7 Things You May Not Know About London
Being an international traveller and the type of person that likes to improve my knowledge and understanding of wherever I happen to be living in the world, I try to immerse myself as much as I possible can in the local history, culture and soul of my new home, as well as of course finding good pubs to relax in!
As most people are aware, London has got more history, culture and soul than probably any other city in the world, and believe me, after living here for only 5 months, I have only scraped the surface as to what this city has got to offer. Also being a Scotsman, with a love of my own country, but also a great love of travel and adventure, I must admit it takes a lot for me to praise the greatness of the English capital London.
My quest for finding out interesting and slightly off beat things about London has led me to create my, 7 Things You May Not Know About London list. In fact I stood on the Meridian Line only a few days ago and I wasn’t even aware of its importance.
7 Things You May Not Know About London
1. The centre of world time can be found at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. You can even stand on the famous Greenwich Meridian Line, which represents the Prime Meridian of the world Longitude 0º
2. Did you know that Thomas Arne wrote “Rule Britannia” in the Dove Pub situated on Hammersmith’s Historic Thames riverside.
3. A plaque in the Church of St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, which is located in the Northeast corner of Trafalgar Square marks the official exact centre of London. (I have got this one wrong, please refer to the comment left by Jeff)
4. The only true home shared by all four Beatles was a flat at 57 Green Street near Hyde Park, where they lived in the autumn of 1963.
5. London’s smallest house is three-and-ahalf-feet wide, and forms part of the Tyburn Convent in Hyde Park Place, where 20 nuns live.
6. The nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel refers to the act of pawning one’s suit after spending all one’s cash in the pubs of Clerkenwell. I know the feel, of doing a similar thing in the pubs of a Aberdeen, when I was a young loon.
7. Did you know that the street in London called Birdcage Walk, got its name from an aviary King Charles the II owned, which had a variety of exotic birds, including believe it or not a crane with wooden leg.
For those of you with a bit of adventure and spirit in your souls for seeking out new places to visit, why not seek out some of the places I have mentioned in my list. If you are a Japanese tourist you will probably be able to pay them all a visit in an afternoon! For the rest of us it may take it wee bit longer!
Related posts:
- Standing On The Centre Of World Time
- A Trip To Greenwich Park In South East London
- London is a Culture Vultures Paradise
- Sunshine On London
- 5 Places In London To Escape The Madness
2 Responses to “7 Things You May Not Know About London”
Leave a Reply
London is cool but you’re not quite right about the exact centre of London. It’s not in St Martin-in-the-Fields (a building that I know intimately) but actually on the traffic island just south of Nelson’s Column, by the statue of King Charles I. It’s a small brass disk in the ground there. It used to be the site of the Charing Cross which was demolished during the Civil War. A replica was built by the Victorians on its present site, in the forecourt of Charing Cross station.
Thanks Jeff, for your input and setting the record straight, as well as giving some place else to go and visit, when I’m out and about in central London.