On 29 December 1940, the largest area of continuous Blitz destruction anywhere in Briain took place. The Luftwaffe dropped over 24,000 high-explosive bombs, times to coincide with a very low tide, making it difficult for firefighters to get water. The famous picture of the church surrounded by smoke and fire was taken by photographer Herbert Mason from the roof of Northcliffe House, the Daily Mail building on Tudor Street.

On 29 December 1860 HMS Warrior an armour-plated warship, the biggest in the Navy was launched and froze on the slipway, six tugs were need to pull her off into the Thames

The term ‘clink’ is derived from the Clink Prison in Southwark a private lock-up owned by the Bishops of Winchester

Under Cleopatra’s Needle, a Victorian time capsule contains railway timetables, bibles, newspapers and photos of beauties of the day

Great Ormond Street was the first hospital in England exclusively for children when it opened in 1851 42 per cent of deaths were children under 10

Queen Victoria’s Coronation Ring was jammed on to the wrong finger by the Archbishop of Canterbury and as a result got stuck

Carving Handel’s statue for Westminster Abbey the artist objected to the size of the maestro’s own ears and modelled them on a young lady’s

Opened in 1881 the Savoy Theatre was the first public building in the world to be lit throughout by electricity, fitted out with 1,200 incandescent light bulbs

To make balls more visible early tennis courts were painted red using lampblack and oxblood the animal being slaughtered on the floor itself

Daimler made the first petrol-driven cab in 1887 but it was 17 years before the vehicle was licensed to ply for hire in London

When escalators were first installed at Earls Court Bumper Harris a one-legged man was employed to demonstrate their safety and ease of use

When weddings take place at Bevis Marks, London’s oldest synagogue, the building is lit by candlelight as it would have been in 1701

Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.

On 22 December 1974 Conservative Leader and former Prime Minister Edward Heath’s home in Victoria was bombed by the IRA. Thrown from a Ford Cortina the 2lb. bomb damaged the exterior of the house. Two policemen and a patrol car chased the vehicle as it drove off, but the Cortina crashed a few minutes later in Chelsea and several men fled from the vehicle. Edward Heath was not at home at the time but arrived 10 minutes later.

On 22 December 2003 the London Frost Fair was revived with a 1-day festival at Bankside, it is now a regular feature in December

The London Hackney Carriages Act 1843 forbids a cabbie whose ‘For Hire’ light is on to seek trade whilst the vehicle is moving – fine £200!

Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott – who gave us the telephone box – Grade II listed Battersea Power Station is Europe’s largest brick building

Jeremy Bentham proposed eminent men be preserved and stuffed for prosperity unfortunately his head rotted and replaced with a wax replica

Horse drawn Hansom Cabs gained a renaissance in the Great War as petrol cabs slumped by 60% due to petrol shortages-1947 saw the last horse

When opened in 1928 the owners of the Piccadilly Theatre claimed that the bricks used if laid end to end would stretch from London to Paris

Peach Melba created at the Savoy for soprano Nellie Melba used her favourite ingredients to reduce the cold of ice cream on her vocal cords

On 22 December 2007 after being on the pitch 1.2 seconds Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner scored the fastest goal by a substitute in English Footy

North End (nicknamed Bull and Bush) Station on Northern Line between Hampstead/Golders Green closed in 1907 before seeing a single passenger

In 1901 Westminster Abbey became the first public building to be vacuumed when cleaned by a ‘Puffing Billy’ for Edward VII’s coronation

Barges rarely ply the Thames but when the Crown Jewels travel by carriage they traditionally do so in the company of the Queen’s Bargemaster

Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.