29 Fun And Interesting Facts About London’s History, Revealed By A Qualified London Guide

This might just be London's strangest tomb. In St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mortlake, the mausoleum of Richard Burton makes quite the visual statement. It takes the shape of a Bedouin tent and was designed around 1890 by Burton's wife, Isabel. But the weirdest feature is around the back. Ascend the stairs, and you can see inside. Here lie the coffins of Richard Burton and his wife. Now, Isabel chose this design as a nod to his life. He was an explorer and writer who traveled extensively across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. And she championed his work, even writing his biography, despite suffering from cancer. She died in 1896, but they forever lie side by side inside a tent, as if traveling the globe together.

It's easy to overlook these railings on London housing estates. But look out for the weird curve. These are recycled World War II stretchers. Hundreds and thousands of ARP stretchers were made to carry wounded civilians during the Blitz. Have you ever seen them?

You probably know that London was founded by the Romans about 2,000 years ago and there's evidence all over the city but one of the weirdest places to find it is in this car park where there's a section of wall from around 200 AD.

On Marchmont Street, look down to spot the saddest sculptures in London. Let me explain. The short walk from here is Coram Fields, site of the Foundling Hospital, opened in 1741 by Thomas Coram. It was a place where desperate mothers could leave babies that they just couldn't care for. And the original ledge still stands today. Often mothers left tokens so when their children were old enough, they could be reunited, but from over 18,000 babies admitted, only 154 were ever reclaimed. The sculptures are in our work by John Aldous in 2006. Although the Foundling Hospital closed in the 1950s, you can visit the brilliant family museum with some of the original rooms that tell a story of the hospital.

If you've ever spotted these signs around London you might have asked yourself what they actually mean. Essentially it's a 19th century way of politely saying don't wee here. So now you know.

This is London Bridge today, built in the 1970s–kind of boring. But if you head to this church, St Magnus the Martyr, you can see what it used to look like in Medieval London. Old London Bridge was finished in 1209 and lasted until the 1830s. But what's shown here is mid 1400s. The model was built in the 1980s by David Ajit, who was a retired policeman.

What's the story about this weird street name in London? Well, I'll tell you. This is Farringdon street and what you can't see today is actually there's a river underneath here. It's one of London's "lost rivers" but go to this corner, and you can still see it. It was covered in the 18th century, but still flows today, underground. The reason behind this strange street name is because the river blocked the way so you had to turn around again.

What's hiding in this tower in London? This is the Victoria Tower. It's part of the Houses of Parliament and everyone knows what's in this tower [Big Ben]. It's named Big Ben because of the bell inside it. But what about this tower [Victoria Tower]? Arguably, it's far more interesting. It houses the parliamentary archives and the best bet is the Act Room. This has 64,000 Acts of Parliament dating back to 1497. Each of these is a handwritten vellum scroll, which either creates a new law or amends an existing one. Still today, each act receives Royal Assent, the monarch signing off on the law. So going back to our history, you can find signatures of old kings and queens, like this one from Elizabeth I. Today modern Acts of Parliament look like this, printed on more animal-friendly paper.

Why is this City of London building such a strange shape? This is known as the Cheesegrater and it's shaped like a triangle thanks to this building. This is the Faraday Building and when its tall extension was built in 1933 there was uproar because it was partially blocking the view of St. Paul's Cathedral from the River Thames. The City of London reacted with a policy known as St. Paul's Heights. So since 1938, the corporation has protected and enhanced important local views of the cathedral from Southbank, Thames bridges and certain points to the Northwest and East. One of the famous viewpoints is 10 miles away from King Henry's mound in Richmond Park. So back to the Cheesegrater. It's this shape because it's literally leaning out of the way of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, which means we have this amazing view along Fleet Street.

Here's something that you might have never noticed on Tower Bridge. It's this chimney that's pretending to be a lamppost. It used to burn coal fires until the Clean Air Act in 1956 stopped that and it was connected to a guards room under the bridge.

This is one of London's last surviving watergates. So hold on, why is the water all the way over there? That's because the River Thames has moved. But first up, look at this historic beauty built around 1626. This served as the river entrance to York House the grand townhouse for the Dukes of Buckingham. You can really imagine pulling up in style in one of your boats on these steps via the River Thames. York House was demolished in the 1670s but his was a lone survivor. Things got weirder in the 1860s with the construction of the embankment. This reclaimed huge areas of the river, creating the underground sewer system, the district and circle lines. Today on the site is Victoria embankment Gardens. So today the old Watergate is stranded. It's around 100 meters away from the Thames, a little reminder of when the river was much wider.

Guys, Big Ben is back! But can you spot this subtle difference? The original clock tower was unveiled in 1859, designed by Charles Barry. Now throughout the restoration (scaffolding started going up in 2017) paint experts at Lincoln University examined 160 years of paint layers and found that originally the hands in the Roman numerals were blue. Black was chosen in the 1930s to mask the effects of London's dirty air. So look up to admire the Prussian blue details next time you're nearby. Yes, Big Ben is the nickname for the bell inside the tower. And yes, we know that the clock towers name is actually the Elizabeth Tower.

You've probably never noticed this sneaky bit of history right by the Tower of London. This is a 1920s entrance to what was once the Tower Subway. Built in 1868, for a small fee, you could sit in a carriage and be pulled by cables under the Thames. But following faulty lifts and one fatal accident, it became a pedestrian tunnel. Then when Tower Bridge opened and that was free, it closed for good. So now the tunnels are just used for water mains and communication cables.

Have you ever noticed, when walking around Westminster, that the lamppost seem to have the Coco Chanel symbol? In the 1920s, the fabulously wealthy 2nd Duke of Westminster, who owned land in Mayfair and Belgravia, fell madly in love with Coco Chanel. And when they were in London, the pair lived in Bourdon House on Davies street. They were together for around a decade but never married. So is this just a lovely romantic gesture? Sadly not. Westminster Council confirmed the 'c's stand for 'City Council' and were only installed in the 1950s.

In the shadow of the Shard you can find the 18th century buildings of Guy's Hospital. It's still going today and was founded back in 1721. But even better, you can also find this bench and niche that was once part of the Old London Bridge. Yes, the London Bridge that spanned the Thames in the early 1200s until the 1830s. Now this stone alcove isn't Medieval. It dates to the 1700s when the houses on the bridge were pulled down to improve access, and these stone covered benches were added. Why is it here? No idea. But there's other ones you can find in London. 2 in Victoria Park and 1 in North Sheen. And the statue by the way, is romantic poet John Keats, who studied medicine here for two years.

Did you know you can walk under the River Thames? The Greenwich Foot Tunnel was built in 1902 for the commute of London Dock workers. Today it's open for 24hrs a day and goes between Maritime Greenwich and Island Gardens.

This open space in Bethnal Green is hiding an incredible bit of history. This is Arnold Circus, center of the Boundary Estate built in the late 1890s. But it sits on top of the Old Nichol Slum, one of the worst in Victorian London. Amazingly, it's actually the rubble of this demolished slum housing that created this raised area. And today it's open to everyone and is a popular film and TV location.

How would you spell St. James's Park? In 1869 when it opened, tube maps displayed the station as St. James' Park without the extra 's.' But when Harry Beck released his game-changing map in 1933, there was no apostrophe, just St. James' Park. From 1951, reflecting a change in punctuation styles, it became its current form–St. James's Park. The 1920s signage was all replaced apart from one which you can still see at the end of the Eastbound platform today.

This building ruined Shakespeare's Globe. Over 1 million people visit Shakespeare's Globe every year. But this of course, is not the original. The theater space opened in 1997 and it's a recreation of the Globe built on Bankside in 1599. The project started in the 1970s when Sam Wanamaker and a dedicated team wanted to accurately recreate the Globe. It's made of English oak beams 12,000 hand-carved wooden pegs and is the only thatched roof in London. But it's not on the same site. The actual Globe's remains were discovered in 1989, after work had started and over 200 meters from the original site, but there was another problem. On top was Anchor Terrace built in 1834 and Grade II Listed, meaning it has historic protection and you can't demolish it and further investigate the ruins.

Want to walk through some of London's underground tunnels? Of course you do. These are the Mail Rail tunnels and from 1927 until 2003, tiny carriages packed with London's post whizzed 6 miles across London 70 feet below ground. And since 2017, when the Postal Museum opened, you've been able to ride the mail carriages. But you can now also walk the tunnels for yourself, getting a better appreciation of this amazing infrastructure and seeing details up close. Things like the sections of reinforced concrete and floodgates that protect against London's subterranean river fleet.