London Trivia: Romantic assignations

2 August, 2026 Gibson Square Leave a comment

On 2 August 1833, the famous entertainment venue, Vauxhall Gardens, had its most successful day when an astonishing 133,278 people arrived to visit its paths being noted for romantic assignations, watching tightrope walkers, hot-air balloon ascents, concerts and fireworks providing entertainment, and a statue depicting George Frederic Handel. In 1817 the Battle of Waterloo was re-enacted, with 1,000 soldiers participating in our victory.

On 2 August 1921 residents of Hackney and Upper Clapton were summoned to the North London Police Court, found guilty, they were fined for illegally watering their gardens

London’s oldest tree a 2,000 year old yew in St Andrew’s Totteridge churchyard was used as the venue for an early type of magistrate’s court

Covent Garden takes its name from when the area was walled off as a garden for Westminster Abbey and the convent on the site

London’s first pedestrian refuge island was financed by a Colonel Pierpoint stepping back to admire his creation he was knocked down by a cab

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon at Edward VII’s wedding was so boring the orchestra started playing to drown him out

The Duke of Wellington has the unique honour of having two equestrian statutes of him erected in central London

Britain’s first bagel bakery opened in 1855 – it still is open every day of the year 24 hours a day in Brick Lane

Montague Burton set up a chain of shops selling 30/- suits, upper floors were builliard halls for use by customers as they waited for their clothes to be altered

On 2 August 1870 Tower Subway opened under the Thames becoming the world’s first underground railway, carrying up to 12 passengers at a time

Twining Teas opened 1707 on the Strand selling tea to Queen Anne, it’s the oldest business in Britain operating from their original premises

The former Abbey National Building Society (now Santander) was founded in a Baptist chapel in Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood

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.

Previously Posted

Previously Posted: It’s a small world

1 August, 2026 Gibson Square 3 Comments

For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.

It’s a small world (07.06.13)

My mother once told me that while on a holiday in Switzerland having walked for 20 minutes from a nearby town and ascended the funicular to take her up to view the Reichenbach Falls without encountering hardly a soul there standing alone on the viewing platform was one of her work colleagues.

A similar, if less than dramatic incident, occurred to me on Saturday. Taking a welcome break from driving a cab around London we went to Hatfield House. This superb Jacobean property is easily accessible from London having a main line railway station outside its front door.

The BBC are running a Tudor season and Hatfield House is one of the finest architectural examples from that time, and as one might expect visitor number could rise, coupled with a recently open children’s zoo and sculpture park.

Situated not far from where I grew up it’s a place we return to time and again, but this time we were there to see their garden show and look around at their beautiful gardens and sculpture trail.

One of the first exhibitors we encountered was Fiona Rule, an author I’ve featured in my Radio Taxi blog whom I’ve only corresponded with by email, having first listened to her being interviewed on the Robert Elms show on BBC’s Radio London.

A London historian promoting her books, hardly the sort of enterprise you would have thought would be featured at a gardening show. Even though Hatfield House is one of the finest Tudor houses in England it seemed to me a little incongruous until Fiona told me of her other venture.

As well as looking into one’s family tree those lucky enough to live in a house with some character now often want to know their home’s history and this is where House Histories comes in.

Your House History is reproduced in either a small book or a coffee table format and additional copies can also be printed. Each averages around 70 pages with numerous illustrations. Taking a few weeks to complete research is available for properties in any London or Hertfordshire postcode.

I doubt if the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury whose family have lived at Hatfield for 400 years will feel the need to commission a history of his house.