London History
Bazalgette’s Sewers and the Great Stink of 1858
In the summer of 1858, the Thames smelled so badly that Parliament had to adjourn. The solution was Joseph Bazalgette's network of…
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London Stories
Independent recommendations, neighbourhood knowledge and the stories shaping the city.
London History
Notting Hill Carnival: Claudia Jones and the 1959 Origins
The carnival did not start on the streets of W11. It began in a Notting Hill dance hall in 1959, created by…
London History
Soho’s Queer History: Clubs, Raids and the Community
Before the Vauxhall clubs and the Pride march, London's gay community centred on Soho. The raids, the code words, the pubs where…
Sports
Wembley Stadium
Wembley is the national stadium for a reason. 90,000 seats, the arch, FA Cup Final, England at home and concerts that fill…
Sports
Olympic Park
The Olympic Park legacy is more than concrete. Lee Valley VeloPark is the best velodrome in the world. The Aquatics Centre is…
London History
Peter Rachman and the Notting Hill Housing Scandal
Peter Rachman bought cheap Notting Hill houses in the 1950s, rented them to newly arrived West Indian families at extortionate rates, then…
London History
The Thames Barrier: Building London’s Flood Defence
After the 1953 floods killed 307 people on the east coast, London knew it needed a tidal surge barrier. It took thirty…
Sports
Tottenham Hotspur FC
The new stadium is extraordinary. The history is complicated. Harry Kane is gone but Son is still there. Spurs remain one of…
Sports
Arsenal FC
The Invincibles. The move to the Emirates. The years without a trophy and the return. Arsenal is back and the Emirates is…
London History
Fleet Street and the Wapping Dispute of 1986
For centuries Fleet Street was the centre of British newspapers. In 1986, Rupert Murdoch moved his titles to Wapping overnight, breaking the…
Food & Drink
Green Lanes: London’s Turkish Food Strip Properly Explained
Green Lanes N4 and N8 is the most concentrated stretch of Turkish, Kurdish and Cypriot food in London. This is a proper…
Areas
Moving to London: The Honest Guide
Moving to London is a significant decision. Here's what no one tells you before you do it.
Features
Crossrail: The Infrastructure Project That Took 13 Years and Changed London
It was supposed to open in 2018. It opened in 2022. It cost twice the original estimate. And it actually works, which…
Features
Borough Market: Why London’s Best Food Market Is Worth the Queue
Borough Market has been feeding London since before the Norman Conquest, more or less. Here is what to eat, when to arrive…
Features
Grenfell Tower: What Happened, What Changed, and What Didn’t
On 14 June 2017, 72 people died in a tower block in North Kensington. This is what happened, why it happened, and…
Features
The Thames Path: Walking London End to End
The Thames Path runs 28 miles through London. Walk the best sections and you pass more of the city's history than any…
Features
The Last of the East End: What Remains of Working-Class London
Smithfield is closing. The Boleyn pub is gone. The docks are flats. Billingsgate is moving east. The inventory of what remains of…
Features
Council Housing in London: The Crisis, the History, and What Was Lost
Post-war London built estates that were genuine civic ambition. Then right-to-buy happened. Then the Heygate was sold to a developer. Here is…