The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired 41 blank artillery rounds using six guns in Hyde Park to mark a year since the accession of King Charles III on 8th September. Below, the 105mm light artillery guns of the Honourable Artillery Company prepare to fire at The Tower of London in another salute on the same day. Both regiments taking part were responsible for firing the Death Gun salutes to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II one year ago, and the following day, the Proclamation salutes to mark the new reign.
Josepha Jane Battlehooke’s ‘The Great Fire of London’ depicts the scene as though from a boat in the. vicinity of Tower Wharf. PICTURE: Public domain via Wikipedia.
Thomas Dagger, a 17th century journeyman baker, only became famous rather recently when new research identified him as the first witness to one of the seminal events in London’s history – the Great Fire of 1666.
The research was undertaken by Professor Kate Loveman at the University of Leicester for the Museum of London and will be used to inform its gallery displays when it opens its new site at Smithfield in 2026.
Drawing on letters, pamphlets, legal and guild records, Professor Loveman put Dagger, who worked in Thomas Farriner’s bakery on Pudding Lane, at the centre of the the fire’s origin story.
It’s well-known that the fire began in Farriner’s bakery in the early hours of 2nd September, 1666, and went on to consume some 13,200 homes in the city, leaving some 65,000 people homeless. But reports differ as to who was in the bakery when the fire started.
Among accounts pointing to Dagger being present is a letter from MP Sir Edward Harley who wrote in a letter to his wife that Thomas Farriner’s “man” – a term referring to his servant or journeyman – was woken after in the early hours on 2nd September choking from smoke. He reported that Farriner, his daughter and “his man” then escaped out of an upper window, but his maid died.
Dagger’s name is also found grouped with other Farriner household members among witnesses on a subsequent indictment targeting Frenchman Robert Hubert who was convicted and hanged for starting the fire after making a somewhat dubious confession.
Professor Loveman concludes that, based on her research, Thomas Dagger was the first witness to the Great Fire of London, woken by choking smoke shortly before 2am on 2nd September. Aware of the fire, he then alerted other members of the household before, along with his boss Thomas Farriner, Farriner’s son Thomas Farriner, Jr, and Farriner’s daughter Hanna, escaping by climbing out of an window. An unnamed maid who was in the house did not escape with them and was killed.
Professor Loveman’s research further showed that Dagger arrived in London from Wiltshire in 1655 and was apprenticed to one Richard Sapp for nine years but ended up serving part of that time with Farriner. Soon after the fire, in 1667, he took his freedom and by January the following year had married and had a baby. He went on to establish his own bakery at Billingsgate.
Says Professor Loveman: “It was fascinating to find out more about what happened on that famous night. Although most of the evidence about the Farriners is well known to historians, Thomas Dagger’s role has gone unrecognised. Unlike the Farriners, his name didn’t become associated with the fire at the time. Soon after the disaster, he merges back into the usual records of Restoration life, having children and setting up his own bakery. His is a story about the fire, but also about how Londoners recovered.”
Site of the London Coffee House. PICTURE: Google Maps
Established in the early 1730s on Ludgate Hill (next to St Martin Ludgate), the proprietor of this establishment was one James Ashley (hence the coffee house also being known as Ashley’s London Punch House – the punch was apparently particularly affordable).
It was known to have been frequented by the likes of Joseph Priestley and his friend, American Benjamin Franklin, while James Boswell described its customers as being primarily physicians, dissenting clergy and “masters of academies”.
Its location also meant it served as a place where Old Bailey juries which could not reach a decision were sequestered for the night.
Continued to be favoured by Americans, in 1851 philanthropist George Peabody gave a dinner here for those from the United States who were connected with the Great Exhibition being held in Hyde Park.
In 1806, a statue of Hercules and a hexagonal Roman altar, dedicated to Claudia Martina by her soldier husband, were found here. The coffee house has also been identified as the “Coffee House on Ludgate Hill” mentioned in Charles Dickens’ Little Dorritt.
It closed in 1867. The site is now occupied by a pub, The Ye Olde London.
A gold pocket watch made for King George III. PICTURE: Courtesy of the Clockmakers’ Museum/Science Museum
• A new display featuring timepieces by one of the greatest watchmakers of all time, Abraham-Louis Breguet, opens in Clockmakers’ Museum at the Science Museum on Tuesday. Marking the bicentenary of Breguet’s death on 17th September, 1823, Abraham-Louis Breguet: The English Connection features 25 items seldom seen in public before. They include an exceptionally rare gold four-minute tourbillon pocket watch made for George III in 1808, a ‘Simple à 2 aiguilles equation’ pocket watch made for politician Thomas Noel Hill, 2nd Baron Berwick of Attingham, and, a gilt bronze carriage clock ‘Pendule de voyage petite’ which originally belonged to Robert Henry Herbert, the 12th Earl Pembroke. The museum is located on level 2 of the Science Museum. Entry is free. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/clocks.
• An electrical engineer whose ground-breaking work in engineering culminated in the creation of the world’s first ever large-scale programmable digital computer has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The plaque is located at the former workplace of Tommy Flowers at Chartwell Court, in Dollis Hill. Now flats, the property was the former Post Office Research Station where Flowers designed, built and tested the computer known as ‘Colossus’. Flowers, who spent a brief period at Bletchley Park working the code-breakers in 1941, successfully demonstrated Colossus at the research station in 1943 after just 11 months of work. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/. Meanwhile, news this week that the UK Government, inspired by London’s Blue Plaques, is introducing a national blue plaques scheme. Historic England will work together with English Heritage, local partners, and current plaque schemes to develop and roll out the national programme.
• Artist Sara Shamma’s thought-provoking interpretations of works by artists including Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Lely, Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens go on display at Dulwich Picture Gallery from Saturday. With a focus on women, Bold Spirits addresses themes including identity, death, motherhood and unexpected beauty. Runs until 25th February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.
This year marks the 300th anniversary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren (25th February, 1723), whose designs helped to transform post-Great Fire London.
In a new series we’re looking at 10 locations which help tell Wren’s story but while we’ve previously runs numerous articles focused on the many buildings he designed, in this series the focus is more on his personal life.
The Old Court House, East Molesey (the blue plaque can be seen on the front wall). PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps
First up, it’s one of the most well-known properties related to Wren’s life – the home in which he spent the latter years after his life just outside Hampton Court Palace.
Known as the Old Court House, Wren first came to live in the house after he was appointed Surveyor-General to King Charles II in 1669. His post brought with it lodgings at the royal palaces and at Hampton Court Palace, it was the Old Court House (the property had been built for in 1536 as a wood and plaster house; Wren’s immediate predecessor in the office, Sir John Denham, had rebuilt it partly in brick).
Then in 1708, Queen Anne granted him a 50-year lease on the property, apparently at least partly in lieu of overdue fees he was owed for the building of St Paul’s Cathedral. It’s also believed that the Queen had granted the lease on condition that Wren repair or rebuilt the property.
Wren, who had hitherto only lived intermittently at the property (presumably while working on Hampton Court Palace on the orders of King William III and Queen Mary II), made some major alterations to the property from 1710 onwards (it’s suggested this was done to the designs of Wren’s assistant William Dickinson).
He came to live here on a more permanent basis after he retired from the Office of Works in 1718 and remained here until his death in 1723 (although he didn’t die here – more on that later).
It’s said Wren, whose time as the Royal Surveyor-General spanned the reigns of six monarchs, spent his time here “free from worldly affairs”, choosing to and pass his days ‘in contemplation and studies”.
It was subsequently the home of Wren’s son Christopher (1645-1747) and his grandson Stephen (b 1772). It remained a grace and favour house associated with Hampton Court Palace until 1958.
The Grade II* brown and red brick property, which was combined with the house next door in the early 19th century and them divided off in 1960, is now in private ownership and there’s an English Heritage Blue Plaque on the outside wall mentioning Wren’s residence.
• A recreation of Bartholomew Fair featuring more than 30 free events kicks off in the City of London today. The programme kicks off with RESURGAM, a vertical dance performance on St Paul’s Cathedral with other highlights including immersive theatrical circus performance Dinner for All, Follow Me Into by imitating the dog – a series of projections that weaves through the City, and, Carnesky’s Showwomxn Spectacular, a street show featuring a cast of circus, variety and rare skilled women performers. There’s also al fresco dining at locations across the City of London and creative workshops on Saturdays. The Bartholomew fair, which ran from the 12th century until 1855, started as a cloth market but evolved to become the City’s pre-eminent event, attracting people from across the country and beyond. The revival runs until 16th September. For the full programme of events, see www.thecityofldn.com/bartholomew-fair/
The River Thames. PICTURE: Unsplash
• Totally Thames, London’s month-long celebration of its river kicks off on Friday. Events this year include an exhibition at London Bridge Station celebrating London’s bridges by photographer Henry Reichhold and another looking at medieval artefacts recovered by mudlarks at St Paul’s Cathedral, walks exploring the history of everywhere from Rotherhithe to Twickenham and the Royal Docks (as a well as a walk on which you’ll meet six medieval women in Southwark), ‘Wren by River’ – a tour on Uber Boat By Clippers Thames featuring an introduction to Wren’s London legacy from the perspective of the river (be quick, this takes place on 1st September), and art installations including the Saltley Geyser, a 30 metre high plume of water in the Royal Docks created by David Cotterrell. And, of course, the St Katharine Docks Class Boat Festival on the weekend of 9th and 10th September and the The Great River Race on 16th September. For the full programme of events, see https://thamesfestivaltrust.org.
• Black on the Square, a new “showcase of Black culture and creativity”, takes place in Trafalgar Square this Saturday. The one day family-friendly festival will feature art, fashion and musical performances including jazz, spoken word, freestyle rap and soul as well as DJ sets from the likes of Touching Bass, Art Beyond the Shell, MOBO Unsung, Shortee Blitz, BXKS, The Spit Game UK. There will also be vendors representing a range of Black-owned businesses, including Caribbean and African food, as well as artisan goods ranging from customised accessories to handmade homeware and gifts. The festival kicks off at noon and runs until 6pm. For more, see https://www.london.gov.uk/events/black-square-2023.
• Art of London has launched its third annual season featuring everything from gallery late openings to photography exhibitions and public art displays. Events, which run though until October, include: ‘Art Reframed’ which, developed in partnership with the recently reopened National Portrait Gallery, showcases the gallery’s most iconic portraits of everyone from Olivia Colman to Elton John and William Shakespeare on 52 giant colourful cubes across Coventry Street and Irving Street; photographs by artist Ray Burmiston showcased on the Piccadilly Lights; and, ‘Art After Dark’ in which galleries across the West End open their doors for late night viewings. For the full programme, head to artoflondon.co.uk/seasons/season.
A scene from the Notting Hill Carnival in 2019. PICTURE: Glodi Miessi/Unsplash
• It’s the Notting Hill Carnival weekend, three days of festivities celebrating Caribbean culture culminating in the main parade on Monday. Europe’s biggest street festival, which has been taking place since 1966 with a couple of exceptions, features music, street food and spectacular costumes. Saturday is Steel Band Competition Day, a ticketed event featuring the UK National Panorama Steel Band Competition, while Sunday is Families and Children’s Day featuring a children’s parade and carnival. On Monday, the main parade and carnival is held. For more information, see https://nhcarnival.org.
Aerial view of Hampton Court Palace. PICTURE: Ollie Craig/Pexels
• Hampton Court Palace has launched a new ‘film and TV locations’ audio tour, taking visitors behind the scenes of everything from Pirates of the Caribbean to The Favourite and the recent Netflix series Bridgerton. The palace first appeared in a 1926 movie bearing its name which detailed the marriage of King Henry VIII and Catherine Howard and has since gone on to appear in numerous productions ranging from The Theory of Everything and A Little Chaos to Sherlock Holmes: A Games of Shadows and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!. The tour includes exclusive interviews with the director and executive producer of Bridgerton and also details the involvement of Historic Royal Palace staff who ensure the site remains protected during photo shoots. The ‘Film and TV Locations Tour’ is included in general admission. For more, head here.
• The Museum of London is calling for suggestions for signs to feature in ‘Hanging Out’, a permanent installation planned for the new London Museum, set to open in Smithfield’s General Market building in 2006. It’s intended the space will represent a broad range of London’s communities with the focus on the last 80 years. Signs could relate to everything from sports venues and cafes and pubs to nightclubs, music venues and theatres. People with suggestions for signs are asked to email ourtime@museumoflondon.org.uk.
• London’s Open House Festival celebrates 30 years this September with two weeks of tours, events, and, of course, the chance to look inside some rarely opened buildings. The full programme of events has been released with highlights including the chance to see up close the conservation and restoration project revitalising the Crystal Palace Victorian Subway, a rare opportunity to visit the BT Tower’s famous revolving floor and the ability to join a guided tour of Burlington House, home to the Royal Astronomical Society since 1874 (and refurbished in 2007). The event runs from 8th to 21st September. For more, see https://programme.openhouse.org.uk.
• The stories of five women – from a servant to a Queen to a suffragette who smashed the Crown Jewels display – are being highlighted at the Tower of London.Trailblazers: Women at the Tower of London, which runs until 3rd September, celebrates the five women with processions through the grounds, staged performances on the South Lawn, and the opportunity to meet and interact with them. Among the women being featured are Catalina of Motril, a servant to Henry VIII’s first wife, Katherine of Aragon; Alice Tankerville, who was imprisoned at the Tower of London in 1534 for piracy; Leonora Cohen, a suffragette who smashed the Crown Jewels display with a crowbar; and Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American woman who visited the Tower in 1773. Trailblazers is included in the cost of admission. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.
• Families are a special focus of this year’s Summer Opening at Buckingham Palace with a special “Family Pavilion” in the palace garden, “Family Mondays” and a special “Family Festival Day”. The Family Pavilion is open daily and features a range of activities including, inspired by the recent coronations, the chance for children to dress up in gowns and crowns and pose for a photo in a model Gold State Coach. The pavilion also features a rotating programme of arts and crafts activities on Mondays and the family activities will culminate in a special ‘Family Festival’ on 28th August at which families visiting the State Rooms can enjoy story-telling sessions exploring Queen Victoria’s coronation and take part in craft activities outside in the palace garden. Activities are included in the price of admission. For more, see www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace.
A lithograph showing the Pool of London from London Bridge in 1841. PICTURE: W Parrott/Public Domain
A stretch of the River Thames which spans the area from London Bridge to below Limehouse, the Pool of London was the highest part of the river navigable by tall-masted ships (thanks to the them not being able to pass under London Bridge).
The term originally referred to the stretch of the river at Billingsgate in the City of London which was where all imports had to be delivered for inspection by customs officers (hence these wharves were given the name ‘legal quays’).
But as trade expanded and reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, so too did the stretch referred to as the “Pool of London”. It came to be divided into two sections – the Upper Pool, which stretches from London Bridge to Cherry Garden Pier in Bermondsey (and is bisected by Tower Bridge), and the Lower Pool, which stretched from the latter pier to Limekiln Creek.
The Upper Pool’s north bank includes the Tower of London, the old Billingsgate Market and the entrance to St Katharine’s Dock while the south bank features Hay’s Wharf and the HMS Belfast. The Lower Pool’s north bank includes the entrance to Limehouse Cut as well as Regent’s Canal and Execution Docks while below it runs the Thames and Rotherhithe Tunnels.
• A large section of London’s Roman wall had gone on show to the public thanks to an innovative collaboration between Urbanest, the City of London Corporation, Historic England, and the Museum of London. A new free display – The City Wall at Vine Street – has been created by Urbanest as part of a redevelopment of the site. At its heart is a segment of London’s Roman wall, including the foundations of a bastion or tower. Alongside the wall is a permanent display of artefacts from the Museum of London ranging from a tile marked with a cat’s paw print to Roman coins and ceramics. Completed between AD 190 and 230, the Roman wall was between two and three metres thick and faced with blocks of Kentish ragstone. This section of the wall was first rediscovered in 1905 when a new building – Roman Wall House – was constructed on the site and the inner face of the wall was exposed and preserved in the basement. In 1979, the outer face of the wall and the bastian foundations were also uncovered – but the wall was still left largely forgotten in the building’s basement. The site was acquired by Urbanest in 2016 and during the subsequent construction of Urbanest City in 2018, the wall was protected by a timber enclosure. Tickets to The City Wall at Vine Street, located at 12 Jewry Street in the City of London, can be booked for free. For more head to https://citywallvinestreet.org.
• ‘Summer on the Square’ has returned to The National Gallery’s North Terrace with a series of workshops aimed at inspiring the local community and visitors to engage with themes around the gallery’s collection. The programme sees the gallery work with a variety of artists and creative practitioners in a shared focus of creating child-led art, design and play activities. The workshops – which range from a session on discovering what you can do with bamboo to discovering movement and shapes in the National Gallery paintings – are free, drop-in and open to all ages and abilities. Summer on the Square, which runs until 28th August, is supported by and part of Westminster City Council’s Inside Out Programme. For the full programme, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/summer-on-the-square.
• On Now: Happily Ever After? Illustrating Andersen & Perrault. This exhibition at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner focuses on works Heath Robinson created for the fairy tale collections of Hans Christian Andersen, which he illustrated three times, and Charles Perrault’s Old Time Stories published in 1921. The display, which also features works on the same subjects by Michael Foreman, shows how Heath Robinson was able to explore subjects and characters which ranged from sleeping princesses to adventurers and monsters in some of his lesser known works. Runs until 17th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org.
This area in London’s north was recorded as far back as the 13th century when it was known Chaldecote, meaning “cold cottages”.
It’s been suggested that the name may have referred to accommodation for travellers who were travelling up to Hampstead.
Chalk Farm Underground Station in the heart of the area. PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps
The area was part of the prebendal manor of Rugmere and was gifted to Eton College by King Henry VIII in the 15th century.
The area was still farmland by the 17th century and what was then known as Upper Chalcot Farm was located at the end of what’s now England’s Lane. At Lower Chalcot was an inn known as the White House (apparently for its white-washed walls) – believed to have been built on the site of the original manor house.
By the 18th century, the farm was known as Chalk House Farm (apparently a corruption of Chalcot). The Chalk Farm Tavern was built on the site in the 1850s and was a popular entertainment venue which featured tea gardens (and in more recent times was a restaurant).
The area, which had been a popular site for duelling, underwent development from the 1820s – some of the street names, such as Eton Villas and Provost Road reflect the area’s relationship with Eton College.
This development received a considerable boost in the early 1850s when the London to Birmingham railway had its London terminus in Chalk Farm (it’s now Primrose Hill Station). The former railway building known as the Roundhouse is a legacy of the railway’s arrival.
Chalk Farm became part of the London Borough of Camden in the 1960s.
A Dutch-built tugboat, the Knocker White (originally called the steam tug Cairnrock) was built in 1924 by T Van Duijvendijk’s yard at Lekkerkek near Rotterdam, Netherlands for Harrisons (London) Lighterage Ltd.
Following the installation of a steam engine and boiler at Great Yarmouth, the steel-hulled Cairnrock – which was designed for general towage work and featured a drop-down funnel for travelling under bridges – was initially used to Tow the Harrisons’ floating steam-powered coal elevator Wotan around the lower reaches of the Thames.
In 1960, the 77 foot long tug was sold and passed through the hands of a couple of different owners and ended up, by 1962, in the hands of WE White and Sons. It was during this time that its name was changed (after a White family nickname), marine diesel engines installed and the steam engines and boilers removed.
The Knocker White continued in service, operating out of the WE White & Sons base at Hope Wharf in Rotherhithe, working on the Thames and the Solent until 1982.
In November of that year, it was sold for scrap to Todd (Breakers) Ltd of Dartford but, after being drawn to the attention of the Museum of London, was acquired by them in March 1985 as a classic example of an early tall-funnelled Thames steam tug.
In November, 2016, the Knocker White – along with the Varlet – was acquired by Trinity Buoy Wharf with the aim of restoring the vessel and putting on public display. It can be seen moored at the wharf today.
• Seventeen of Joshua Reynolds’ paintings – from one of his earliest portraits to the last painting he ever completed – have gone on show at Kenwood House. Marking the 300th anniversary of the artist’s birth (on 16th July, 1723), Spotlight on Reynolds: Lord Iveagh’s Favourite Artist at 300 features works including Catherine Moore (painted in Paris in 1752 when he was returning from his studies in Italy), Miss Cocks and her Niece (one of the last paintings begun by Reynolds before the loss of his sight around 1790), and a self-portrait he completed in 1788 when aged around 65 (the only self-portrait to show Reynolds wearing spectacles). Also on show in the display are three full-length works that span the early 1770s to the early 1780s: Mrs Tollemache as Miranda, Lady Louisa Manners and Mrs Musters as Hebe. Runs until 19th November. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenwood/.
• After five successful temporary seasons, Power Up, the popular hands-on video gaming gallery, returns permanently to the Science Museum from today. Visitors will be able to play on more than 160 consoles and hundreds of video games, as well as undertake a journey through five decades of gaming, from Pong and Mario Kart to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox and the latest in VR technology. The exhibition is divided into 14 themes and sections including a physical games area and a dedicated PC-area. Admission charge applies (daily and annual passes are available). The opening is accompanied by the return of adults-only Gaming Lates. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.
• Dame Paula Rego’s public commission, Crivelli’s Garden, is the subject of a new display at The National Gallery. Planned in collaboration with Rego, who died on 8th June last year, the display unites the monumental 10-metre-long artwork with the 15th-century altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli that inspired it, alongside life studies Rego produced of the gallery colleagues that feature in the painting. The display can be seen until 29th October. Admission is free. For more, see https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
• Send all items for inclusion to exploringlondon@gmail.com.
The paddle steamer Waverley on the Thames near the Tower of London. PICTURE: Robert Pittman (licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0)
A visitor rather than a permanent resident in London’s Thames, the Waverley is described as the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer.
The Waverley, which returns to London on 22nd September for a short season lasting into early October, was the last paddle steamer to be built for use on the River Clyde in Scotland and launched on 2nd October, 1946.
Named after Sir Walter Scott’s famous novel, her maiden voyage – on 16th June the following year – saw the Waverley cruise along what was to be her primary route for the next few years up Loch Long and Loch Goil to the villages of Lochgoilhead and Arrochar.
In 1952, the Waverley joined the British Railways Caledonian Steam Packet Co Clyde coast fleet, a role she remained until the company’s end in 1972. Briefly subsequently part of Caledonian MacBrayne’s fleet offering Clyde cruises and ferry duties, she was withdrawn from service in September, 1973, and in November the following year was “sold” for £1 to the Waverley Steam Navigation Co Ltd, which had been formed by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society.
Following restoration work, the Waverley made her first visit south of the Scottish border to Liverpool and North Wales to celebrate the centenary of Llandudno Pier. Further visits south followed and in April, 1978, she sailed along the Thames for the first time.
From 1981 to 1983, the Waverley completed an annual circumnavigation of Great Britain and in 1985 visited the Isle of Man and Ireland for the first time.
A substantial refit and rebuild took place in the early 2000s returning the ship to her original 1947 livery, and in 2019 she was withdrawn from service so new boilers could be installed before being returned to service in 2020, offering excursions around the coast.
During its London season, the Waverley departs from Tower Pier and travels under Tower Bridge.
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