London Long Reads

LONDON UNDER: Exploring Hidden London’s Abandoned Charing Cross Station

Dec 17, 2020 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

London Transport Museum has a really interesting selection of ‘Hidden London’ tours that give us occasional access to tunnels and stations on the London transport network that are no longer in operational use. The ‘Charing Cross: Access All Areas’ tour looks at the out of service Jubilee line platforms and construction tunnels left over from the excavation of the Jubilee line … [Read more...] about LONDON UNDER: Exploring Hidden London’s Abandoned Charing Cross Station

London History: A Special Look at Cleopatra’s Needle on the Victoria Embankment

Oct 27, 2020 By Laura Porter 2 Comments

Did you know, London has an ancient Egyptian obelisk on display? It's not in a museum or a private collection. It's actually alongside the River Thames in central London so you may have seen it and not realised its significance. Cleopatra's Needle on the Victoria Embankment, near the Golden Jubilee Bridges, has a twin in New York's Central Park. (And those two have a … [Read more...] about London History: A Special Look at Cleopatra’s Needle on the Victoria Embankment

Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read

Oct 20, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

Editor's Note: You're going to want to brew a cuppa and read this one! While it has a much longer history, Buckingham Palace only became the London residence of Britain's sovereigns in 1837. The Palace is the administrative headquarters of the monarchy and the royal family. (The Queen refers to Buckingham Palace as "the office" as it's where she works rather than … [Read more...] about Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read

London Long Read: A History of London’s 35 Bridges Over The Thames

Sep 24, 2020 By Laura Porter 3 Comments

Did you know, there are 35 bridges over The Thames in London? No, me neither so this was a really interesting article to research. From Hampton Court Bridge in the west (just within the Greater London boundary) through to Tower Bridge there are road bridges, railway bridges and footbridges too. Have a read through, admire the photos, then let us know which is your favourite. … [Read more...] about London Long Read: A History of London’s 35 Bridges Over The Thames

London’s Piazza: A History of Covent Garden – From Market to Tourist Mecca

Jul 9, 2020 By Laura Porter 2 Comments

Covent Garden is popular with both locals and visitors but it wasn't always the way. The area was home to aristocracy before it became a centre of commerce. And while it is a cool hangout today, there was a time when you wouldn't want to stop here day or night. The elegant piazza and market with street cobbles and the arched market buildings hint at the rich heritage. From … [Read more...] about London’s Piazza: A History of Covent Garden – From Market to Tourist Mecca

Out of Austerity: The Festival of Britain 1951 – A History and Examination

Jul 2, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

The 1951 Festival of Britain was a post-war state-sponsored exhibition. At the time, rationing continued and austerity gripped the nation. London was shabby, rundown and gloomy so this bright and playful spectacular was a 'tonic for the nation' to promote the feeling of recovery. The city was scarred with bombsites and buildings hadn't been painted for ten years so the Festival … [Read more...] about Out of Austerity: The Festival of Britain 1951 – A History and Examination

City of London Postman’s Park – London’s Special Memorial to Everyday Heroes

Jun 25, 2020 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

The City of London has over 150 open spaces from city gardens to pocket parks. Many are former graveyards, and Postman's Park fits that category. It is a shady garden with plenty of benches to stop with your takeaway lunch and enjoy the calm away from the City streets. It's also a pleasant cut-through from King Edward Street to St Martin' s-le-Grand, close to the Museum of … [Read more...] about City of London Postman’s Park – London’s Special Memorial to Everyday Heroes

London History: The East End Match Girls’ Strike of 1888

Jun 18, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

In nineteenth-century London, labour was cheap and expendable. The Industrial Revolution brought millions of people from the country to the cities as agricultural mechanisation took away their jobs. With so many wanting (and needing) a job, there was little incentive for industrialists to treat their workforce well. At this time, London's East End was notorious as a place of … [Read more...] about London History: The East End Match Girls’ Strike of 1888

Another London Mapping Wonder: Taking a Close Look at MacDonald Gill’s 1914 London Wonderground Map

Jun 11, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

Do you remember the days when we stood waiting for a train before we had mobile phones to distract us? Some read the paper and some simply stared into space daydreaming and avoiding eye contact with any strangers. Back in the early twentieth century, Frank Pick from the London Underground had the idea to commission a detailed illustrative map for passengers on platforms to … [Read more...] about Another London Mapping Wonder: Taking a Close Look at MacDonald Gill’s 1914 London Wonderground Map

STRAWBERRY HILL HOUSE: London’s Gothic Revival Masterpiece

May 7, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

Created by Horace Walpole as his summer retreat riverside villa, Strawberry Hill House is Britain’s finest example of Georgian Gothic Revival architecture. After a £10 million repair and restoration programme, twenty rooms now appear as Walpole left them when he died at the end of the eighteenth century. Throughout his 50 years at Strawberry Hill, between 1747 and 1797, Horace … [Read more...] about STRAWBERRY HILL HOUSE: London’s Gothic Revival Masterpiece

HIDDEN LONDON: The Lost Tunnels of Euston Station

Apr 16, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

London Transport Museum’s ‘Hidden London’ tours are great to know about as you get access to tunnels and stations on the London transport network that are not usually open to the public. In Londontopia magazine issue #1 I reported back about the hidden tunnels at Charing Cross station. So it was a treat to join another tour, this time at Euston station. This one was a treat … [Read more...] about HIDDEN LONDON: The Lost Tunnels of Euston Station

A Changing Heathrow: My Personal Relationship With the Gateway to Britain

Apr 13, 2020 By jonathan 4 Comments

When I first arrived at Heathrow Airport on my first trip to Britain in 2001, I was not impressed. The airport was over capacity even then, and our plane arrived late, so we had no gate for the plane to park at. We parked out on the tarmac, far away from the terminal. We had to queue for a bus, which then took us on a circuitous route to the terminal. While parking on the … [Read more...] about A Changing Heathrow: My Personal Relationship With the Gateway to Britain

Florence Nightingale in 200 Objects, People and Places – New Special Exhibition at the Florence Nightingale Museum

Mar 6, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was born in Florence, Italy, to a wealthy British family. In her bicentenary year, London's Florence Nightingale Museum is celebrating the life and legacy of the lesser-known aspects of her life with a special exhibition. The museum tells the story of this deeply religious woman who broke social conventions. Nightingale in … [Read more...] about Florence Nightingale in 200 Objects, People and Places – New Special Exhibition at the Florence Nightingale Museum

London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission

Mar 5, 2020 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

While London has many fantastic free museums and galleries there are some that have an admission charge. This list is by no means exhaustive but these are the ‘pay for’ London museums we would like to highlight. We’ve tried to focus on the best museums and have avoided listing common tourist traps. When you have to pay to get into a museum, especially in London where most … [Read more...] about London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission

Laura’s London: Exploring Lambeth Palace Library

Jan 27, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

Lambeth Palace Library has been kept within Lambeth Palace for 400 years, but things are changing as a new Library is currently under construction. ABOUT LAMBETH PALACE Across the river Thames from the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster), Lambeth Palace is a working palace and for over 800 years has been the Archbishop of Canterbury's residence. In 1197 land was … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: Exploring Lambeth Palace Library

London History: A Guide to Metroland – The Suburban Expansion of London Brought On By The Tube

Dec 5, 2019 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

Also known as Metro-land, this suburban area north-west of London was a major project by the railway to transform unused land into a series of residential communities. Metroland wasn’t the first time a rail company was instrumental in growing London. In truth, the continued influx of people from the countryside to London in the 19th Century had caused the city’s metropolitan … [Read more...] about London History: A Guide to Metroland – The Suburban Expansion of London Brought On By The Tube

Exploring London Mercantile History at the Lloyd’s Register Building

Sep 23, 2019 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

While you may have seen the Lloyd's of London building in the City of London designed by Richard Rogers, do you know about the Collcutt building? As part of Heritage Open Days, I went to visit the Lloyd's Register building on Fenchurch Street. Designed by Thomas Collcutt, this late-Victorian office opened in 1901 as a statement building and a sign of prosperity. Lloyd's … [Read more...] about Exploring London Mercantile History at the Lloyd’s Register Building

London Exhibition Report: Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing – Blockbuster New Exhibition at Buckingham Palace

May 31, 2019 By Laura Porter 2 Comments

Marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, this exhibition at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, brings together more than 200 of the Renaissance master's greatest drawings in the Royal Collection. As the Royal Collection has more drawings by Leonardo da Vinci than any other Renaissance artist, it forms the largest exhibition of his work in over 65 … [Read more...] about London Exhibition Report: Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing – Blockbuster New Exhibition at Buckingham Palace

Exhibition Report: The New Secret Rivers Exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands

May 29, 2019 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

The latest free exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands is Secret Rivers. Open from 24 May to 27 October 2019, it combines art and archaeology with mudlarking, photography, film and much more to uncover the mysteries of London's rivers – both those that flow above ground and those that have been buried beneath our feet. A large wall map shows us the routes of the hidden … [Read more...] about Exhibition Report: The New Secret Rivers Exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands

London Exhibition Report: A Look at the Blockbuster Queen Victoria 200th Anniversary Exhibition at Kensington Palace

May 24, 2019 By Laura Porter 3 Comments

24 May 2019 is the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth at Kensington Palace. To mark the bicentenary of this historic event there is a new visitor route, Victoria: A Royal Childhood, through the suite of rooms she would have known well. And over in the Palace's Pigott Gallery, there is a new temporary exhibition, Victoria: Woman and Crown, that considers the private … [Read more...] about London Exhibition Report: A Look at the Blockbuster Queen Victoria 200th Anniversary Exhibition at Kensington Palace

Laura’s London: Four New Permanent Galleries at the National Maritime Museum – Here’s Our First Look!

Sep 20, 2018 By Laura Porter

Following a major £12.6M redevelopment project, The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has new permanent galleries open from 20 September 2018. 1,000m2 of space in the Museum's East Wing, previously closed to visitors, has been converted to public use adding an additional 40% of gallery space. And just like the rest of the Museum, these galleries are free to visit. The … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: Four New Permanent Galleries at the National Maritime Museum – Here’s Our First Look!

Laura’s London: A Look at the Courtauld Impressionists at The National Gallery – From Manet to Cézanne

Sep 17, 2018 By Laura Porter

For the first time in London for 70 years, the National Gallery is displaying major Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterworks from the Courtauld Gallery, purchased in the 1920s by Samuel Courtauld (1876–1947). These are shown alongside paintings from the National Gallery's own collection which the businessman and philanthropist financed and helped acquire. Courtauld … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: A Look at the Courtauld Impressionists at The National Gallery – From Manet to Cézanne

London Bookshop Dreams: Adventures in Buying More Books Than My Luggage Can Carry

Sep 13, 2018 By jonathan

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Anglotopia Print Magazine is 2017. Support great long-form writing about Britain by subscribing to the Anglotopia Print Magazine. Subscribe here. Books are my favorite souvenir from my travels in England. I love picking up new books about England for my library back home. Each book is a tangible reminder of the trip and … [Read more...] about London Bookshop Dreams: Adventures in Buying More Books Than My Luggage Can Carry

More Secret London – Twenty Hidden Places in London for You to Explore

Aug 8, 2018 By John Rabon

There are plenty of places in London you may not know exist unless someone points them out. You might have to go behind a door or down an alley to find them. You may walk past them all the time without seeing what’s right in front of you. Even so, you may know about them, but not know exactly what they keep hidden from the public. Fortunately, we here at Londontopia will … [Read more...] about More Secret London – Twenty Hidden Places in London for You to Explore

Laura’s London: Exploring Clapham South Subterranean Shelter – Hidden London – From the Blitz to the Windrush

Jun 8, 2018 By Laura Porter

We all know there are tube train tunnels under London's streets, and we could guess there are some service tunnels for pipes, but it's still always a surprise to head down underground and find enough space for a village to live safely below. And that's what there is at the Clapham South Subterranean Shelter. This deep-level shelter had room for 8,000 people, and it only took … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: Exploring Clapham South Subterranean Shelter – Hidden London – From the Blitz to the Windrush