History
On the repeated incineration of Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace and Park aren’t the former home of some forgotten bit of the nobility: they were actually purpose-built for…
Where is the world's largest Christmas tree?
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "The world's tallest cut Christmas tree was a 67.36m (221ft) Douglas fir…
A brief history of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
In the 17th and 18th centuries in particular, many of the functions of a modern park were fulfilled by “pleasure…
What was the best park in London to hold a duel?
For park duelling, two fools enter, shoot guns (or, earlier, wave swords) at each other according to a pre-agreed and…
NYC Street Map: A city app now lets you look at historical streets
New York City's vast and intricate web of streets, with its rich history, is now accessible through an updated app,…
Where is the world’s smallest skyscraper?
The most common definition of a skyscraper is a 'multi-storey building whose architectural height is at least 100m'. By that…
History lessons from London’s Brick Lane Mosque
There’s a mosque a short walk from Whitechapel station on Brick Lane, one of the many that serve the large…
Tubes, bridges & sewers: The centuries-old infrastructure Londoners still use today
An accusation often levelled at the modern era is that it’s one of waste: that we are a throw-away society,…
The lost East Anglian city of Dunwich
It’s 2023 and, if there was ever any doubt that the climate emergency wasn’t the existential issue of our times,…