After the devastation of 1666, the Church of England in the City of London was given fifty-one new buildings in addition to the twenty-four that had survived the Great Fire. During the next hundred years others were built in the two cities of London and Westminster, most with a crypt as spacious as the church above. This book relates the amazing stories of these spaces, revealing an often surprising side to life – and death – inside the churches of historic London. The sto...

From Roman burial rites to the horrors of the plague, from the founding of the great Victorian cemeteries to the development of cremation and the current approach of metropolitan society towards death and bereavement -- including more recent trends to displays of collective grief and the cult of mourning, such as that surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales -- NECROPOLIS: LONDON AND ITS DEAD offers a vivid historical narrative of this great city's attitude to going the way of all...

Strange laws, heroic deeds, surprising revelations, and quirky stories that have shaped the unique history of Britain’s capital.London’s long history is extraordinarily rich—and whether your interest is political, social, architectural, or historical, you’ll find a variety of topics in this alternative guide to London.Learn about:· Roman ruins· Notorious crimes· Hidden tube stations· The famous London smog· Cockney rhyming...

A Traveller’s History of London aims to bring London’s past alive to the resident, traveller and student, to reveal the city’s hidden treasures and forgotten places and guide the reader to the sights and sites that can still be seen and enjoyed. This Traveller’s History gives the discerning visitor a full and comprehensive historical background to the capital’s past and covers the period from London’s first beginnings, righ...

The Little Book of Dorset is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the places, people, legends and true stories about the county's past and present.

In the early evening of 16 October 1834, to the horror of bystanders, a huge ball of fire exploded through the roof of the Houses of Parliament, creating a blaze so enormous that it could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor, and from stagecoaches on top of the South Downs. In front of hundreds of thousands of witnesses the great conflagration destroyed Parliament's glorious old buildings and their contents. No one who witnessed the disaster would ever forget it.The events of that Octo...

There is hardly a city in the world with richer historical and cultural assocations than London. It is a place where history has been made for thousands of years, and where it is still being made today. It is not a city frozen in time, preserved in its ancient medieval pomp but a place that has been at or near the centre of national life for a thousand years and at the forefront of international political, cultural and economic history for each of the past five centuries. Here Stephen Inwo...

The bustling metropolis of London is home to scores of unusual and unique places and spaces. In this feast of peculiarities, author David Long guides you off the beaten path and allows you under the skin of the hidden city that is modern-day London, revealing a new side to the capital you thought you knew.

Delve into London's architectural curiositites and discover the unexpected gems waiting around every corner.London is full of extraordinary, enigmatic and, above all, unexpected buildings: a pirate castle in Camden, an art gallery made of shipping containers, underground ghost stations, and much more. Here David Long reveals the very best of the capital's extraordinary buildings, some of which are passed by every day, hidden in plain sight.

Suffolk Strange But True describes many unusual, odd and extraordinary people, places and events from this fascinating county. Featured within these pages are tales of 'the fasting woman of Shottisham', who was alleged not to have eaten for five months; the Suffolk man who invented the word 'communism'; local heroines; pioneering entrepreneurs; spectacular ruins and castles; lost towns and villages; extraordinary pets and animals; and unusual art treasures found i...

Ever wondered if Cheapside really is cheap, what you do in Threadneedle Street, or who the knights of Knightsbridge were?Did you know that Piccadilly is actually an insult? And that Euston Road was built because there were too many cows on Oxford Street? Or that the River Fleet was covered over partly because of a drunken butcher?Take a trip down narrow lanes, through cobbled streets and crowded markets to discover the meanings behind the city's place names...

The streetscape of London's historic square mile has been evolving for centuries, but the City's busy commercial heart still boasts an extensive network of narrow passages and alleyways, secret squares and half-hidden courtyards.Using his wealth of local knowledge, historian David Long guides you through these ancient rights of passage – many dating back to medieval times or earlier – their evocative names recalling old taverns, notable individuals and City traditi...