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Laura Porter
Posts
Picnic in the Queen’s Private Garden – Laura Porter Visits Buckingham Palace’s Garden
When attending the annual summer opening of Buckingham Palace, you do get to exit along the side of the garden. But for this year, there...
Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum) Re-opens After 3-year renovation – Check Out What’s Changed
When the Geffyre Museum closed in 2018, there was a lot of trepidation about its future. Often called a ‘hidden gem,’ it was a lovely...
Laura’s London: Bow Street Police Museum – A Brand New London Museum
London has a new independent museum in Covent Garden! Bow Street Police Museum is housed in one of London’s first police stations. No. 28 Bow...
Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits – New Major Exhibition at The National Maritime Museum
This royal portraits exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich looks at the kings and queens who have shaped British history for over 500...
London Histories: A Look at Queen Elizabeth I’s Hunting Lodge in Epping Forest
As I mentioned in the recent Copped Hall article, I have been enjoying exploring Epping Forest during the lockdown restrictions. This time, we will have...
Laura’s London: Exploring Copped Hall – A Stunning Abandoned Stately Home in Epping Forest
During lockdown, I’ve been enjoying getting to know Epping Forest. It’s truly vast and stretches across northeast London and out into the Essex countryside. A...
London Histories: A Look Number 10 Downing Street – Home of Britain’s Prime Ministers – Long Read
Inspiration for new articles comes from many places, and this one was inspired by a bar of soap. No, really. I’ll explain that connection below....
Laura’s London: Your Guide to The Thames Path – Come on a Virtual Walk!
We’ve looked at London’s bridges over The Thames, with an in-depth look at London Bridge, so I thought it was time to look at the...
London Histories: Your Complete Guide to Beatles London
The Beatles have lots of London connections, including where they have lived, recorded and performed. I’ve lived close to many of these locations and had...
London Histories: A History of All of London’s Royal Parks
There are eight royal parks in London that are royal because the lands have been owned by Kings and Queens. Most have been used as...
Laura’s London: A History of Hyde Park – Long Read
While it is a wonderful place for a walk, Hyde Park is also used for major concerts and the annual Winter Wonderland. But the park...
LONDON UNDER: Exploring Hidden London’s Abandoned Charing Cross Station
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...
London History: A Special Look at Cleopatra’s Needle on the Victoria Embankment
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...
Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read
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...
A Guide to London’s Underground Abandoned Ghost Stations
There are 270 functioning stations across the 249 miles of Transport for London network. But more interesting to us for this article are the 40+...
London Long Read: A History of London’s 35 Bridges Over The Thames
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...
London Bridge is Falling Down… A History of London Bridge and Where To Find ‘Old’ London Bridge
London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady. The popular nursery rhyme would have you believe...
London’s Piazza: A History of Covent Garden – From Market to Tourist Mecca
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...
Out of Austerity: The Festival of Britain 1951 – A History and Examination
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...
City of London Postman’s Park – London’s Special Memorial to Everyday Heroes
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....
London History: The East End Match Girls’ Strike of 1888
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...
Another London Mapping Wonder: Taking a Close Look at MacDonald Gill’s 1914 London Wonderground Map
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...
A London Mapping Wonder: A Guide to the London Theatreland Map of 1915
Back in 2015, I redecorated my dining room to include a feature wall section with a London Theatreland map from 1915. (This is the wallpaper...
STRAWBERRY HILL HOUSE: London’s Gothic Revival Masterpiece
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...
HIDDEN LONDON: The Lost Tunnels of Euston Station
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...
THE ALBERT MEMORIAL: A Close-up Look at Victoria’s Tribute to Her Prince
When Queen Victoria’s husband died unexpectedly, it was not just the monarch that mourned as the nation too was consumed with grief along with a...
Laura’s London: Special Exhibition Report – Andy Warhol at Tate Modern
A new major exhibition at Tate Modern looks at Andy Warhol from his childhood in Pittsburgh through to his one of his final works. It’s...
Florence Nightingale in 200 Objects, People and Places – New Special Exhibition at the Florence Nightingale Museum
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...
London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission
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...
Exhibition Report: David Hockney – Drawing from Life at the National Portrait Gallery
There’s a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. David Hockney: Drawing from...