Hello all,
I've been looking for the alleged 7 noses of Soho for some time now and today I am very happy to say I have found them all...
It is also alleged that you recieve infinite wealth if you find them, so I'm hoping for a huge bag of seeds any day soon!
There is a but though...I've actually found 8 noses.They are all proper noses but they are two different styles...some big, some small..so I'm wondering just how many there could be and what is the story behind them...
I shall keep hunting for more and keep you all posted if anything else comes up nose wise!
All the best and happy Sunday..
Pepys
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Friday, 27 May 2011
weird and wonderful London street names.
Hello all,
Just a quick one, as I have some friends to meet on Nelsons column, but, during my travles around London I do noticed some very strange street names.
All the wat up in N3 there's a road called Crokked Usage, for example.
There's also Quaggy Walk in Blackheath and of course tiny little Tweezers Alley just off the Strand.
Houndsditch , a very well known road and it is believed was named after the ditch where often all sorts of stuff, including dead dogs, were thrown.
Soho, as we all know was once a hunting ground, and the Square, originally Kings Square, was named after a hunting cry.
The Aldwych is a Saxon word meaning Old Village and Crutched Friars derived from Crossed Friars, a Roman catholic religious order from the 13th century.
There's many more,but thats start..if you have any interesting ones do send me a message.
Bye for now
Pepys
Just a quick one, as I have some friends to meet on Nelsons column, but, during my travles around London I do noticed some very strange street names.
All the wat up in N3 there's a road called Crokked Usage, for example.
There's also Quaggy Walk in Blackheath and of course tiny little Tweezers Alley just off the Strand.
Houndsditch , a very well known road and it is believed was named after the ditch where often all sorts of stuff, including dead dogs, were thrown.
Soho, as we all know was once a hunting ground, and the Square, originally Kings Square, was named after a hunting cry.
The Aldwych is a Saxon word meaning Old Village and Crutched Friars derived from Crossed Friars, a Roman catholic religious order from the 13th century.
There's many more,but thats start..if you have any interesting ones do send me a message.
Bye for now
Pepys
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
London's underground and the old style advertising
Being a pigeon I don't get to use the tube very much at all..but through my searchings for unusual and interesting London things I do come across some lovely vintage and antique underground related items and have noticed how very stylish and well designed they were.
The London underground was the first underground train system in the world...wow...and opened on January 10th 1863 .We have some underground 'railways' maps from as long ago as 1898, right through the 1900's, 20's 30's 40's, you get the picture...and they are all wonderful.We also have a small number of publicity items on the site which are slightly harder to come across.Here is just a few I thought I'd share with you.
This wonderful display card was produced in 1907 and advertised the Hampstead tube. These are very scarce nowadays so I'm very pleased we have this one.
I love the style of the cover of the booklet, which was produced in 1947 and describes how London transport 'carried on' during the war and the blitz. It's a fascinating booklet showing images of the destruction caused by the war and what Londoners did to cope.
This is a classic, produced in May 1968 and lets you know what you can do and how to get there using the buses or underground, with a bit of spare time, if you have it whilst you're in London.Simple really is often best.
And finally, this super flyer advertising the Victoria Line, 'London's new tube' as they called it, in 1969.This little leaflet lets you know how to use the automatic gates, how much the fares are and how quick the journey is.
Oxford Circus to Walthamstow cost 2/6!
So there you are, lovely old fashioned advertising...pity they don't revive them!
cheerio all,
Pepys
The London underground was the first underground train system in the world...wow...and opened on January 10th 1863 .We have some underground 'railways' maps from as long ago as 1898, right through the 1900's, 20's 30's 40's, you get the picture...and they are all wonderful.We also have a small number of publicity items on the site which are slightly harder to come across.Here is just a few I thought I'd share with you.
Oxford Circus to Walthamstow cost 2/6!
So there you are, lovely old fashioned advertising...pity they don't revive them!
cheerio all,
Pepys
Sunday, 8 May 2011
reviving the old...
Hello all,
For us here at London Peculiar, seeing an old document or piece of paper all tattered, worn and un cared for can be a bit sad...especially if it was once quite important, or interesting or simply a bit querky!
We see it a lot...and once we got over being cross about it we decided to do something constructive.
So here is our first little rivival project.
This wonderful little booklet was produced about 7 months before the start of the 2nd World War.
It was classified information and only to be released to people with an official position in his majesty's service.
The book is full of intelligence and security information ,censorship, how to understand aerial maps and reconnaissance photography and so on.
There is also a small section called 'conduct of British Prisoners of war' which reads:
'under internation law every prisoner of war is bound to give his name, rank and number..the duty of a British soldier is to refuse any information to the enemy except these details.He must not reveal any information about his uniform or badges.A prisoner of war cannot be punished or disadvantaged for giving limited or false information. Beware of pseudo prisoners who will be planted to listen in to prisoners conversations.A prisoner who has commited treachery will we liable to severe disciplinary action on termination of hostilities.'
Pretty scary stuff
This little book is a fascinating piece of wartime history and deserved to be looked after and revived.
The cover design is taken form the map within the book.
This little piece of history will go onto the site very soon.
bye all,
Pepys.
For us here at London Peculiar, seeing an old document or piece of paper all tattered, worn and un cared for can be a bit sad...especially if it was once quite important, or interesting or simply a bit querky!
We see it a lot...and once we got over being cross about it we decided to do something constructive.
So here is our first little rivival project.
This wonderful little booklet was produced about 7 months before the start of the 2nd World War.
It was classified information and only to be released to people with an official position in his majesty's service.
The book is full of intelligence and security information ,censorship, how to understand aerial maps and reconnaissance photography and so on.
There is also a small section called 'conduct of British Prisoners of war' which reads:
'under internation law every prisoner of war is bound to give his name, rank and number..the duty of a British soldier is to refuse any information to the enemy except these details.He must not reveal any information about his uniform or badges.A prisoner of war cannot be punished or disadvantaged for giving limited or false information. Beware of pseudo prisoners who will be planted to listen in to prisoners conversations.A prisoner who has commited treachery will we liable to severe disciplinary action on termination of hostilities.'
Pretty scary stuff
This little book is a fascinating piece of wartime history and deserved to be looked after and revived.
The cover design is taken form the map within the book.
This little piece of history will go onto the site very soon.
bye all,
Pepys.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Hand drawn maps of London
Hello everyone...
Being small, (and well behaved) I can slip into all sorts of places unnoticed.
Today I slipped into the Museum of London for a sneaky preview of their display of HAND DRAWN MAPS of London, and really lovely they are too.
There are 11 maps, all of different styles and all drawn by members of the public.Brixton as a tree, hidden loo's, posh Mayfair and London firsts are all covered in these wonderful drawings.
I have a favourite...'London Firsts', a map which shows locations for all sorts interesting 'firsts' in London, including where the first printing of the Marx manifesto was, Britains first Tea shop and London's first theatre in Spittalfields in 1574. My other reason for being slightly biased towards it is becasue it was drawn by one of the super people at London Peculiar! and if you look closely at Trafalgar Square you'll see me!
Go to the museum to see them up close...the exhibition runs from tomorrow until September and is well worth the effort!
Have a lovely day everyone
All the best
Pepys.
Being small, (and well behaved) I can slip into all sorts of places unnoticed.
Today I slipped into the Museum of London for a sneaky preview of their display of HAND DRAWN MAPS of London, and really lovely they are too.
There are 11 maps, all of different styles and all drawn by members of the public.Brixton as a tree, hidden loo's, posh Mayfair and London firsts are all covered in these wonderful drawings.
I have a favourite...'London Firsts', a map which shows locations for all sorts interesting 'firsts' in London, including where the first printing of the Marx manifesto was, Britains first Tea shop and London's first theatre in Spittalfields in 1574. My other reason for being slightly biased towards it is becasue it was drawn by one of the super people at London Peculiar! and if you look closely at Trafalgar Square you'll see me!
Go to the museum to see them up close...the exhibition runs from tomorrow until September and is well worth the effort!
Have a lovely day everyone
All the best
Pepys.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
1664-5 Bills of Mortality!
Hello all,
We have just acquired a most unusual if rather daunting document listing the mortalities in London during the year of the plague.
This booklet has proved to be fascinating in more ways than one, not least, its listing of the various 'diseases and casualities' week by week , and its mention of what qualifies for a 'wheaten loaf' each week.
So being April 13th today , here are some details about what people were poorly with this week some 347 years ago.
1 person drowned at St Katherines, near the Tower.
8 people suffered 'Rising of the Light' ,light being an old word for lungs and this illness now known as croup!
2 people suffered with 'Kingsevil' a tuburculosis of the neck, which ,it was believed would be cured by the touch of a Monarch.
1 person was found having died in St Giles in the Fields
6 people were executed (in 1 week!!!)
1 person suffered with head-mold-shot (an inflammation or water on the brain)
4 suffered with Rickets
Also this week, 237 people were christened and 344 buried! none from the plague (yet)
and a penny loaf to contain 10 ounces and 3 half penny loaves the like weight.
What is most interesting about this pamphlet is you can see week on week the growth of the plague.
Only 2 people had died from the plague by April 20th.
By the end of May, 28 people had died from the plague and by the end of June a further 870!
2010 people died in the week of 25th July - 1st August
3880 died in the week of 8th - 15th August,(and also mentioned in the mortality list 1 person died of fright,and 1 of grief !)
and it goes on...the number rising hugely each week..what is interesting is there are no listings for executions once the plague took a grip, although 21 people were exectued in that year.
During the week of Oct 3rd only 4 of 130 parishes were clear of the plague and by the end of 1665 a staggering 68596 people had died from the plague.
What a terrible year 1665 was.
Keep well Londoners and all
Goodbye for now
Pepys
Friday, 1 April 2011
The Newgate Calender 1700- 1795
Hello all...
We are very pleased with our new aquisition...a bound Newgate Calender containing
' New and authentic accounts of all lives, adventures, exploits, trials, executions and last dying speeches and confessions of the most notorious malefactors of both sexes who suffered death for murder,burlglaries,house stealing,bigamy,forgeries,sheep stealing,high treason, sedition,riots and mobbing'
The book details the lives and misdemeanors of many 'criminals' during the 1700's...some crimes include highway robbery, house breaking and forgery which all carried the death sentence.
Many exections were held at Tyburn.
One case is that of William Parsons, son of a baron, who, whilst at Eton College, stole some books..he confessed to this and remained at Eton for 9 years...but appeared to be unable to change his wiley ways..so, in an attempt to save his soul, was sent to sea on a ship headed for Jamaica..but,an accident detaining the ship meant he could escape.
He lived a life of counterfieting and lies and paid the price of execution once caught!
This book is fascinating and I will have a good nose through it and report back with other interesting cases.
Good day all
Pepys
We are very pleased with our new aquisition...a bound Newgate Calender containing
' New and authentic accounts of all lives, adventures, exploits, trials, executions and last dying speeches and confessions of the most notorious malefactors of both sexes who suffered death for murder,burlglaries,house stealing,bigamy,forgeries,sheep stealing,high treason, sedition,riots and mobbing'
The book details the lives and misdemeanors of many 'criminals' during the 1700's...some crimes include highway robbery, house breaking and forgery which all carried the death sentence.
Many exections were held at Tyburn.
One case is that of William Parsons, son of a baron, who, whilst at Eton College, stole some books..he confessed to this and remained at Eton for 9 years...but appeared to be unable to change his wiley ways..so, in an attempt to save his soul, was sent to sea on a ship headed for Jamaica..but,an accident detaining the ship meant he could escape.
He lived a life of counterfieting and lies and paid the price of execution once caught!
This book is fascinating and I will have a good nose through it and report back with other interesting cases.
Pepys
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