History - Archive Articles

Cody Dock secures funding to restore Thames Ironworks boat

East London’s Cody Dock has been awarded nearly £1.7 million to restore a historic vessel made by Thames Ironworks and construct a new heritage centre for Newham.

Deep borehole dug underneath Parliament over Easter

Over the Easter holiday, a deep borehole was drilled underneath the Houses of Parliament, reaching more than twice as deep as the Elizabeth line tunnels.

The Tottenham High Cross

In the middle of a north London road junction can be found a 400 year old stone tower that once gave its name to this part of London.

There’s a 30-year old dead rabbit in Seven Sisters tube station

For over thirty years, a dead rabbit has hung inside Seven Sisters tube station, and thousands of people walk past it every day without noticing.

London’s last unprotected cabmen’s shelter gets heritage protection

There are a baker's dozen surviving cabmen's shelters in London, with their distinctive green shed appearance. All but one are protected from demolition.

By law – it shouldn’t be Easter this weekend

Each year, people check their calendars to find out when Easter will take place because it changes every year -- but nearly a century ago, the UK passed a law fixing the date. It's just that the law has never been enforced.

A 1930s LNER wagon has been dug up in Belgium

It’s more than 400 miles from LNER’s current home in York, but an LNER train has been unearthed by archaeologists in Antwerp in Belgium.

Unlocking the Past: TfL releases over 400 digitized maps and more on Google Arts & Culture

More than 2,000 historical documents from Transport for London's (TfL) corporate archives are now available to view for free on Google Arts and Culture.

Charles Darwin’s unread copy of Marx’s Das Kapital restored for display

It's June 1873, and Karl Marx has decided to send a copy of his magnum opus, Das Kapital, to Charles Darwin, and 150 years later, that unread copy is going back on display at Charles Darwin's home.

From Rastafari Squats to Cardboard City: London’s working class histories get funding boost

Eight heritage projects in London have been given funding to record the history of the city's working classes.

London’s gas lamps to shine on as Historic England protects Covent Garden lights

Historic England has given four gas-powered street lamps that have been glowing in Covent Garden for over a century heritage listing protection, so they will continue to cast a warm glow in the streets.

The myths of Anne Boleyn’s Well, Carshalton

Next to an old church in Carshalton town centre is an old well attributed to King Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. Or is it?

Saxon London remains found under the National Gallery

Engineers digging a tunnel underneath the National Gallery have discovered objects from Saxon times, showing that the urban centre of Saxon London extended further west than previously thought.

Rare Roman London funeral remains discovered beneath Holborn Viaduct

An extraordinary discovery of Roman funeral remains has been uncovered in London, including possibly the first complete Roman funerary bed ever found in Britain.

500th anniversary of the Great Flood of London

Today marks the 500th anniversary of when 20,000 people fled the centre of London to avoid a massive tidal wave that was about to devastate the city.

From jazz to surgery: English Heritage’s Blue Plaques will celebrate a record number of women in 2024

For the first time in the history of the London Blue Plaques Scheme, which has been running for more than 150 years, more plaques will be unveiled to individual women in 2024 than in any previous year.

The centenary of Natwest’s first railway station bank

A century ago, on 10th January 1924, the forerunner of the NatWest bank opened its first-ever branch inside a railway station - at Waterloo station.

London’s only public statue of King Henry VIII restored to remove decades of pollution

London's only public statue of King Henry VIII has recently been given a makeover, removing decades of pollution and cleaning up the building he stands in.

Beyond Dickensian myths: St Pancras workhouse’s early history revealed in archaeological dig

The early history of a notorious London workhouse, whose putrid conditions may have inspired Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, has been uncovered by archaeologists who found that early conditions were far better than the later years.

Roman London’s mausoleum and mosaics going on public display in Southwark

One of the UK's most important discoveries of Roman heritage in recent years is to go on public display in Southwark, close to where it was uncovered last year.

A tale of two stags: Tracing the origins of the Albert Gate’s sculptures

A curiosity has struck me about two fine sculptures of stags that can be found on Albert Gate, a short road next to Hyde Park.

Dare to Be Free: London’s 1000th blue plaque unveiled at Suffragist headquarters

London's 1000th official blue plaque was unveiled last week, in a location just off Strand in central London.

Step back in time: Explore Crystal Palace’s Victorian Beasts with these new 3D scans

You can now see the Crystal Palace's Victorian beasts in full 3D on your computer, after a project to scan them for restoration work also enabled a website to recreate the beasts online.

Blue Plaque honours Tommy Flowers, the man behind Alan Turing’s computer revolution

Although Alan Turning gets justifiable fame for his WWII computer work, he needed help, and now a Blue Plaque has been installed to celebrate the electrical engineer who made it all possible, Tommy Flowers.