Another 9 Things You Didn't Know About London
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Freelance writer and poet from London; if you would like to read my poetry, please check out my book, 'Poems on the Page', available from goo.gl/Ta4oAX.
Published January 27th 2014
Are You History Buff Enough to Know This Stuff?
Because all good things come in threes, here is the third and final list of things you probably didn't know about London.
1. In 1995 a flock of starlings landed on the minute hand of Big Ben, and set it back by five minutes.
2. In the sixteenth century, the term 'cockney' was a derogatory word for an effeminate person within hearing distance of the Bow Bells of St Mary le Bow Church.
3. Only six people died in the Fire of London, including the nanny of the Farriner family, who owned the bakery on Pudding Lane.
4. In 1829 Thomas Wilson suggested building a pyramid on Primrose Hill to bury their dead, because London was running out of burial grounds.
5. The name Canary Wharf derives from the fact that the site was once used to handle imported fruit from the Canary Islands.
6. Before the Millennium Dome was turned into the O2, during Christmas 2004, it was used as a Homeless Shelter.
7. The tunnel above Sloane Square Station carries one of London's five lost rivers, the Westbourne.
8. The Lost River Tyburn runs underneath Buckingham Palace.
9. Waterloo Bridge was built mostly by women.
Big Ben
1. In 1995 a flock of starlings landed on the minute hand of Big Ben, and set it back by five minutes.
2. In the sixteenth century, the term 'cockney' was a derogatory word for an effeminate person within hearing distance of the Bow Bells of St Mary le Bow Church.
4. In 1829 Thomas Wilson suggested building a pyramid on Primrose Hill to bury their dead, because London was running out of burial grounds.
5. The name Canary Wharf derives from the fact that the site was once used to handle imported fruit from the Canary Islands.
O2
6. Before the Millennium Dome was turned into the O2, during Christmas 2004, it was used as a Homeless Shelter.
7. The tunnel above Sloane Square Station carries one of London's five lost rivers, the Westbourne.
8. The Lost River Tyburn runs underneath Buckingham Palace.
9. Waterloo Bridge was built mostly by women.
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Why? Learn something interesting
When: Past
Where: London
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