@londonist.com
A playful look at London's history from Londonist.
@londonist.comDid you know that the name Fitzrovia was coined within living memory? It's first recorded in 1930, linked to bohemians who met in the Fitzroy Tavern. It fizzled out in the 40s, and only became a popular term for the area north of Soho from the mid-1970s. David Attenborough is older than Fitzrovia!
@londonist.comThis isn't just any old bollard. It's the start point of one of the most important mapping projects in world history londonist.substack.com/p/general-ro...
@londonist.comHere’s something you don’t see every day… parish boundary markers *inside* a building. The two small plaques show where the parish of St Edmund, King & Martyr meets that of St Michael Cornhill. They’re in the historic George and Vulture restaurant, which was saved by the man in the larger plaque.
@londonist.comWhat was it like to be a Covent Garden flower-seller during the war? This wonderful account reveals the highs and lows londonist.substack.com/p/flowers-in...
@londonist.comPrehistoric Londoner 1: "I just fired an arrow into the mouth of the River Lea" Prehistoric Londoner 2: "Bow Creek?" Prehistoric Londoner 1: "No, it's made from the finest yew wood, and never makes a sound."
@londonist.comThis post is the last surviving 'archery mark', some 200 of which once stood north of Old Street. For centuries they were used as targets, like an archery golf-course. Full story here -> londonist.substack.com/p/the-last-p...
@londonist.comWhere was the first crewed flight in England? Surprisingly, it started about a kilometre from St Paul's, and the 'airfield' still exists londonist.substack.com/p/the-first-...
@londonist.comTwo lovely old mosaic roundels... but can you name the stations?
@londonist.comCurious fact: in the olden days, these unusual openings in Tube station walls were known as 'ticket offices', and you actually had to get a rectangle of card called a 'ticket' if you wanted to travel.
@mattfromlondon.bsky.socialReposted by @londonist.comThe Northern Line, if it were proper Northern. (Made this a few years back, but thought I’d whippet out again.)
@londonist.comIt was 57 years ago today... that the Beatles released Abbey Road. And it's 15 years since TfL opened Abbey Road DLR station near West Ham. Ever since, the station has displayed 'you are at the wrong Abbey Road' signs to help lost Beatles fans get back to St John's Wood
@londonist.comPhyllis Pearsall, creator of the A-Z, was born 120 years ago today. Her sort-of-statue stands in Greenland Dock, Rotherhithe, in the company of fellow local, Michael Caine (and a cormorant representing cycling campaigner Barry Mason). Very odd.
@londonist.comWe've coloured in another section of the 1746 Rocque map (much bigger than the section shown in preview). See how Rotherhithe and Greenland Dock looked in Georgian times, now in colour londonist.substack.com/p/1746-in-co...
@londonist.comWe chanced across this lovely mosaic celebration of Sir Tim Berners-Lee near Mortlake station. The man who invented the world wide web, HTML and URLs grew up in the area. Curiously, Ada Lovelace, often regarded as the world’s first programmer, also lived here as a teenager
@londonist.comFrom Ealhswith to Ealdgyth... I've rejigged the Anglo-Saxon royal family tree to put the (largely) forgotten queens at centre stage londonist.substack.com/p/the-family...
@londonist.comThank you! I hope it gives you many ideas for places to explore.
@londonist.comGardenlarking... a bit like mudlarking but in the garden. This writer dug up loads of glass and pottery and then went to the archives to learn about where they came from londonist.substack.com/p/mudlarking...
@londonist.comRediscovering the Euston mammoth, and the other hirsute trunksters buried beneath London londonist.substack.com/p/the-mammot...
@londonist.comEver wondered how the streets of Soho got their names? I've popped the etymologies onto a street map... londonist.substack.com/p/mapped-the...
@londonist.comThese two fragments of old London are lurking in a tiny play area in Belsize Park londonist.com/london/secre...
