On every corner: London's extraordinary history

On every corner: London's extraordinary history

In London you can walk past something significant every day without noticing it. We list 10 hidden places that illustrate London's extraordinary history

London lacks a lot: picnic weather in July, resilience to winter snow, an effective solution to the hipster invasion. What it has in abundance – more than almost any other city in the world – is an inexhaustible source of fascinating history. It pours from domes and towers, flows amid the currents of the Thames, and rushes through the veins of our subterranean network.

In fact, London's history is so rich and wide-ranging that you could easily walk past something different every day without realizing its significance. Here we list 10 extraordinary historical sites that hide behind a banal facade.

History of London map

1. Royal London Hospital

Significance: Final resting place of Joseph Merrick, also known as “The Elephant Man” Tube station: Whitechapel (District Line)

alt=““>(Image: Reading Tom, Creative Commons)

The tragic story of Joseph Merrick ends in the echoing corridors of the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Merrick was born in Leicester in 1862, lost his mother at the age of 10, left school at the age of 13 and left home after his father and stepmother rejected him.

He was exhibited as a human curiosity in London and across Europe before being robbed by his street manager and abandoned in Brussels. When he returned to London he was placed in the care of Dr. Frederick Treves, a surgeon who had examined him several years earlier.

alt="History of the London Elephant Man">(Image: Public Domain)

Despite his terminal condition, Merrick was allowed to remain in the hospital indefinitely. Four years later, on April 11, 1890, Merrick died at the age of 27. The official cause of death was asphyxia, but Treves, who dissected the body, said Merrick died of a dislocated neck while trying to sleep lying down to "be like other people."

Merrick's skeleton is locked in a small museum in the Royal London's medical school and is not normally on public display.

2. John Snow's water pump

Significance: Helped prove that cholera is transmitted through contaminated water. Tube station: Oxford Circus (Central Line)

alt=“History of the London Water Pump”>(Image: Justinc, Creative Commons)

There is a disused water pump on Broadwick Street on the western edge of Soho. It seems harmless, but this pump, a replica of the original, references the 1854 outbreak of cholera in Soho and the events that led British physician John Snow to prove that the disease was transmitted through contaminated water, not through inhalation of fumes or a "miasma in the atmosphere," as was commonly believed.

At that time, Dr. Snow: "There were more than 500 fatal attacks of cholera in 10 days within 250 yards of where Cambridge Street meets Broad Street. When I became aware of the situation, I suspected contamination of the water from the busy street pump on Broad Street."

Using a geographic grid to track cholera deaths, Dr. Snow used each case to determine access to the pump, ultimately proving that it was indeed the source of the epidemic. His work was groundbreaking and considered by many to be the birth of epidemiology.

3. Aldgate Station

Meaning: Built on a massive plague pit. Tube station: Aldgate (Circle and Metropolitan lines)

alt=““>(Image: Sunil060902, Creative Commons)

More recently, Aldgate East has been identified as one of the sites of the 7/7 London bombings. However, its macabre history goes back much further. Down to the very foundations.

When the Great Plague of 1665 killed 100,000 Londoners - almost a quarter of the population - communities struggled to bury the bodies in suitable graves. Therefore, large mass graves or “plague pits” were dug to hold large quantities of corpses. It is said that Aldgate Station was built on such a grave, with 1,000 bodies buried beneath the tracks.

4. London Wall

Significance: Built in Roman times to defend the city of Londinium Underground station: Tower Hill (District Line for the Wall, St Paul's, Central Line for the Fort)

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Originally built around 200 AD, this ancient wall stretched for three miles and defended the then Roman city of Londinium. In the following centuries much of the wall was destroyed or obscured by development, but parts of it can still be seen.

There is a well-preserved section on Tower Hill, as well as the Roman Fort London on Noble Street and some of its remains in a nearby underground car park. Visits can be arranged through the Museum of London.

5. The Elms, Smithfield

Significance: Place of execution of William Wallace from Braveheart Tube station: Barbican (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines)

alt=““>(Image: Colin Smith, Creative Commons)

Smithfield in East London was the site of several famous executions, including that of Braveheart's William Wallace, who was executed there in 1305. After his arrest, Wallace reportedly responded to the charge of treason with, "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject."

After his trial in August 1305, Wallace was hanged, drawn and quartered at The Elms. Just in case you're not sure what that means, Wallace was stripped naked, dragged through the city on a horse, strangled by hanging but released alive, emasculated, disemboweled with his entrails burned in front of him, beheaded, and then cut into four pieces (i.e. quartered).

His preserved head was placed on a spike on London Bridge and his limbs were displayed separately in Newcastle upon Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Stirling and Perth. Gulp.

6. Lamp on the kart track

Significance: London's last remaining canal lampSubway station: Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern Lines, walking distance from Trafalgar Square)

alt=““>(Image: Mike T, Creative Commons)

On Carting Lane, right on the beach, stands a single building that is said to be the last of London's "canal lamps." The Webb Patent Sewer Gas Lamp was invented in the late 19th century and had a dual purpose: first, to burn off the odors from London's sewer system and second, to keep London lit in a cost-effective manner.

The lamp lights up 24 hours a day and is intended to be powered by guests at the nearby Savoy Hotel, earning it the nickname “Fart Alley.” It is worth noting that the original lamp was accidentally knocked over by a reversing truck a few years ago and was subsequently restored. It is now protected by Westminster Council.

7. Sloane Square Station

Significance: Carries part of the lost Westbourne RiverTube station: Sloane Square (Circle and District lines)

alt=““>(Image: Oxyman, Creative Commons)

The Westbourne River, a small tributary of the Thames, is one of London's "lost rivers", driven underground to make way for development. In the early 1800s, as the areas of Belgravia, Chelsea and Paddington began to expand, it became necessary to move the Westbourne River underground in order to build over it.

Expansion work was completed in the 1850s and the river has been lost since then. The original tube carrying the river can still be seen above the platform of Sloane Square tube station. The station was bombed during the Battle of Britain in November 1940, but the old iron pipe remained intact.

8. White’s Row Alley

Significance: Jack the Ripper's hunting ground, once described as "the worst street in London" Tube station: Aldgate East (District and Hammersmith & City lines)

alt="Dorset Street also">Then Dorset Street (Image: Public Domain)

Dorset Street has undergone many changes over the years, which is understandable considering it was once known as "the worst street in London" and was occupied by criminals and villains. Notorious murderer Jack the Ripper claimed a victim there and set the scene for several other gruesome murders.

In 1904 it was renamed “Duval Street” to get rid of its dark past and was later leveled and developed into a parking lot. Today it is said to be an unnamed private alley that runs between a parking lot and some warehouses north of White's Row.

alt=“History of London’s Duval Street”>(Image: Matt Hucke, Creative Commons)

9. Trafalgar Square “Tardis”

Significance: London's smallest police stationSubway station: Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern Lines)

alt=“History of the London Tardis”>(Image: Kim Fyson, Creative Commons)

This tiny box on the corner of Trafalgar Square is (or was) London's smallest police station. Established in 1926, the site served as a lookout post from which police could keep an eye on protesters and rioters gathering in Trafalgar Square.

The station, large enough for just one person, had a direct connection to Scotland Yard as well as "slits" on the side, supposedly for shooting rioters. Today, when you look through the windows, you don't see a bobby, but rather an impressive collection of mops. It serves as a warehouse for the city's cleaners. Or so we are told.

10. Hyde Park Pet Cemetery

Significance: Home to over 300 deceased pets Tube station: Marble Arch, Lancaster Gate or Queensway (Central Line), Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly Line)

alt=“History of the London Pet Cemetery”>(Image: Caroline et Louis Volant, Creative Commons)

Hidden in the thick undergrowth behind Victoria Gate Lodge in Hyde Park lies a pet cemetery containing over 300 deceased pets, including dogs, cats, birds and even a monkey.

Established in 1880, this Victorian gem reportedly came to life by accident when doorman Mr. Winbridge allowed a local couple to bury their children's dog there. The next year he obliged another request, and another, and another... The site is closed to the public, but curious visitors can book a viewing with Hyde Park Police.

Very British Problems by Rob Temple is a hilarious look into the British psyche.

Additional photography: Dreamstime

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