On 11 November 1920, as the Cenotaph was unveiled by King George V, two years after the Armistice the bodies of two unknown First World War soldiers were interned, one in Westminster Abbey and one beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The idea of a Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was first conceived in 1916 by the Rev. David Railton, who had seen a grave which bore the pencil-written legend ‘An Unknown British Soldier’.

On 11 November 1983 Mary Donaldson became the first woman to be the City of London’s Lord Mayor, one of the world’s oldest continuously elected civic offices

It is illegal in London to have sex on a parked motorcycle, beat a carpet in a public park, or impersonate a Chelsea pensioner

The Ritz hotel in Piccadilly was built on a site previously occupied by The Old White Horse Cellar, one of the most famous coaching inns in London

The remains of a Roman teenage girl were unearthed during the construction of The Gherkin, she was reburied near where she was found

On 11 November 1100 (11-11-1100) King Henry I of England married Matilda of Scotland at Westminster Abbey

The Lanesborough Hotel had 3 original Reynolds and boasts the largest collection of 18th century paintings in the world outside any gallery

The Fox and Anchor-Smithfield and Market Porter-Borough are licensed to serve alcohol from 7am to fit in with the hours worked by market porters

Tennis legend Fred Perry is commemorated by to plaques in Ealing. His ashes are buried near his statute at Wimbledon

Just outside Temple Tube station is an original pre-Beck map in a glass case. (In other words its lines are bendy rather than straight.)

The only London-based gin distillery left today is Beefeater Gin, which is based on Kennington in the former Haywards pickle factory

The River Thames is two hundred and fifteen miles long, has 47 locks and carries some 300,000 tonnes of sediment a year

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 4 November 1964 the Fortnum & Mason clock, designed by Berkeley Sutcliffe positioned above the store’s Piccadilly entrance was officially started, 4ft high mechanical figures, Mr Mason and Mr Fortnum emerge every hour from separate pavilions to make half a circuit before ‘ringing’ their respective bells. The 18 bells from the same foundry as Big Ben ring every 15 minutes a selection of airs.

On 4 November 1852 The House of Commons press gallery where journalists may observe and write was opened. 300 are accredited by the Serjeant-at-Arms

An old police box aka TARDIS can be found outside Earl’s Court station. The same station that had the Underground’s first escalator on 4 October 1911

Records show that the site of OXO Tower, bought for £75,000 by the Leibig Extract of Meat Company in the 1920s, was once used as a butchery!

Charles II, encouraged by Nell Gwyn, founded Chelsea Royal Hospital in 1682 for injured Civil War veterans. Soldiers over the age of 65 may apply to become a Chelsea Pensioner

In 1796 a Commons Committee spent days debating a plan to dig a channel across the Isle of Dogs to save sailing time around the peninsular

In his study at Harrington Gardens SW7 W S Gilbert saw a Japanese sword fall from the wall and inspired him to write The Mikado

Piccadilly may take it’s name from Piccadilly Hall so called home of Robert Baker, a tailor who sold piccadillies, a form of collar or ruff

London has more professional football clubs than any other city in the world except Buenos Aires. In 2013 the Football Association celebrated the 150th anniversary of its formation in a tavern in Holborn

The average speed on the Underground is 20.5 miles per hour including station stops but on the Metropolitan Line trains can reach over 60mph

From his Wapping soap factory John Knight produced the famous Knight’s Castile soap, which won a medal at the Great Exhibition of 1851

In 1995 Holborn had a bizarre claim to fame as the most commonly mispronounced word in the English language. Remember the l is silent

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.