General Chat

The fifteenth century chruch of St Ethelburga bishopsgate, beside being the smallest in the ciity is also the only one dedicated to this saint. Its tiny facade is squeezed between morden buildings , that on the west side being the former offices of the Hudson Bay Company with its beaver weather vane still in place. Henry Hudson and his crew worshipped here before setting out on their attempt to find the north-west passage. As one enters the nave , a stone let into the floor bears the inscription. "Bonus Intra, Melior Exi "
the translation of which would be "Come in good, go out better "

rita

Dear Rita and Jean..
Have you thought about going on one of those open top buses as a guide?..ha
very interesting thread....
cmdx

Glad you are finding the thread interesting CMDX

I don';t think I would be of much good on the open top tourist bus, as most of the tourist are Japanese, Chinese.French etc. .
The City is very busy at the moment with the tourist. I hate to think what will happen when the Games are on.

when you walk along you get stopped by a tourist and are asked very nicely" please could you take our photograph "they will be either outside "Westminster," or near" The London Eye "another favourite place is" Buckingham Palace." or somewhere a long the River Thames. .

yet we are told that the tourist are lower this year. you could fool me.

rita

Dear Rita,
My son went down to live in London last October with his girlfriend...in Kentish Town..
my friend and I visited them a couple of weeks ago....and went on one of those buses...WELL it poured and it poured...the top of the bus was like a water fall...ha ha ......
The kids and adults were having such fun ..everyone laughed....
we had a great time.....

Those buses line up at a couple of stops and they usually get a crowd on them. it is the best way to see London sights as you can stroll around and miss a lot of the important ones.by using the bus you can see the ones you would like to have a closer view off and make for that afterwards. I know those Buses are not cheap. but I understood you can get a cheaper London ticket on certain days. but I am only going on hearsay. also the boat trips are ideal if you want to see the interesting things along the Thames.
I sound like I have shares in the place.
I live outside London now in Surrey but I can get to Waterloo within 25 minutes by the train so I do go there whenever I can.. I spend about five weeks a year staying at my sisters so we visit places of interest, even though we have been there before.
I can just picture you on the top of the bus and it pouring of rain. It gets too hot when we have that hotter weather.

rita

Trafalgar Square is also the location for what was the smallest police station in the world. In the south east corner of the square is a small stone turret at the end of the wall which surrounds the square. It was built as a refuge for one policeman for use presumably in times of danger from mobs. The turret is still there but it is not longer classified as a police station.

Michael

Hearkening back to the opening post here -- I was just talking about the Museum of London in a thread on General tonight!

The online site is great, although they seem to have reworked their online Blitz exhibit and lessened the impact.

Oh, no, here we are -- different parts of the site:

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/blitz/

"Enter" and click on The Big Story for fast facts.

I like to direct boastful USAmericans there when they get to congratulating themselves too much about what heroes the US were during the war.

Thank you Michael for that I have never seen that. just goes to show you, there is always something new you can find to view. I will make a note of that for next time I go to London.

Janey I will look at the site you have mentioned .

I met J Edward Hart some years ago well in the late 60-s early 70's he wrote a book on parts of London that many people knew nothing about. I also went to one of his talks and found it very interesting, that was what got me interested in seeing some of these sights myself. I am still finding them after all these years. it might be a plaque on a wall a writer or inventer etc lived here. that starts me off again.

Rita

The Politician in a Toga.

Hidden away in Pimlico Gardens a little riverside retreat near Vauxhall Bridge ,stands a statue of a Victorian Politician , William Huskisson . Most incongruously he is represented in a Roman Toga .
His only claim to fame in these days . is his parliamentary achievements having faded into obscurity, is that he was the first person to be known to be killed in a Railway accident. At the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester Railyway in 1930, he became so excited that he stepped in front of Stephension's Rocket, Even this tragic event failed to arrest the rapid development of this perilous innovation.

rita

Wow, this thread has been great for my daughters homework.....to find things out about London...!!

So interesting too....

Thank you xxx

In a small park, (formerly Lambeth Burial Ground), off Lambeth High Street is a large stone embedded in a wall with the name Lambeth Watchouse carved into it in large letters. It was formerly the lintel above the main door to the watchouse that used to exist on the same street and is all that remains of that little piece oh history.

Michael

in south east london, thamesmead to abbeywood, if you walk through what is known as the arsenal marsh land, you will find bomb shelters along the thames river,.


also and everyone will probably know this, but when the queens is in resdient at buckingham palace the flag is at full mask, if she is visiting the flag hangs at half mask....

there may be a few spelling mistakes so i apoligise!

charley x

Paddington Street recreation ground was formely a cemetery and still has a family tomb with a faded inscription. Several Stuarts descended from Charles 11 were buried here. There is a most unusual sculpture of a crossing-sweeper, one of the boys who earned the odd halfpenny in the days of muddy streets , befouled by horse-droppings and other refuse, by cleaning the crossing for pedestrians. He is seated with his besom, removing a thorn from one foot.. This simple memorial was moved here from nearby square when the recreation ground was opened.

rita

Tower of London

Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry V111, ,19th May, 1536

Margaret Countessof Salisbuury, the last of the old Angevin of the Plantagenet family ,27th May, 1541

Queen Katherine Howard , fifth wife of Henry V111 , 13th February 1542

Jane Viscountess Rochford, 13th February 1542

Lady Jane (Grey ) wife of Lord Guildford Dudley, 12th February, 1554

Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, 25th February, 1601.

Where all behead with an axe, except one Queen Anne Bolyen, whose head was cut off with a sword by the executioner of St Omer, brought over for the purpose, The executioner of the Earl of Essex was not able to do his work with less than three strokes, and was mobbed and beaten by the populace on his way home. The bodies of all six were buried in the Chapel of St Peter.
Lord Hastings was also beheaded on Tower Green by order of the Duke of Gloucester in 1483.

rita

Charley

I think you will find that when the Queen is absent from Buckingham Palace, even when she is on a visit elsewhere in London the Monarchs standard does not fly at all.

The Monarchs flag flying at half mast would indicate she had died.

Michael

The Royal Standard was the official flag of the reigning British Sovereign, When the Sovereign was in residence at the Palace. Even in times of mourning , the Royal Standard would not fly at half mast. The only time another flag would fly from the Palace would be on the death of the sovereign, when the flag of the next senior member of the Royal Family present at the Palace would be raised.
It was when Diana Princess of Wales died and the people were angry that the Queen ordered a break with protocol and the Union Flag was flown at half mast over the Palace for the day of Princess Diana';s funeral . Since then the Union Flag flies from the Palace when the Queen is not in residence. and has flown at half mast upon the death of members of the Royal Family , and other times of National Mourning such as following the Terrorist bombings in London on 7th July 2005 and the death of the former president Gerald Ford.
Each member of the Royal family has an official flag , which is flown to donate their presence. By convention only the senior member's flag can be hoisted.

rita

Any more Interesting English facts girls & boys ??

I have got withdrawal symptoms!!!

Cougar

P.S. Rita I think you are brilliant!!!!

It's pretty obvious but the original train bridge from Charing Cross Station was replaced with a new one. The uprights of the old bridge were however left in place and can still be seen alongside the new bridge.

Michael

In Southwark near to the Thames and the replica of the Globe Theatre is a street called Clink Street. There was a prison here at one time hence the nickname "The Clink" for a prison.

Michael

Off Tooley Steet, London near City Hall is a short remant of Braidwood Street. This was named after James Braidwood a former Chief Officer of the London Fire Engine Establishment, (now the London Fire Brigade), who died at this location in 1861 fighting a wharehouse fire.

Michael