still fitted with its original steam engine and boiler.

Alongside her is the brick lighthouse built in the 1860s. It is the only lighthouse in London and was used for experimenting with new lighthouse lighting and for training keepers, not for guiding ships on the Thames.

Right beside it is Michael Faraday’s workshop, where Faraday worked as Scientific Adviser to Trinity House. He carried out experiments on lenses, optics, and lighting that transformed lighthouse technology. Today you can visit The Faraday Effect, a small installation inspired by his work.

The Wharf operated as a buoy and lightship depot until 1988, after which it was left abandoned. In the late 1990s it was reborn as a creative district filled with studios, exhibitions, and cultural projects.

Modern highlights include Longplayer, the 1000-year musical composition housed inside the lighthouse, and Container City, a colourful cluster of studios built from recycled shipping containers. The site now hosts artists, makers, performers, educators, and a welcoming riverside atmosphere.

On Twyford Crescent stands The Elms — Acton’s oldest surviving building, built c.1735 and now part of Twyford CofE High ...
20/11/2025

On Twyford Crescent stands The Elms — Acton’s oldest surviving building, built c.1735 and now part of Twyford CofE High School.

Right next door, in 1921, Winnie-the-Pooh began his story. The J.K. Farnell & Co. factory produced the Farnell “Alpha” bear that Daphne Milne bought at Harrods for young Christopher Robin — the teddy that inspired the beloved character.

“Winnie” came from a real bear at London Zoo, brought to Britain in WWI by Canadian Lt. Harry Colebourn and named after Winnipeg. “Pooh” was the name of a swan the Milnes met on holiday.

Today, the original Pooh, Kanga, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger (all Harrods purchases!) can be visited at the New York Public Library’s Children’s Center on 42nd Street.

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