Ludgate Circus is a road junction in the City of London where Farringdon Street and New Bridge Street (together forming part of the A201 road) cross Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street.
Historically the main connection between the City of London and the City of Westminster, Ludgate Circus is situated on the course of the River Fleet, London’s largest subterranean river. The circle of Ludgate Circus was constructed between 1864 and 1875. Haytor granite from Dartmoor in Devon was used in the construction of Ludgate Circus, transported via the unique Haytor Granite Tramway.
Had the Fleet line of the London Underground been built, it would have had a station at Ludgate Circus. However, the Fleet line’s proposed route evolved in to the Jubilee line which went south of the River Thames before reaching Ludgate Circus. In 1990 however, City Thameslink station was opened on the site of the proposed Ludgate Circus station.
The name Ludgate derives from the Old English term “hlid-geat”a common Old English compound meaning “postern” or “swing gate”.
Kings, queens, statesmen and soldiers; poets, priests, heroes and villains – the Abbey is a must-see living pageant of British history. Every year Westminster Abbey welcomes over one million visitors who want to explore this wonderful 700-year-old building which is the coronation church of England. Thousands more flock to the Abbey for worship at daily services.(This content has been supplied by Westminster Abbey)
According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, the Abbey was first founded in the time of Mellitus (d. 624), Bishop of London, on the present site, then known as Thorn Ey (Thorn Island); based on a late tradition that a fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the Abbey received in later years. In the present era, the Fishmonger’s Company still gives a salmon every year. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, installed a community of Benedictine monks here.
Between 1042 and 1052 King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter’s Abbey in order to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Norman Romanesque style. It was not completed until around 1090 but was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before the Confessor’s death on 5 January 1066. The next day he was buried in the church, and nine years later his wife Edith was buried alongside him. His successor, Harold II, was probably crowned in the Abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year.
Hampstead Heath (locally known as “the Heath”) is a large, ancient London park, covering 320 hectares (790 acres). This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The Heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the stately home of Kenwood House and its grounds. The SE part of the Heath is Parliament Hill, whose view over London is protected by law.
The Heath has long been a popular place for Londoners to walk and take in the air. Running along its eastern perimeter are a chain of ponds – including three open-air public swimming pools – which were originally reservoirs for drinking water from the River Fleet. The Heath is a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance, and part of Kenwood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Lakeside concerts are held there in summer. The Heath is managed by the City of London Corporation, and lies mostly within the London Borough of Camden with the adjoining Hampstead Heath Extension and Golders Hill Park in the London Borough of Barnet.
Historically, only members of the royal family and the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, have been allowed to pass through the arch in ceremonial procession.
The name “Marble Arch” also refers to the locality in west London where the arch is situated, particularly, the southern portion of Edgware Road. There also is an underground station named after it.
The arch was designed in 1825 by John Nash as ceremonial entrance to the courtyard of the new Buckingham Palace, which he was then rebuilding from the former Buckingham House. The palace, as designed by Nash, was laid out around three sides of the courtyard., with the Marble Arch placed on its open, eastern side.
The arch was dismantled in 1850 when the new east range of Buckingham Palace was constructed, closing in the courtyard. It was rebuilt by Thomas Cubitt as a ceremonial entrance to the northeast corner of Hyde Park at Cumberland Gate. The reconstruction was completed in March 1851.A popular story says that the arch was moved because it was too narrow for the Queen’s state coach to pass through, but, in fact, the gold state coach passed under it during Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
Marble Arch as it is now, standing near Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park
Three small rooms inside the rebuilt arch were used as a police station until 1950, first for the royal constables of the Park and later the Metropolitan Police. One policeman stationed there during the early 1860s was Samuel Parkes, who won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854, during the Crimean War.
It has been speculated that the arch might be moved across the street to Hyde Park, or to a more accessible location than its current position on a large traffic island.
The palace c. 1837, depicting the Marble Arch, which served as the ceremonial entrance to the Palace precincts. It was moved to make way for the east wing, built in 1847, which enclosed the quadrangle.
Marble Arch as originally erected, as a gateway to the newly rebuilt Buckingham Palace.
The Bank of England is on the left of the picture (The ‘Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’) and the Royal Exchange in the centre.
The Royal Exchange ceased to act as a centre of commerce in 1939, although it was, for a few years in the 1980s, home to the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE). It is now a luxurious shopping centre.
Shops in the Royal Exchange include Boodles, Hermès, Molton Brown, Paul Smith, Haines & Bonner, Tiffany and Jo Malone.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a stone Roman Doric column in the City of London, near the northern end of London Bridge, which commemorates the Great Fire of London.
It stands at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, 202 ft (62 m) tall and 202 ft (62 m) from the place where the Great Fire started on 2 September 1666.
The Monument, designed by Christopher Wren, depicted in a picture by Sutton Nicholls, c. 1753.
September 3, 1802″ is a sonnet by William Wordsworth describing London and the River Thames, viewed from Westminster Bridge in the early morning. It was first published in the collection Poems in Two Volumes in 1807.
Earth hath not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England.
The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Palace of Westminster nearest the bridge. This is in contrast to Lambeth Bridge which is red, the same colour as the seats in the House of Lords and is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament.
In 2005-2007 it underwent a complete refurbishment, including replacing the iron fascias and repainting the whole bridge. It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall and the London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the London Marathon.
A city long shrouded in literary and historical mists–not to mention real ones–London seduces tourists and natives alike. From Big Ben to the grimy Victorian streets of Dickens novels on up to the sleek high-rises that dot the skyline of the twenty-first-century metropolis, the urban landscape of London is steeped in history, while forever responsive to the changing dictates of progress, industry, and culture. In London: A Life in Maps, acclaimed historian Peter Whitfield reveals a wealth of surprising truths and forgotten facts hidden in the city’s historic maps.
Whitfield examines nearly 200 maps spanning the last 500 years, all of which vividly demonstrate the vast changes wrought on London’s streets, open spaces, and buildings. In a rich array of colorful cartographic illustrations, the maps chronicle London’s tumultuous history, from the devastation of the Great Fire to the indelible marks left by World Wars I and II to the emergence of the West End as a fashion mecca.
Whitfield reads historic sketches and detailed plans as biographical keys to this complex, sprawling urban center, and his in-depth examination unearths fascinating insights into the city of black cabs and red double-deckers. With engaging prose and astute analysis he also expertly coaxes out the subtle complexities—of social history, urban planning, and design—within the rich documentation of London’s immense and constantly changing cityscape. London: A Life in Maps lets readers wander through the past and present of London’s celebrated streets—from Abbey Road to Savile Row—and along the way reveals the city’s captivating history, vibrant culture, and potential future. (20071015)
“The Rough Guide Map London” will guide you along the busy streets of one of Europe’s largest capitals. From Buckingham Palace to Brick Lane, “The Rough Guide Map London” pin points the best attractions the city has to offer as well as shops, restaurants, explosive live-music venues and thought provoking galleries.
Boasting an A-Z street finder index and an essential ‘Time Map’ with opening and closing times of the top attractions, the map also suggests routes for numerous day-trips.
Streets and key tourist hotspots are clearly colour-coded, with unique Rough Guide recommendations highlighted. User-friendly and printed in full-colour on waterproof, rip-proof paper, this slick, fully up-to-date map presents London with impeccable accuracy, making it an unmissable travel companion on your break away to London.
This easy to use London Street Map is designed specifically for your Kindle. It contains detailed Ordnance Survey street mapping for London and covers Charing Cross, Mayfair, Soho, South Bank, St Giles, The Strand and Whitehall. The detailed street mapping includes points of interest such as landmarks / tourist attractions, schools and train stations.
The London Map Guide contains an overview map of London with links so you can go straight to the part of the map you are looking for.
- Position the cursor over the map link and press the cursor button to go to the relevant part of the London map.
The London Map Guide is very easy to use
- You can zoom into the map by moving the cursor over the map and pressing the cursor button
- To pan left or right simply use the Kindle page turn buttons to go to the next or previous page.
- To pan up or down use the cursor to select and click on the north or south arrows above and below the map (if you are at the extent or limits of the map the arrows may not be shown).
- Use the cursor to select and click on the “go to overview map” to return to the overview map.
The London Map Guide for London includes a full street index of London with links to the relevant part of the London street map (for clarity not all roads on the map can be named).
- Position the cursor over the index link and press the cursor button to go to the relevant part of the map.
Please check out our range of Kindle Map Guides which includes maps of other UK cities and a range of international and world city maps.
