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London On The Ground
Dec 25 min read
Smithfield Market to turn lights out on a millennium of history
An 850 year old document describes a livestock market for swine, cows, oxen and woolly flocks at Smithfield. Smithfield meat market, the...
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London On The Ground
Nov 164 min read
King’s College London’s Maughan Library reveals its secrets
The site’s 800 year history includes housing Jews converted to Christianity, and legal and national records. During London Open House...
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London On The Ground
Sep 296 min read
Albert Memorial: a rare look at the undercroft
Simple brick arches support one of Victorian London's most elaborate monuments. I recently joined the first ever public tour of the...
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London On The Ground
Jul 216 min read
Islington Cattle Market: lost secret of Essex Road
The challenger to Smithfield closed in 1837 after less than a year. A couple of years ago, at one of the excellent exhibitions at the...
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London On The Ground
Apr 137 min read
'Work' by Ford Madox Brown, a painting to rival a Dickens novel
The artist tackles Victorian social attitudes, the class divide and urbanisation in this Hampstead scene. On a visit to Manchester last...
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London On The Ground
Feb 26 min read
Temple Bar Memorial: Victorian delights you may not have noticed
The fearsome dragon is impressive, but the plinth contains hidden treasures. Temple Bar Memorial, where The Strand becomes Fleet Street,...
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London On The Ground
Jan 144 min read
Frederic Leighton's art at Leighton House
An excellent collection of 19th century paintings and sculpture by Frederic Leighton. The painter, draughtsman and sculptor was one of...
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London On The Ground
Sep 24, 20233 min read
The Victorian Splendour of the Hop Exchange in Southwark
The Victorian building is a striking link to Southwark's brewing and trading past. Built in 1867 to the design of architect RH Moore was...
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London On The Ground
Oct 7, 20224 min read
Down Pentonville Road towards St Pancras: 1884 and today
The view towards St Pancras station down Pentonville Road looking west was painted by Irish painter John O'Connor in 1884. The painting's...
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London On The Ground
Sep 2, 20224 min read
Flushing out the truth: Jennings, Crapper and the public convenience
George Jennings should be much better known. He, and not Thomas Crapper, invented the flush toilet. 19th century installations bearing...
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