An exploration of everything to do with London; from the city's history and transport, to tales of true crime and more.... and every now and then I'll be exploring other parts of the UK too!
9:13 "Who on earth was naming these places?" I imagine this was just a joke, but in case anyone's curious: The names on maps were usually taken from locals' names for them, they often didn't have official names. As an early part of the video alluded to, Frying Pan Alleys were usually named for ironmongers' shop signs, but what it didn't mention is probably that the reason these signs were taken as the name is because they were probably the best identifying mark for those particular alleys, perhaps visible from near the entrance to the alley. The various "Naked Boys" most likely referred to pub signs or other images of mythological/allegorical characters such as Cupid, Bacchus, or putti, a not uncommon sight on houses and pubs, their intended meaning opaque to the uneducated locals.
So Downing was a liar, traitor and a potentially bad landlord....sure, let's keep the street name. Honestly, so many things in London have been renamed. Why not this one? I had no idea the interior was so vast. All I've ever seen is the press outside the small door. Love the cheat door! Hello from a warm and sunny Oregon, US.
That was a brilliant presentation !! A young friend dropped in and he put it to play on my TV...superb...better than anything I have watched on TV lately 👍 👍 It really showed your cartoons off ...they are so good. Thank you ❤
"Savage sentence"...hmm, sounds like a transposition, imagining himself in that position. I wonder how many spys/traitors there actually were, what about the Oxford five or the LSE fifty...? Or how about the No.10 one, a Communist Conservative PM Harold Macmillan...? Giving what he did to the British aircraft industry I believe it's a distinct possibility.
Just after George Blake escaped from prison, my Dad (R.G. Blake) was briefly detained at Brussels airport. Mistaken identity. His middle name was George.
Hiya Rob 👋🏻 In my job of 14 years I’ve spent a lot of time parked in Wellington Barracks & often went by Broadway & New Scotland Yard building & with the iconic rotating sign as I went to Strutton Ground 😀 So it now makes me think, the “new” location on the Embankment should be “NEW NEW NEW SCOTLAND YARD” 😂 Please could you make an episode of the history of Military Barracks in London? Thanks Glenn 🇬🇧🤝🏻🇬🇧
@@Robslondon You could always use "street view" for locations, Chelsea Bks & Cavalry Bks (Hounslow) have been sold off by the MoD now. Troops used to march from Chelsea Bks to the Bank of England when guarding it, Regents Park Bks used the have Household Cavalry in there as it was built by Regents Park in order to exercise the horses & it was mentioned in HG Wells "War of the worlds" as "Albany Street Barracks"
Thank you Rob. I visited nearly all these Camden places yesterday after watching your video. It was a great afternoon to wander around and find them all.
Well !! I was watching the Trooping of the Colour and was wondering about the ivy covered building so was looking through your posts to see if you had covered it when I saw this video and was diverted ..... decided to watch this instead.....cor blimey...there it was !!! Thanks Rob...what a treasure you are 👍
Lovely wee subway to visit and ride on , the trains are smaller than London tube trains and the stations are clean and modern it was called the clockwork orange due to the color of the trains.
Hello Rob. My gggrandfather, Henry Kemp, ran a Cab in the latter half of the 19th c in London; his two sons (Henry jr and George) went on to run pubs: the King's Head at Mile End and the Cock (and others) in Whitechapel. I'm Australian (Melbourne-born 1948) and am very proud of them. George's son, George Wm, my grandfather, a solictor's managing clerk, emigrated to Melbourne in 1912. I've spent thousands on Ancestry work and have something of a feel for my lineage of which i find a mixture of emotions. One brother did very well, but sadly my ggfather died young. I knew his son, my grandfather for about 12 years and fondly albeit dimly recall that i liked his voice/accent! He left virtually nil to his elder son my late darling Dad, so my own research into pubs and taxis has been limited, although i found a 'Kemp's Yard' somewhere in the East End. I was in in England for a year in 1975 - so am way out of touch with how things are now. How i would like to have another 'lifetime' to research some more and really see what i did not back then. Thanks for your works - catching and stimulating.
I’ve had to explain this many times. The name originates from the time I had a website and simply wrote about London, as opposed to making videos. For reasons I forget, I was unable to incorporate a possessive apostrophe into the web address, and so combined the two words as a portmanteau. That’s why there’s no space between the two words and ‘London’ isn’t capitalised. As the many written titles, descriptions and replies to comments will attest, I do know how to employ correct grammar. I hope you enjoyed the video.
From scary to unseemly in the click of a button! This tour of pubs and brothels of the past illustrate the diversity of the City, and so well researched and presented as always! and for the second time it is still as brilliant I wonder, from the last comment on tunnels, if your are coming to rare beauty of the real north (Lakes and Dales) or the industrial Manchester and et al? Whatever I will look out for the video with anticipated whatever! Rob
I’d never heard that term before and I think I need translation on some of it…the response printed in the St James paper…absolutely no clue what any of it said/meant/inferred. Not completely sure what “naked boy alley” meant either, but venturing a guess it’s male prostitutes..?
I'd imagine that's what it was hinting at yes..... at the St James's paper is a mystery to me too! Tried to find the original piece it was responding to, but no luck...
My absence must not be taken as being uninterested but rather that the rare appearance of sun 'up north' has seen me in the garden garnering some Vitamin D! As ever, I thoroughly enjoyed delving into yet more scary London places perfectly researched and presented! Rob
Ah! Enjoy the sun Robert, it's a rare thing nowadays ;-) I'm about to head up north myself very soon- catching a train somewhere later today.... which may well be where my next video comes from ;-) Stay well.
