Knowledge of London

Dustbin lids as shields when playing knights...

The days of metal dustbins and street-playing children—roughly the 1950s through the late 1970s— have largely been replaced by modern "wheelie bin" culture. For children of the era of the metal dustbin was not just for rubbish; it was a versatile prop for imaginative play.

Tomb in the Sky: John Claudius Loudon, built and designed this striking monument first to his father, and then his mother, in the graveyard of Pinner Parish Church, Middlesex. He died, penniless, in the arms of his wife in 1843. He is buried in Kensal Green.

@AcuteEngels In 1920, a Fremlin's depot was located on or near the site of what is now 15 Park Street, SE1, which was a granary warehouse at the time. This location was adjacent to a railway viaduct, its history as a granary suggests a role in storage and distribution.

#OTD 20th March 1966: The Jules Rimet World Cup trophy was stolen while on exhibition in London. Many believed the trophy was solid gold, which would have given it a scrap value of around £3,000, In fact, it was gold-plated silver and worth little more than £60.

8 Mount Row, Mayfair is a unique Tudor-style residential property built 1929 and famously nicknamed "Berkeley Castle". Highly decorative house which is tucked away. Famous Residents include Maureen Starkey (former wife of Ringo Starr) and media mogul Matthew Freud.

90-year-old Sir Winston Churchill with his wife Clementine at the window of their Hyde Park Gate home in London on his birthday, 30 November 1964, as crowds gathered outside to celebrate. It would be his last public appearance, as he died less than two months later on 24 Januar…

The Plague Pit Discovery: During redevelopment of the St Luke's Estate on Bath Street, workers uncovered a mass burial site containing numerous skeletons. Local lore suggests children once played with the skulls before experts identified the site as a 1665 Great Plague pit.

The Magpie is a traditional Victorian-style pub located just off Bishopsgate at 12 New Street. The pub stands on the site of a former early 20th-century ambulance station, which famously housed one of the city's first electric ambulances in 1909.

@guy_herbert Not if you read the full story in the above link as it was a dog and due to the "brown dog riots" they thought the trough may be vandalized.

@Knowledgepoint More natural to assume the friend was a horse.

The "Beloved Friend" Cattle Trough: Pitfield Street, from 1910. With a mysterious, poetic inscription: "In Memory of a Beloved Friend". Originally served the working horses it remains a "poetic ambiguity" as to whether the "friend" was a person or a faithful dog.

A prominent Banksy mural appeared on March 17, 2024, on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park, North London, featuring bright green paint sprayed on a residential building (Christie Court) to mimic foliage for a severely pruned tree in front.

The Chicago Pizza Pie Factory was a renowned London restaurant established by American entrepreneur Bob Payton, 17 Hanover Square, in 1978. Operated nearly 20 years before closing in 1997. Famous for authentic deep-dish pizza, themed American décor, and 1980s London popularity.

141-149 Portobello Road,There are approximately 190 Private dealers offering a complete range of antiques. Some of the first stall holders are still here! On this site Susan Garth launched London's first antiques market, making the Portobello Road an international institution.

@tashritu A great place to keep cool and star gaze😊

@Knowledgepoint Was wonderful in hot weather as it was one of the only ‘public’ spaces in London with air conditioning. The old planetarium projector had been pinched from Germany as war booty. It had been used to teach Luftwaffe pilots Astro-navigation so could only show Northern stars.

Happy Birthday: #OTD 19 March 1958: London’s Madame Tussaud’s opened the first planetarium in the UK. Opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with public shows beginning 20 March 1958. It operated until 2006, before it opened at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in 2007.

Th n & Now: London Planetarium, Marylebone Road, 1970s. A nice green tree takes up the left corner and the dual carriageway has more barriers otherwise little change.

York Road Underground Station (1906–1932): Located between King's Cross and Caledonian Road, this station closed due to low passenger numbers in a relatively poor area. It remains an abandoned "ghost station," with its distinctive dark red Leslie Green tiles still visible.

Christina Broom is regarded as the first female press photographer, breaking into a trade dominated by men. The blue plaque at 92 Munster Road, was officially unveiled on August 8, 2024.The home and studio, where she lived and worked from 1913,The Bermondsey B'hoys postcard 1914