On 27 February 1907 the Old Bailey, at a cost of £392,277 was finally opened by King Edward VII. On top of the 67ft high dome a 12ft gold leaf statue was placed of a ‘lady of justice’ holding a sword in one hand and the scales of justice in the other; she is not, as is conventional with such figures, blindfolded. Over the main entrance to the building figures were placed representing fortitude, the recording angel, and truth.

On 27 February 1557 the first Russian Embassy opened in London, within a year a trade mission brought sable skins opening up trade routes between England and Russia

The Neckinger River and the street get their name from ‘devil’s neckinger’ London slang for a handkerchief or the hangman’s noose

Marble Arch was built as the entrance to Buckingham Palace until it was realised that the arch was too narrow for Queen Victoria’s carriage

At Holy Sepulchre Church lies buried Captain John Smith who was rescued by Pocahontas when he was Governor Virginia, Pocahontas is buried at Gravesend

On 27 February 1975 PC Stephen Tibble, a policeman for only 6 months, was shot in Baron’s Court, hours later London’s first bomb factory was found

The gargoyles on the façade of The Natural History Museum depict the extent of palaeontological knowledge at the time of its construct

Chelsea buns originate from the Bun House which stood on the junction Lower Sloane Street/Pimlico Road and patronised by royalty until 1839

Millwall (Rovers) were formed in the summer of 1885 by workers at Morton’s Jam Factory on the Isle of Dogs

The Austin FX-4 taxi was introduced in 1958 and remained in production until 1996, only the Mini surpasses this record for a British vehicle

The term ‘Black Friday’ was first used in 1866 when the private banking house of Overend, Gurney and Co collapsed causing panic in the City

No throughfare is called a road in the City. Road is a corruption of the word ride and the streets of the City were too narrow for carriages

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.