Discover the incredible stories behind more than 120 street names in Wimbledon, Mitcham, and Morden in the SW19 London postcode. What does the secret history say about your road name? londonstreetguide.com/sw19/

My latest #Croydon tale on the John Whitgift Almshouses, the Hospital of the Holy Trinity @londonstreetguide.bsky.social

Well, this is novel. Starting work on the 2nd Lord Foley, who, unusually for his family, was not an MP at some point in his career. The reason seems to have been opposition from his mother. When there was an opening at Droitwich, it was said 'she would never let him come in #Parliament' #HistParl

Doing some research on SW19 street names and came across this delightful magazine from Wandsworth School. Full of humour, stories and events. Could you imagine having an Eisteddfod outside of Wales today? I assumed it was a private school, but no, it was a local authority grammar.

Had the great pleasure to visit the rather splendid East Ham Town Hall in Newham. So much to see.

A morning walk around Royal Albert, Newham.

It’s Saturday Morning Municipal Street Lighting Nerd Club. Here is the GEC Z8611, the company’s last major design before it sold its lighting division in the 1980s. This marked the arrival of high pressure sodium which dominated new installations in the 1980s to 00s before LED took over.

Municipal guide of the day: the former Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich. Greenwich tended to publish their guide through Burrows, but this rather (understandably) utilitarian, immediate post-WW2 example is by Simmath Press Ltd. It features Clifford Culpin‘s striking Town Hall.

Last chance to catch ENDURANCE & JOY IN THE EAST END at the Museum of the Home, curated by yours truly. Exhibition closes next Sunday 30th March

Ever noticed the roads within Heathrow Airport start with the same letter corresponding with its compass point? Of course not, you have lives... They are connected with aircraft. So why is Nelson there? Discover this and 1,000s more street name origins londonstreetguide.com/2020/11/nels...

Chuny the Elephant: A Tragic Tale In the early 19th century, London was a city captivated by exotic animals. Zoos, travelling menageries, and exotic creatures in private collections fascinated the public, offering rare glimpses of wildlife from far-flung corners of the world. Among these animals…

We think of the Victorians of being a pious lot. But occasionally a story reaches us through the fog of ages that reveals they could be very much like us... The very true London history story of Shitting Alley in Mortlake, Richmond… #London #history londonstreetguide.com/2021/07/shit...

This is one of London’s most interesting street name histories… Darell Road, Richmond

I was looking back on a few early streets we had published. And I feel I didn't do justice to Cocksure Lane, DA14. It needs more... a lot more... londonstreetguide.com/2019/08/cock...

Adolf Street, SE6 It's not such a popular name today... Why is there a street named Adolf in south east London? And how did it survive the Second World War. (Clue: It's not named after this one 👇) londonstreetguide.com/2024/07/adol...

Seen this @geographygem.bsky.social ?

With the stories of how more than 5,000 streets were named, we are (we think) London's biggest repository of the capital's topographical knowledge. (That's a lot of big words...) Find out how your London street got its name. londonstreetguide.com/a-to-z/

An unusually good low tide yesterday gave an opportunity to see the stunning Saxon fish trap at Chelsea. It’s well protected by the Thames & the vigilance of the houseboat community who live next to it (developers are sniffing around the waterfront here.) Re-discovered by Thames archaeologists 1/

Today, if you want to change a street name, there is uproar. But it wasn't always the way... especially when homeowners wanted to forget the past. For gentrification in London is nothing new. Take Wimbledon's Camp Road, SW19. Once it was Workhouse Lane.. londonstreetguide.com/2025/02/camp...

The Scottish heiress, the hard-up aristocrat, the diarist, and their lovers. The story of how Cannizaro Road in Wimbledon, SW19, got its Italian name quite by accident. The history of London's street names... londonstreetguide.com/2025/03/cann...

One of the side benefits of learning about London's street names is the history of places that have long since vanished. Take Durnsford Avenue, in Wimbledon. A corruption of the much flipped manor of Dunsford, the estate that no one wanted for very long. londonstreetguide.com/2025/03/durn...

@londonstreetguide.bsky.social Hi, I've just released the following book which I hope may be of interest to you. A powerful, true story of a female London Police Officer who worked on some of the most harrowing events of our time. More info here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp2O... Available on #Amazon

Learn what your #London street name says about your road. With the stories behind more than 5,000 streets and many more being added from across the capital. londonstreetguide.com/postcodes/

Pub names of London #londonpubs

Should we have a Campaign for the Protection of Traditional Sound? Its aim would be to defend the noise of pubs, farms, church bells, sport… from Nimbies who move in next door and then complain about the sounds that have been there for decades and centuries. #CPTS

Cheerful Christmas corner. Talking to a colleague about World War Three and where we’d go in the event that a nuclear strike was imminent. I said I’d pack up my family and head straight to Trafalgar Square. Any better answers?

OVERGROUND Photography from book 3 A collection of 'overground' themed photos from my new book "Contrast- Photography on the London Underground". Featured Stations: Boston Manor, Canary Wharf DLR, Woodside Tram Stop, Hillingdon #photography #booksky #books #railway

As the Library of London History, we’d like to know what everyone’s favourite quotes about London are. Please share with us your favourite quotes, poetry or prose. 'I travel continuously, and I see many cities, but there is nowhere like London' – Sir Norman Foster

Yes, another #snow pic. Ancient House #Walthamstow Grade II listed C15th former hall house, now 4 dwellings. Timber frame, stucco infill & C18th weatherboarding on east wing. Restored 1934 & 2001-2. Will feature in my next book ;) @HistoricEngland listing:...

The anti-ULEZ “blade runners” are nothing new it seems. The motorist equivalent of the Luddites.

Hounslow, London.

The plot of Bambi is taking place in Richmond Park

Twickenham Film Studios where the post production work on the Italian Job, The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night, and An American Werewolf in London was done.

A beautiful December morning. View from Richmond Bridge… which no one wanted to be built here. They wanted a crossing down river because the climb to access the bridge was too steep, but the owner of the land on the Twickenham side refused because she didn’t want the traffic.

A jolly seasonal message for all of us…Alton Road, Richmond #ghostsigns #London #History

Sean Thomas writes in @thespectator1828.bsky.social that London is getting worse. Yes, there are many negatives in this city but there have also been some marvellous improvements. I’ll start.. Free toilets at mainline stations. Uber cabs. www.spectator.co.uk/article/lond...

:::Moving towards a classification of hand painted No Parking notices::: It is time this under-appreciated folk craft was given more attention. By identifying common characteristics we can perhaps develop an understanding of the people who make the signs - their lives and motivations. >>>

Built in 1837 on the site of a former fishermen’s pub, the Regency-style Trafalgar Tavern at Greenwich contains much maritime-themed artwork, while a life-size statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson stands outside.

Tomorrow evening the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree lights will be switched on. It’s often described as London’s official start to the Christmas countdown. Well worth heading down there… 🎼Ding Dong merrily on high…

There can't be many London streets named after a killer... and a baby killer at that. But Darell Road, Richmond, holds that distinct dishonour albeit by a roundabout route.. namely the 1855 Derby winner Wild Dayrell. Discover more London history... londonstreetguide.com/2021/08/dare...

You cannot hope to bribe nor twist, Thank God! the British journalist, But, seeing what the man will do, Unbribed, there’s no occasion to. Humbert Wolfe

A #Lewisham Advent - No 2: A "Terrible mishap to Santa Claus" in 1909 saw his supply of toys put up for in J Sainsbury's department store at the Obelisk!

This shop in Dean Street in Soho is one of the few remaining examples in London of a Georgian shopfront, which are usually characterised by bay windows. It dates from 1791, was tastefully refurbished in 2011, and is Grade II listed.

You discover some weird bits of history behind street names. Take Concord Close, Northolt. Like its neighbours Jetstar Way, Firefly Close, Delta Grove, and Kittiwake Road, it is named after an aircraft... Concorde. Why the spelling mistake? It wasn't. londonstreetguide.com/2020/10/conc...

#OnThisDay in London radical history: freethought pioneer James Watson dies, Norwood, 1874 wp.me/p74yfw-pL

Fulham Bridge, predecessor of Putney Bridge and only the second bridge over the tidal River Thames, was opened today in 1729. Read here about its creation www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/putney-bridge/

'London Bridge: Adelaide House and Fresh Wharf, London' (1913) by Charles Ginner (London Museum)

One of the lost brasses from Croydon Parish Church now Croydon Minster. Elizabeth Fynche was the vicar's wife #brass #Church #monument

Punch Lewis was born in Norwich, mid 1840s. In 1882 he spent a fortune opening a boxing saloon at the Blue Coat Boy on "the worst street in London" - Dorset St, Spitalfields, East London. He died from heart disease with dropsy a year later: grapplingwithhistory.com/2024/11/09/k...