Londonist: Time Machine

A joke plaque spotted on Covent Garden Tube station. Make of it what you will.

In case you missed it, the most recent instalment in our three-year mission to colour in the entire 1746 John Rocque map of London. This time: Rotherhithe londonist.substack.com/p/1746-in-co...

Exploring a beautiful map of Elizabethan London -> londonist.substack.com/p/another-co...

What a wonderful insight... is this an Oxford thing, or do work crews do this everywhere? And will it continue much longer, given both cigarettes and newspapers are rapidly declining in use?

Great to see a newbuild in central London (near Holborn) carrying on the old tradition of putting the construction date on the drainpipes.

St Albans is just 20 mins out of central London, and it's absolutely packed with history to explore -> londonist.substack.com/p/an-histori...

This the best kind of plaque; for a humble musician who, for 35 years, busked here with his accordion. He didn’t win battles or chair committees. But he cheer up millions. His name was John "Paddy" Delaney, but he’ll always be the Accordion Man of St Albans, and this will always be his spot.

In 1941, central London contained many fake buildings -- defensive gun posts masquerading as bookshops, greengrocers and information booths. Here, we track them down -> londonist.substack.com/p/the-booksh...

A *very* tough (but fun) quiz about subterranean London, including lost rivers and Tube lines. Can you beat the winning score of 39/50? londonist.substack.com/p/subterrane...

Did 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!

This 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...

Here’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.

What 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...

Prehistoric 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."

This 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...

Where 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-...

Two lovely old mosaic roundels... but can you name the stations?

Curious 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.

The Northern Line, if it were proper Northern. (Made this a few years back, but thought I’d whippet out again.)

It 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

Phyllis 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.

We'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...

We 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

From 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...

Gardenlarking... 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...

Rediscovering the Euston mammoth, and the other hirsute trunksters buried beneath London londonist.substack.com/p/the-mammot...

Ever wondered how the streets of Soho got their names? I've popped the etymologies onto a street map... londonist.substack.com/p/mapped-the...

These two fragments of old London are lurking in a tiny play area in Belsize Park londonist.com/london/secre...

Nutter Lane in Wanstead. If I were Mayor, it'd lead to Tosser Road and Plonker Avenue.

Who's old enough to remember (a) Mansun, and (b) when they scattered a fortune in banknotes inside Liverpool Street Station? londonist.com/london/music...

Ever visited the City of London Cemetery over towards Ilford? It's packed with London history... and foxes londonist.substack.com/p/a-visit-to...

100 years before the London Eye, Earl's Court had the biggest wheel in the world... londonist.substack.com/p/earls-cour...

In London, a plot of land the size of a parking space can have a deep, deep history londonist.substack.com/p/some-notes...

How many of London's 'working-class sculptures' have you seen? I've found 16... but they're all of men londonist.substack.com/p/london-has...

Nothing to do with London history, but this just blew my mind

Blue Plaques are just the tip of the iceberg... dozens of other plaque schemes operate across London, and here are the most important and unusual -> londonist.substack.com/p/track-the-...

Recognise this central London street scene from 1737? It's changed a fair bit...

Quick reminder about the 1st annual Londonist: Time Machine history writing competition. £350 top prize. But enter soon, as the deadline is Wednesday londonist.substack.com/p/the-1st-an...

It's so sad to visit St Pancras churchyard and see where the Hardy Tree once stood (it died of disease a few years back). That said, its engirdlement of gravestones looks all the more surreal in the tree's absence

A map and guide to Tudor buildings in London (outside the centre, which was covered in a previous article) londonist.substack.com/p/the-comple...

Lacking special glasses, I thought it'd be possible to watch the eclipse through a pint of light ale. Alas, it didn't work. The Sun just appeared as a bright glow. I did get some good stock photos of beer in the sunshine though. Lesson learned: try cider next time

One week to go, to enter our London history-writing competition. Prizes to be won londonist.substack.com/p/the-1st-an...

A guide to every Tudor building in central London londonist.substack.com/p/the-comple...

Ever fancied a paddle through London's sewers? Here's what it's like -> londonist.substack.com/p/whats-it-l...

I see that Pret is 40 years old today (according to their own plaque). True story… when I first moved to London in the 90s, I was so introverted and provincial that I didn’t dare set foot inside Pret a Manger, in case I had to order in French.

Our first annual history-writing competition... with cash prizes londonist.substack.com/p/the-1st-an...

He may have been the smallest man from the smallest county, but Jeffery Hudson led a big life... much of it in London londonist.substack.com/p/how-the-sm...

Previously unseen aerial photos of London in 1983 show the city on the cusp of change. And we've recreated each one in Google Earth, so we can do the 'Now vs Then' thing londonist.substack.com/p/london-in-...