London is full of strange and beautiful sights. It is a place for traditions and rebels, for the establishment and every alternative subculture. This book celebrates the diversity of the city. It invites you to see Little Ben or the fake 10 Downing Street, and answers both conventional and unusual questions. What, apart from Rolling Scones, will you see at God's Own Junkyard? Where does an old-school gentleman buy his wine and umbrellas? Why did Robbie Williams feud with his next-door neighbour? How has the city commemorated the Queen Mother and Princess Diana? In which park do 100-year-old naked ladies cavort on the banks of the Thames? Where did Lenin and Julian Assange campaign for their beliefs? And which bridge rolls itself up?
AUTHOR: John Sykes was born in Southport, Lancashire, studied in Oxford and Manchester and lived in London before moving to Germany and making his home in Cologne. He has written and translated books about London, including one in the form of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and is the author of several travel guides about the British Isles.
SELLING POINTS: .
The ultimate insider's guide to London for locals and experienced travellers .
Features interesting and unusual places not found in traditional travel guides
.
Part of the international 111 Places series with over 650 titles and 3.8 million copies in print worldwide
.
Fully illustrated with 111 full-page colour photographs .
Fully revised and updated edition
By:
John Sykes
Imprint: Emons Verlag GmbH
Country of Publication: Germany
Edition: 10th Revised edition
Dimensions:
Height: 205mm,
Width: 135mm,
Weight: 429g
ISBN: 9783740823795
ISBN 10: 3740823798
Series: 111 Places
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 November 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified
10 Adam Street Not Downing Street | 10 Albert Bridge A frail old soldier | 12 Angela’s Fountain The gift of a remarkable woman | 14 Animals in War Memorial A memorial that touches the heart | 16 Apothecaries’ Hall A survival from the age of guilds | 18 The Argyll Arms A refuge from shopping hell | 20 The Athenaeum Club The goddess admits those who are worthy | 22 The Barbican A monstrosity or a home with culture? | 24 Battersea Power Station A colossus on the Thames, saved from ruin | 26 Belgrave Square Family property | 28 Berry Bros. & Rudd Wine merchants for 300 years | 30 Bevis Marks Synagogue A 300-year-old Jewish community | 32 The Boat Gardens Pink blossom on the grey river | 34 Brixton Market An explosion of colours and flavours | 36 Brockwell Park Adele was moved to tears | 38 The Brunswick Plane The urban tree | 40 Bunhill Fields Lunch among the tombstones | 42 Bushy Park The beginning of a mass movement | 44 Cabbies’ Shelter in Grosvenor Gardens Huts that are architectural heritage | 46 Chinatown An enclave in Soho | 48 Christie’s Classier than eBay | 50 The Coade Stone Lion Unexpectedly humble origins | 52 Cousin Lane Stairs Down to a beach on the Thames | 54 The Duke of York Column A man who made it to the top | 56 East India Dock Spice and dragonflies | 58 Eccleston Mews Ideal homes in the stables | 60 The Ecuadorean Embassy Asylum for Julian Assange | 62 Edgware Road ‘Little Beirut’ in London | 64 Eel Pie Island A refuge for artists and musicians | 66 The Fan Bridge Is Tower Bridge too touristy? Try an alternative | 68 Fournier Street The ghosts of Huguenots and Jewish tailors | 70 The Fourth Plinth No more statues of soldiers, please! | 72 Fulham Palace A country seat for bishops | 74 The Gas Lamp in Carting Lane Sewers and street lighting | 76 Gasholder Park Mirrors of change | 78 God’s Own Junkyard Rolling Scones and an assault on the eyeballs | 80 The Golden Boy Gluttony, fire and body-snatching | 82 The Greenwich Foot Tunnel Under the Thames and off to Scotland | 84 The Grenadier Cosy, until the ghost appears | 86 Hawksmoor’s Pyramid An enigma in the churchyard | 88 The Head of Invention Inspiration for designers | 90 Highgate Wood The remains of an ancient forest | 92 Holland Park More than a Dutch garden | 94 The Horniman Museum Varied fun for all ages | 96 Inner Temple Garden For lawyers and everyone else | 98 Isabella Plantation An enchanted garden in the wide green park | 100 James Smith & Sons Where a gentleman buys his umbrella | 102 Jamme Masjid Mosque A house of three religions | 104 The K2 Telephone Kiosk The prototype of a famous design | 106 The Kindertransport Monument The place where 10,000 Jewish children arrived | 108 Limehouse Basin Post-industrial London | 110 Lincoln’s Inn A tranquil refuge for lawyers | 112 Little Ben Off-message since Brexit | 114 The Lloyd’s Building Futuristic, yet a monument | 116 London Stone The city’s mythical foundation stone | 118 Lord’s Cricket Ground A sacred site for fans of the summer sport | 120 M. Manze Eel, pie and mash in Peckham | 122 The Marx Memorial Library Lenin, trade unions and the Spanish Civil War | 124 The Molehill How a victorious king was laid low | 126 Mudchute City Farm Animals for urban children | 128 The Naked Ladies Unexpected frolics by the Thames | 130 Neal’s Yard Alternative lifestyle and Monty Python | 132 The Niche from Old London Bridge Stones that were admitted to hospital | 134 Nunhead Cemetery Romantic decay | 136 Old St Pancras Bones and legends by the railway tracks | 138 One New Change A free vista of London and St Paul’s Cathedral | 140 Orbit An observation tower on the Olympic site | 142 The OXO Tower Architecture as advertising | 144 Paddington Street Gardens Keep the city clean and green | 146 The Peabody Estate in Whitecross Street 150 years of social housing projects | 148 Peckham Levels A car park, garish and creative | 150 The Piccadilly Line Design and architecture in the Tube | 152 Pimlico Road Farmers’ Market Mozart and the magic fruit | 154 Postman’s Park A memorial for unsung heroes | 156 The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain Splashing around is tolerated | 158 The Prospect of Whitby A last drink for condemned pirates | 160 Quantum Cloud Art beneath wide skies | 162 The Queen Mother Memorial Horses, corgis and the Blitz | 164 Queen Square A green place for parents, children and queens | 166 Richmond-on-Thames Where the river takes on a rural character | 168 Robbie Williams’ House Disharmony among musicians | 170 The Roman City Wall Londinium has not quite disappeared | 172 The Roof Garden Flowers and concrete | 174 The Ropewalk Street food from the railway arches | 176 Royal Arcade Connections to the palace are good for business | 178 The Scalpel Play video! | 180 Shad Thames Sought-after homes in Charles Dickens’ slum | 182 Shoreditch Street Art Legal or illegal, subversive or sponsored | 184 Shri Swaminarayan Mandir A Hindu temple, open to everyone | 186 Spencer House Old money, expensive taste | 188 St Anne’s Church, Soho Where the German king of Corsica is buried | 190 St Bartholomew-the-Great The court jester’s church, now a film set | 192 St Bride’s Slender steeple, creepy crypt | 194 St Helen’s Bishopsgate Christ’s message in the financial district | 196 St John’s Lodge Garden A sequestered spot in Regent’s Park | 198 St Pancras Station An engineering miracle based on beer | 200 The Tactful House Love thy neighbour | 202 Three Mills Island Grinding grain with tidal power | 204 The Tibetan Peace Garden A mandala at the cannon’s mouth | 206 Tower Bridge Wharf A clear view of the river | 208 The Trafalgar Tavern Maritime tradition on the Greenwich Meridian | 210 Trellick Tower The rehabilitation of an architectural villain | 212 Tyburn Convent A shrine to Roman Catholic martyrs | 214 Waterloo Bridge One of the best views along the Thames | 216 The Westbourne The stream that flows through a Tube station | 218 The White Building Art and pizza by the canal | 220 Whitechapel Gallery Art for all and a golden tree | 222 Wilton’s Music Hall Bare boards, crumbling plaster | 224 The Wimbledon Windmill A survival from rustic village days | 226 Word on the Water The floating bookshop | 228 Ye Olde Mitre A well-hidden pub | 230
John Sykes was born in Southport, Lancashire, studied in Oxford and Manchester and lived in London before moving to Germany and making his home in Cologne. He has written and translated books about London, including one in the form of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and is the author of several travel guides about the British Isles.
