History - Archive Articles

See inside the 300+ year old Newington Green Unitarian Church

Just over 300 years ago, a small meeting house was built for non-conformists escaping the religious constraints of the City of London, and it's still here, and now open for tours.

Blue Plaque for one of Britain’s first black British medical consultants

One of Britain’s first black British consultants, the pioneering neurologist James Samuel Risien Russell has been commemorated with an English Heritage London blue plaque.

See the Charterhouse’s restored Great Chamber

Just around the corner from the brutalist Barbican estate can be found a medieval monastery, with a recently restored Great Chamber that you can now visit.

A history of Little Ben – the Victoria clock tower

Just outside Victoria Station is a tall black clock tower, often nicknamed Little Ben, and while often described as a small-scale replica of the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) down the road, there are so many differences that it can be best be described as inspired by the design.

Win £5,000 of holidays in Landmark Trust’s restored homes

A fundraiser for a heritage houses charity is offering up to £5,000 of free weekend breaks in its homes across the UK.

200-Year old Brockwell Hall to be restored

A 200-year old mansion house that sits in the middle of Brockwell Park and is mainly used by the council park staff is to be restored and opened to the public.

60th anniversary of Wembley Stadium’s ski jump

It's May 1961 and there's a huge ski jump being built inside Wembley Stadium, on the football pitch.

Tickets Alert: Public tours of an HS2 archaeology site

It's a bit outside London, but there's a chance to visit a live archaeology site that's currently excavating a churchyard filled with around 3,000 dead people.

An archive of aerial photos of London

There's an archive of aerial photos of London held by the University of Cambridge, many of them are recent enough to look familiar, and yet ever so slightly strange.

More virtual disused tube station tours announced

With visits to the disused tube stations in person on hold, a new batch of video tours has been announced by the London Transport Museum.

Colourised film shows London during WW2

Film footage of London during WW2 is rare, thanks to the efforts of the film censor, but here's a colour film from bombed-out London.

Your chance to help archaeologists in public outreach

Whenever a building site appears, often so do the archaeologists, looking to study what may be found deep beneath the streets.

Crossbones Graveyard future secured

The long term future of the Crossbones Graveyard in Southwark has been secured after the housing development next to it signed a renewable 30-year lease with the local group, Friends of Crossbones.

London’s Brooklands Museum gets a TV series

To mark its 30th anniversary later this year, the museum of motoring and aircraft at Brooklands in southwest London is getting a 10-part TV series.

The White Horse of Poplar High Street

On a residential street to the north of Canary Wharf can be found a big wooden pole, with a white horse on top.

Docklands: The Expanding City (1988 LDDC corporate video)

Found by the Tower Hamlets archive is a promotional video from 1988 for the Canary Wharf and Docklands development.

Finding the Virginia Quay Settlers Monument

A monument to the original English settlers of the USA overlooks the Thames, but it's unlikely that you would casually walk past it.

London Bridge’s lost Nonsuch House

What is thought to be London's earliest prefab house was a grand affair, and stood on top of London Bridge as a massive gateway to the city.

The forgotten era of Light Reflectors in London’s alleys

A visitor to Victorian London who found themselves in its many narrow alleys would have seen large numbers of wooden shutters reflecting sunlight into the offices.

50 years since London Underground switched to decimal currency

This Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of when London Underground changed over to a decimal currency -- a day earlier than the rest of the country.

St James’s Palace – from lepers to royalty

A nearly 500-year-old Tudor palace in the heart of London, built on the site of a leper hospital, and today the senior royal palace in the UK.

Georgian Group’s journal made available for free online

The Georgian Group, an organisation the promotes and conserves Georgian era architecture has put most of its Journal archive online - for free.

The year a “railway” ran inside Westminster Abbey

For a few months in 1953, railway tracks could be found running through the middle of Westminster Abbey.

The “Trump Baby” blimp is coming to the Museum of London

A giant orange balloon of Donald Trump in a baby nappy is to become part of the permanent collection at the Museum of London.