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A Walk along the Regent’s Canal in London
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Although the River Thames dominates the centre of London, there are other waterways that offer plenty of interest to visitors to London. The Regent’s Canal in the north of London takes walkers into London’s industrial past, past the famous Camden market, through Regent’s Park, past London Zoo and ends with a colourful collection of narrowboats at Little Venice.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Regent’s Canal links the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal in the west, to the Limehouse Basin in the east. This section is around 13.8 kilometres (8.6 miles) long. However it is the section from King’s Cross to Paddington that is the most popular with walkers.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Regent’s Canal was designed by famous Regency architect John Nash who named the canal after his main patron, the Prince Regent, son of King George III who later become George IV. The canal was opened in 1820 and from the the mid 19th century, the canal had become busy and profitable. It was especially important for bringing timber, building materials and coal to King’s Cross Station from the industrial north. A new retail park behind King’s Cross Station called Coal Drops Yard uses some of the old storage warehouses. The canal as a working highway declined in the late 20th century and is mainly used now for leisure cruising and the tow path is used extensively by walkers and cyclists.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Many walks start from behind King’s Cross Station near to the Camley Street Natural Park where the towpath goes to Battlebridge Basin, home of the London Canal Museum.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Gradually you come across to the vibrant Camden Lock, Camden markets are world famous and one of London’s major attractions. It is great place to take a break and enjoy the wonderful selection of street food.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
After the delights of Camden comes the more peaceful Cumberland Basin, with its moored boats and quick succession of low road and rail bridges.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
From the scenic, we go exotic with a number of wild animals on the other bank inside London Zoo, high above the towpath is a huge aviary designed by Lord Snowdon.
Look out for ‘Blow Up Bridge’, a boat full of gunpowder exploded here in 1874 demolished the bridge and the bridge had to be rebuilt.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
A more peaceful section take you around Regent’s Park, a number of white mansions line the canal with large gardens running down to the water.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The relative quiet of Regent’s Park is replaced by the more busy Warwick Avenue with plenty of moored boats before finishing at the pool of Little Venice which is a picturesque open space lined with boats and surrounded by Regency houses. Boat trips run from here, there is a boat café and even a Puppet Barge theatre.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
If you are looking for something different away from the usual tourist trails, a walk along Regent’s Canal offers a great deal of variety in a walk through the north of London.
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Hidden London : Secrets of Ely Place
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Near Holborn Circus stands two rows of houses known as Ely Place. The road does not lead anywhere but the calm and pleasant nature of the road belies the history of the area which is steeped in over 700 years of change.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The present Ely Place and some of the surrounding area was the site of the town house or mansion of the Bishops of Ely. The story of Ely Place begins with the death in 1290 of John de Kirkeby, Bishop of Ely. He left land and buildings in Holborn to his successors that would be known as the London residence for the Bishops of Ely.
Ely Place – 16th Century
His immediate successor, William de Luda used the land to build the chapel of St. Etheldreda, later bishops built the mansion with a vineyard, kitchen-garden, and orchard. By the 16th century, Ely Place was considered one of the grandest of London’s mansions. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, the site was home to many notable people including John of Gaunt who died here in 1399. Other nobles who lived here were Henry Radclyff, Earl of Sussex and the Earl of Warwick.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The gardens that surrounded Ely House were famous for their fruit especially fine strawberries. Shakespeare mentions these strawberries in his play Richard III.
“My lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn,
I saw good strawberries in your garden there;
I do beseech you, send for some of them!
It was in the reign of Elizabeth I that the attractions of Ely Place came to the attention of Sir Christopher Hatton who would become ever associated with the location. Hatton had entered one of the inns of court and studied law, but it was his great ability as a dancer that caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth who promoted him to Lord Chancellor. Although not widely admired, Elizabeth’s obsession with him led to him taking advantage of his royal patron.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
In 1576, to oblige Queen Elizabeth, the Bishop of Ely, allowed Hatton the use of the gate-house of the mansion and parts of the garden. Once Hatton moved in, he borrowed money from his royal patron to rebuild part of the house and garden. Unsatisfied with just part of the premises, he petitioned Queen Elizabeth to allow him to have the whole house and gardens. The Bishop of Ely were desperate to maintain the Church property, but Elizabeth insisted he must hand over the land.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The victory for Hatton was short-lived, it was said his debt to the Queen was around forty thousand pounds. Perhaps she got tired of his dancing because she asked for settlement of the debt. Hatton was horrified because he did not have the funds to pay. He never recovered from this setback and he died in Ely House in 1591, some say from a ‘broken heart’. The Bishops of Ely did eventually regain their land but eventually transferred to the Crown all its right to Ely Place in the 18th century.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The days of the nobility in Ely Place were numbered, in 1642, the palace and church was requisitioned by Parliament for use as a prison and hospital during the English Civil War. During the 17th century, many of the palatial buildings were pulled down and the land and gardens used to build Hatton Garden, Great and Little Kirby Streets, Charles Street, Cross Street, and Hatton Wall.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The present Ely Place was not built till about 1773. But remnants of its former glories remain. Mitre Court, which leads from Ely Place to Hatton Garden is the location of Ye Olde Mitre pub which claims to be the tavern site that goes back to the days of Ely Palace and in the bar is a piece of wood that was allegedly part of a tree that Elizabeth I and Christopher Hatton used to dance around.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Remarkably the chapel of Ely Place dedicated to St. Etheldreda still stands and retains much of its original aspects. The chapel was once used as a school-room before 1874 when was bought by the Roman Catholic Church.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Ely Place is the last privately owned street in London, having been originally an enclave of Cambridgeshire, the location of the medieval abbey at Ely for the Bishops of Ely and the playground for the dancing Lord Chancellor, it is now managed by its own body of commissioners.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Hidden London: The St Pancras New Church Caryatids
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Hidden London : Shad Thames
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
With all the modern development on London’s waterfront, it is easy to forget that for many centuries, the Thames was the main highway to bring in and send out goods.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
For a reminder of working London, it is worth taking a walk to Shad Thames which is a historic riverside street next to Tower Bridge. The street known as Shad Thames goes back at least to the 18th century, although Shad Thames was only one street, the whole area was often known by the same title. The street starts near Tower Bridge and runs along the south side of the River Thames, behind a row of converted warehouses; it then takes a turn south along St Saviour’s Dock.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Nobody really knows what ‘Shad’ really means but could a corruption of ‘St John at Thames’, a St John’s Church once stood on the street. In the 19th century, the area had one of the largest warehouse complex in London.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The complex completed in 1873 was full of warehouses which held huge quantities of tea, coffee, spices and many other commodities. As well as the warehouses, there was many wharves, mills, and factories in the area.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Throughout the 20th century, the area went into decline as shipping began to unload goods further east and the last warehouses closed in 1972.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Like much of the London riverfront, Shad Thames and the surrounding area was regenerated in the 1980s and 1990s, when the disused warehouses were converted into luxury flats with restaurants, bars and shops on the ground floor. One of the leading figures in this regeneration was designer and restaurateur Terence Conran who was involved in founding the Design Museum (now relocated to Kensington) and opening a number of riverside restaurants including the Le Pont de la Tour.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Despite the development of the new flats, the converted warehouses retain many of their original characteristic features of brickwork, winches and large signs. One of most striking features of Shad Thames are the walkways high above the street. They were originally used from transferring goods between the warehouses.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
With its picturesque buildings, cobbled streets and proximity to the river, it is not surprising that Shad Thames is a popular location for films and TV programmes. Films which have used Shad Thames include The Elephant Man (1980), The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). The original Oliver! (1968) was filmed in the area, Charles Dickens used the slum area Jacob’s Island which was located near Shad Thames for the home of villian Bill Sikes and where he meets his bitter end.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Although it is near Tower Bridge, Shad Thames is largely overlooked by visitors but is used mainly by residents and office workers. However if you want a taste of 19th century London, it is well worth taking a stroll down the cobbled streets of Shad Thames.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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Hidden London: London’s Lighthouse in Blackwall
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Thames has been a highway for shipping for centuries, however the river is not considered a dangerous river to navigate. Therefore it is a suprise that near Blackwall which is around six miles from the centre of London is a lighthouse.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The lighthouse is located in Trinity Buoy Wharf which for centuries was occupied by the Corporation of Trinity House and used for storing buoys and other marine equipment with workshops for testing, repairing and making equipment.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
In the 19th century, a lighthouse was built, not to aid the Thames river traffic but as an experimental lighthouse. In the original lighthouse built in the 1850s,famous scientist Michael Faraday carried out tests in electric lighting for lighthouses. The present lighthouse was constructed in 1864 and was used to experiment with electric light and different coloured lights, the results being checked at Charlton across the river. After the Second World War, the lighthouse was used for the training of lighthouse keepers.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The lighthouse and the workshops were closed in 1988 and the area was acquired by the London Docklands Development Corporation. In 1998, Urban Space Holdings Ltd took control of the site on a long lease. The site has been, and continues to be, developed as “a centre for the arts and cultural activities”.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Inside the Lighthouse is the Longplayer installation, which has been running since the 31st December 1999. In addition to the listening post, there are 234 singing bowls, used as a part of the 66-foot-wide orchestral instrument to perform Longplayer Live, are on display. The steel structure, designed by Ingrid Hu, was commissioned to display and store the bowls and was installed in autumn 2012. Each tier of the structure, containing 39 bowls positioned sequentially, corresponds to one of the six concentric rings of the Longplayer Live instrument. Longplayer is programmed so it will not stop until 2999.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Lighthouse is the main attraction in Trinity Buoy Wharf but there are a number of other attractions including a small installation in shed called the Faraday Effect, an old Trinity lighthouse ship which has been turned into a Music Recording Studio, Old shipping containers have been painted and made into office blocks called Container City.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
But perhaps the last thing you would expect to find in such a place is the Fatboy’s Diner, a genuine 1940s American Diner from New Jersey that was bought over from the States then had a few short stays in different parts of London before finding its present site. The Diner itself is a bit of a celebrity featuring in the film Sliding Doors, music videos and magazines.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Trinity Buoy Wharf is located near to the financial district of Canary Wharf and visitors can enjoy great views of the Thames and the O2 whilst drinking a milkshake at an original American Diner next to a lighthouse.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Hidden London: The Strange Story of Bleeding Heart Yard
Of poor Lady Hatton, it’s needless to say,
No traces have ever been found to this day,
Or the terrible dancer who whisk’d her away;
But out in the court-yard — and just in that part
Where the pump stands — lay bleeding a LARGE HUMAN HEART!
And sundry large stains
Of blood and of brains,
Which had not been wash’d off notwithstanding the rains,
Appear’d on the wood, and the handle, and chains,
As if somebody’s head with a very hard thump,
Had been recently knock’d on the top of the pump.
Bleeding Heart Yard was to be found; a place much changed in feature and in fortune, yet with some relish of ancient greatness about it. Two or three mighty stacks of chimneys, and a few large dark rooms which had escaped being walled and subdivided out of the recognition of their old proportions, gave the Yard a character. It was inhabited by poor people, who set up their rest among its faded glories, as Arabs of the desert pitch their tents among the fallen stones of the Pyramids; but there was a family sentimental feeling prevalent in the Yard, that it had a character.As if the aspiring city had become puffed up in the very ground on which it stood, the ground had so risen about Bleeding Heart Yard that you got into it down a flight of steps which formed no part of the original approach, and got out of it by a low gateway into a maze of shabby streets, which went about and about, tortuously ascending to the level again. At this end of the Yard and over the gateway, was the factory of Daniel Doyce, often heavily beating like a bleeding heart of iron, with the clink of metal upon metal.The opinion of the Yard was divided respecting the derivation of its name. The more practical of its inmates abided by the tradition of a murder; the gentler and more imaginative inhabitants, including the whole of the tender sex, were loyal to the legend of a young lady of former times closely imprisoned in her chamber by a cruel father for remaining true to her own true love, and refusing to marry the suitor he chose for her. The legend related how that the young lady used to be seen up at her window behind the bars, murmuring a love-lorn song of which the burden was, ‘Bleeding Heart, Bleeding Heart, bleeding away,’ until she died.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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Hidden London: Southbank Undercroft Skate Space
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Many visitors to the London Southbank may be surprised by skateboarders doing their tricks under the Southbank Centre. They may even more surprised that skateboarders have been using this space for nearly 50 years and it has gained a reputation as London’s iconic skateboarding site.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
For many years, the skateboarders were tolerated but not encouraged and in plans to redevelop the Southbank Centre, it was considered to use the space for other uses. However a long running campaign and a successful fundraising exercise has bought official recognition.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The local community of skateboarders, BMXers, Graffiti Writers and other creatives approached Southbank Centre in 2013 and 2014 and a partnership was formed to develop the space. After planning permission was granted, £1.1 million was raised in a joint fundraising campaign. From July 2019, Long Live Southbank (LLSB) and the Southbank Centre have opened sections of the Southbank Undercroft Skate Space which have been closed to the public since 2005. This marks a joint commitment to reopen and promote the space as a skateboarding site.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The work has restored Southbank’s little banks, one of the most important sites in UK skateboarding history. The work will also restore the wooden ledge, a large area of flatground and create a new jersey barrier for skaters to use in the space.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Various events have been planned to celebrate this official opening of the new areas and plans are being developed to consider the skateboarding future of the space.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Hidden London: Clifford’s Inn in the City of London
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The City of London is a wonderful place to explore to find some of the hidden corners which takes you back into the past. One of hidden corners is Clifford’s Inn between Fetter Lane, Fleet Street and Chancery Lane.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Clifford’s Inn is a former Inn of Chancery which was founded in 1344 and refounded 15 June 1668. It was dissolved in 1903, and most of its original structure was demolished in 1934. Clifford’s Inn had the distinction of being the first Inn of Chancery to be founded and the last to be demolished.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Inns of Chancery evolved with the Inns of Court. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Law was taught in the City of London primarily by the clergy. This changed in the 13th century when a decree was issued by Henry III stating that no institutes of legal education could exist in the City of London; and a Papal Bull prohibiting clergy from teaching law in London.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Legal education led to lawyers carrying out their business within “inns”, which were used for accommodation and offices. The land on which Clifford’s Inn was built was granted to Lord de Clifford in 1310, Isabel, Lady de Clifford granted use of the land to students of the law for £10 annually. It was the first recorded Inn of Chancery.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Society of Clifford’s Inn purchased the freehold of the property in 1618, however in 1903 it was decided that the Inn was not needed anymore, so its members unanimously agreed to dissolve the society, selling the buildings and giving what was left to the Attorney General for England and Wales. The Inn was sold for the sum of £100,000 and the buildings were demolished in 1934.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The only surviving part of Clifford’s Inn is the gatehouse in Clifford’s Inn Passage, which is believed to have been designed by Decimus Burton, a former student of the Inn.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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The Golden Boy of Pye Corner in London
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Golden Boy of Pye Corner is a famous small monument located on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane near the City of London. The Golden Boy marks the spot where the 1666 Great Fire of London was stopped. The statue is made of wood and is covered with gold. The building that incorporates it is a Grade II listed building.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
It bears the following small inscription below it:
This Boy is in Memmory Put up for the late FIRE of LONDON Occasion’d by the Sin of Gluttony.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The main inscription, 10 ft below the boy is The boy at Pye Corner was erected to commemorate
the staying of the great fire which beginning at Pudding Lane was ascribed to the Sin of Gluttony
when not attributed to the papists as on the Monument and the Boy was made prodigiously fat to
enforce the moral he was originally built into the front of a public-house Called The Fortune of War
Which used to occupy this site and was pulled down in 1910.
‘The Fortune of War’ was The chief house of call North of the River for Resurrectionists in body
snatching days years ago. The landlord used to show the room where on benches round the walls the bodies
Were placed labelled with the snatchers’ names waiting till the Surgeons at Saint Bartholomew’s could run
round and appraise them.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The area was known as Rennerstrete in the 15th century, famous London historian Stow considered that the name “Pie Corner” from the sign of the Pie, “a fayre Inn for recipte of travellers, but now divided into tenementes “.
Pie Corner in the 17th century was often mentioned for its food, Ben Jonson writes in the Alchemist in 1612 remarks
“I shall put you in mind, sir, at Pie Corner,
Taking your meal of steam in from cooks’ stalls.”
In the 18th century, Strype mentions Pie Corner, as “noted chiefly for cooks’ shops and pigs dressed there during Bartholomew Fair.”
As noted in the information on the wall, The Fortune of War public house was known for resurrectionists who often displayed their corpses to surgeons at nearby St Bartholomew’s Hospital. The public house was mentioned in William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities before being demolished in 1910.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Despite the knowledge of the area, the origins of the Golden Boy is shrouded in mystery and little is known when he appeared on the wall on Pie Corner. Many have mentioned that although the Golden Boy is associated with gluttony, he is not really a fat little boy. In fact he resembles a cherub but where he came from is not known.These mysteries are quite common in London where the origins of these objects are often lost in time.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we attract thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Hidden London: The Strange Story of the Republic of Texas Legation in London
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
A small plaque in an alley leading to Pickering Place off St. James’s Street near St. James’s Palace is a reminder that for a very short time, the Republic of Texas had a small embassy over a wine shop in London. The Republic of Texas was declared in 1836 and quickly the republic tried to foster international ties. A number of Texas Legations were established in Washington, D.C., London, and Paris in 1836. These were more diplomatic missions rather than embassies but were useful to promote the republic, the Texas Legation in London was in a building that was the premises of Berry Bros.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Berry Bros. & Rudd as it is now named can trace its origins to 1698, when the Widow Bourne established a grocer’s shop on the site. The Widow’s daughter Elizabeth married William Pickering and their family ran the business which supplied the fashionable Coffee Houses around St James’s. In the 19th century, tastes had changed and Berry Bros had become wine and spirit merchants to the aristocracy and especially the royal family. The Texas Legation may have been attracted by this access to high quality wines, but it is more likely that the location was chosen for its proximity to St. James’s Palace.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Texas Legation in London was maintained from 1836 through 1845 and although the United Kingdom never granted official recognition of Texas it did agree to accept Texan goods into British ports.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
When the Republic became a state in the United States of America in 1845 the legations were shut down and this strange part of Texan history was largely forgotten until the 20th century.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Anglo-Texan Society was founded in London in 1953 and had the famous author Graham Greene has its founding president. Greene knew the Pickering Place area well because he had a flat overlooking the courtyard. The society was led in its early days by Sir Alfred Bossom who was a member of Parliament with extensive ties with Texas.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
In 1963, on the initiative of Bossom, the Anglo-Texan Society erected a brass plaque at the corner of No. 3 St. James’s Place in the passageway of Pickering Place to mark the location of the Texas Legation in Great Britain during the final years of the Republic of Texas, 1842–45. The plaque was unveiled by Texas governor Price Daniel, Sr and the text of the plaque reads: “Texas Legation In this building was the legation for the ministers from the Republic of Texas to the Court of St. James 1842 – 1845. Erected by the Anglo-Texan Society”. The society also paid an outstanding debt of $160 which the Texas Legation had ‘forgot’ to pay for rent to Berry Bros in 1845.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Texas Legation was not the only place of political intrigue in the building, George Berry who ran Berry Bros at that time was friends with the future Napoleon III who was in exile in London. Napoleon used Berry Bros cellars to hold secret meetings, their Napoleon Cellar is named after him.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Since the plaque was attached, there has been more interest into this curious piece of Texas history and it was celebrated by The Texas Embassy Cantina on the corner of Cockspur Street near Trafalgar Square for many years before it closed.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
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