BRITAIN’S most famous clock tower is to fall silent until 2021 while urgent repairs are completed but here are a few interesting facts about this popular Westminster tourist attraction that looms over the Houses of Parliament. The bell was cast in Stockton-on-Tees 161 years ago this same month, weighing in at a formidable 16 tons. […]
On this day in 1824, the House of Commons voted to purchase banker John Julius Angerstein’s painting collection for the sum of £57,000. Parliament acted to secure these 38 paintings as a national archive and with no national gallery available they were displayed at a makeshift space at Angerstein House, 100 Pall Mall. This was […]
Despite his undoubted standing during the English Restoration, Samuel Pepys’ place in history would have been unremarkable were it not for his private London diaries completed from 1660-1669 and which eventually became public property. Born in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street in 1633 into a family of MPs and Lord Justices, the privileges of social class […]
Brief Encounter In many polls the greatest romantic movie of all time and even if it was before your time, this black and white classic is the perfect Valentine’s treat for those looking for extra-special on-screen moments. A Valentine’s gem made even more of a treasure in its historic venue London’s oldest cinema – The […]
Widely regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens provided the nation with many memorable titles and characters from Oliver Twist through to his penultimate novel Great Expectations. Although born in Portsmouth, where he spent his working years as a factory worker, these characters gave us an invaluable insight into life in the […]
With Monday’s Supreme Court meeting to rule whether the government must consult Parliament before implementing Brexit, hopefully this may spark your interest in visiting the UK’s seat of power. European tourists must be chomping at the bit to have first hand experience of the corridors of power which may have a say on their relations […]
Britain’s greatest architect Sir Christopher Wren conceived of St Paul’s Cathedral in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1666 which ravaged the capital. He drew up plans to resurrect a city which had only just recovered from the Plague, intending the cathedral as its centrepiece. Few people know that his skills were self taught […]
London has transformed throughout the centuries, at a pace that picked up dramatically during industrialisation as it became one of the world’s leading commercial centres. Throughout this period many notable painters, poets and writers tried to capture its essence in stunning works of tribute. However, the Great Artists often showed it as a barely distinguishable […]
The first electric traffic lights to be introduced in Britain were erected in London on this date August 3rd in 1926 whilst August 5th is the centenary of the first such lights anywhere in the world. We take for granted these safety signallers and their red, green and amber commands but with our capital city now […]
The London Marathon 2016 took place on the sunny spring Sunday of April 24 with several thousand runners participating. The marathon is a running race with three start points spanning almost 42kms in flat routes passing by the Thames including iconic Big Ben, Parliament Houses and Tower Bridge. Participation in the London Marathon for the […]
Hillary Clinton Graffiti/Painting Shoreditch By Street Artist Pegasus
