London trivia

London Trivia: A perfect storm

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On 7 January 1928 a perfect storm hit London. Heavy snow, followed by a sudden thaw with heavy rain combined with a high spring tide and a storm surge raised the water levels on the Thames. A massive flood ensued, water overflowed from the City to Putney and Hammersmith, fourteen people drowned and 4,000 were made homeless. The disaster contributed to the eventual building of the Thames Barrier.

On 7 January 1618 Sir Francis Bacon, one of the cleverest of his generation, was made Lord Chancellor of England by his patron King James I.

A punishment in London’s Victorian prisons was oakum picking. Prisoners were given old ships’ rope with the task of unpicking the strands

On Admiralty Arch is a small nose said to be Lord Nelson’s second nose – it’s not. Placed there in 1997 by an artist as a form of protest

In 1924, the first baby was born on the Underground, on a train at Elephant and Castle on the Bakerloo Line

Harold Wilson always drank Lucozade during speeches – but from a blue glass, as he worried that in a clear one it would look like Scotch

Victorian poet Swinburne and artist Rosetti  shared 16 Cheyne Walk Chelsea with Rosetti’s menagerie including a pet wombat

London’s oldest hotel Claridge’s opened as Mivart’s Hotel in 1812 by French chef Jacques Mivart. He sold out to William Claridge in 1838

Charlton means ‘homestead belonging to the churls’. Churls were the lowest rank of freeman during medieval times

On the Metropolitan line, trains can reach over 60mph but the average is a mere 20.5 miles per hour including stops

Inventor Richard Arkwright who with John Kay invented the spinning-frame that produced a strong cotton thread lived at 8 Adam Street, Strand

There is evidence to show that in medieval London, off Cheapside, there was a road, probably frequented by prostitutes, named Gropecunt Lane

CabbieBlog-cab.gifTrivial 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: Sidney Street Seige

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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.

Sidney Street Siege (03.01.11)

One hundred years ago today an incident occurred in east London that brought to the public’s attention a man that 28 years later would lead Britain in its fight against Hitler.

In the first decade of the 20th century London had become a hotbed for Latvian revolutionaries. In an uprising some five years earlier 14,000 men, women and children had been massacred in reprisal by the Russian army, when an uprising to overthrow the Tsarist regime was foiled. With a deep distrust of their own police who had tortured their ringleaders the survivors had come to London to organise another revolution and to raise funds for their cause.

Armed they had held up banks, shops and factories and two robbers had been killed the previous year in a London robbery which had left seven policemen wounded and two innocent bystanders dead.

At 10pm on 17th December 1910 a shopkeeper living above his premises in Houndsditch heard noises from downstairs, fearing a break-in at the jewellers next door he alerted a nearby policeman, who was joined by two constables, three sergeants and two plain clothed colleagues (in those days burglary was taken seriously). Knocking on the door they were let in by a man pretending not to understand, who was instructed to fetch someone who could speak English. The police did not know at the time but they had stumbled on the compatriots of last years’ bungled robbery, who were in the process of breaking through a wall trying to get to the jewellers safe.

What ensued can only be described as a massacre as the anarchists opened fire on the unarmed policemen, leaving three dead and two crippled for life.

For the local predominantly Jewish population, it was as if the terror they had fled from in Eastern Europe had emerged on the Sabbath amongst their own community. Within days two of the gang had been arrested and a third was suspected of fleeing the country.

In the early hours of 3rd January 1911 following a tip off 200 police officers surrounded a house in Sidney Street and a six hour gun battle ensued.

The Home Secretary, Winston Churchill (highlighted in the picture) arrived on the scene and characteristically he led from the front, directing the police (a style of leadership sadly lacking in today’s politicians), and when the criminals inside set fire to the house to cover their exit he refused to allow the fire brigade to extinguish the flames. Eventually two bodies were found in the ashes and one fireman died from falling debris.

The two arrested were subsequently put on trial but acquitted through lack of evidence as most of the witnesses were either dead or had fled the country.

One of the acquitted, Jacob Peters, remained in London returning to Russia in 1917 and became deputy head of the Cheka, the Soviet Secret Police. Thousands were killed on his orders and many of the executions he personally carried out gaining the nickname “The Executioner”.

Puppydog tails

Test Your Knowledge: January 2024

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No street has been as central to British music as Tin Pan Alley, but how much do you know about this iconic London thoroughfare? As before the correct answer will turn green when it’s clicked upon and expanded to give more information. The incorrect answers will turn red giving the correct explanation.

1. What is Tin Pan Alley’s official name?
Holland Avenue
WRONG Denmark Street was developed in the late 17th century and named after Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, who would reign as Queen of England from 1702-1707.
Denmark Street
CORRECT Denmark Street was developed in the late 17th century and named after Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, who would reign as Queen of England from 1702-1707.
Sweden Alley
WRONG Denmark Street was developed in the late 17th century and named after Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, who would reign as Queen of England from 1702-1707.
2. Do you know the length of this street?
354 yards
WRONG This powerhouse of modern music is only 354 feet long, making it one of the shortest streets in London.
354 feet
CORRECT This powerhouse of modern music is only 354 feet long, making it one of the shortest streets in London.
3,540 meters
WRONG This powerhouse of modern music is only 354 feet long, making it one of the shortest streets in London.
3. In what area is Tin Pan Alley located?
St Giles
CORRECT Separated by Charing Cross Road from the eastern fringe of Soho, Denmark Street’s location places it near what was the ‘rookery’ of St Giles, a warren of tenements notorious for wretched poverty and every kind of vice, commemorated in William Hogarth’s series of coruscating engravings, Beer Street and Gin Lane.
Soho
WRONG Separated by Charing Cross Road from the eastern fringe of Soho, Denmark Street’s location places it near what was the ‘rookery’ of St Giles, a warren of tenements notorious for wretched poverty and every kind of vice, commemorated in William Hogarth’s series of coruscating engravings, Beer Street and Gin Lane.
Bloomsbury
WRONG Separated by Charing Cross Road from the eastern fringe of Soho, Denmark Street’s location places it near what was the ‘rookery’ of St Giles, a warren of tenements notorious for wretched poverty and every kind of vice, commemorated in William Hogarth’s series of coruscating engravings, Beer Street and Gin Lane.
4. What famous coffee bar, a favourite haunt of musicians, was located on this street?
Gioconda Coffee Bar
CORRECT The Gioconda Coffee Bar at No 9 was a favourite meeting place for young musicians.
2i’s Coffee Bar
WRONG The Gioconda Coffee Bar at No 9 was a favourite meeting place for young musicians.
Bar Italia
WRONG The Gioconda Coffee Bar at No 9 was a favourite meeting place for young musicians.
5. Which fictional private detective had his offices above the famous 12 Bar Club in Tin Pan Alley?
Cormoran Strike
CORRECT The TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike crime novel is filmed outside number 6 instead of number 26.
Cordelia Gray
WRONG The TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike crime novel is filmed outside number 6 instead of number 26.
Sherlock Holmes
WRONG The TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike crime novel is filmed outside number 6 instead of number 26.
6. Architecturally why is this street unique in London?
It has retained more of its original front doors than any other street
WRONG Of the original 20 houses, completed by 1691, eight remain, apparently making it the only street in London to retain 17th-century facades on both sides.
The only street to retain 17th-century facades on both sides of the street
CORRECT Of the original 20 houses, completed by 1691, eight remain, apparently making it the only street in London to retain 17th-century facades on both sides.
The street has the largest basements in London
WRONG Of the original 20 houses, completed by 1691, eight remain, apparently making it the only street in London to retain 17th-century facades on both sides.
7. What stood on the site before the road was developed?
The slums of the rookery
WRONG Tin Pan Alley was laid out in the 1700s as a residential street for the parish of St Giles that once housed a leper hospital.
Virgin hunting land
WRONG Tin Pan Alley was laid out in the 1700s as a residential street for the parish of St Giles that once housed a leper hospital.
A leper hospital
CORRECT Tin Pan Alley was laid out in the 1700s as a residential street for the parish of St Giles that once housed a leper hospital.
8. From where did the street gain its nickname?
New Orleans
WRONG It helped that Denmark Street was a shortcut between the theatre districts of Soho and Covent Garden. The term originated in London in the 1920s, and was taken from 5th and 6th Avenue in Manhattan-New York City – a derogatory ‘slang’ term deriving from around 1910 – that was used to describe the sound from the old cheap upright pianos that could be heard drifting from the open windows of these Manhattan ‘music factories’ – where the sound was liked to a load of old tin pans being banged together.
Newark
WRONG It helped that Denmark Street was a shortcut between the theatre districts of Soho and Covent Garden. The term originated in London in the 1920s, and was taken from 5th and 6th Avenue in Manhattan-New York City – a derogatory ‘slang’ term deriving from around 1910 – that was used to describe the sound from the old cheap upright pianos that could be heard drifting from the open windows of these Manhattan ‘music factories’ – where the sound was liked to a load of old tin pans being banged together.
New York
CORRECT It helped that Denmark Street was a shortcut between the theatre districts of Soho and Covent Garden. The term originated in London in the 1920s, and was taken from 5th and 6th Avenue in Manhattan-New York City – a derogatory ‘slang’ term deriving from around 1910 – that was used to describe the sound from the old cheap upright pianos that could be heard drifting from the open windows of these Manhattan ‘music factories’ – where the sound was liked to a load of old tin pans being banged together.
9. What music innovation was Cerberus?
An early record sales chart compilation program
WRONG Cerberus was a pioneering internet-streaming music site that was located at No 21 Denmark Street in 1994, years ahead of its time.
Internet music streaming site
CORRECT Cerberus was a pioneering internet-streaming music site that was located at No 21 Denmark Street in 1994, years ahead of its time.
A synthesiser
WRONG Cerberus was a pioneering internet-streaming music site that was located at No 21 Denmark Street in 1994, years ahead of its time.
10. What newspapers originated in Tin Pan Alley?
New Musical Express
CORRECT Incredibly two music newspapers originated from Tin Pan Alley. In 1926 Melody Maker was founded and run from 8 Denmark Street, and in 1952 New Musical Express set up business and operated from 5 Denmark Street.
Melody Maker
CORRECT Incredibly two music newspapers originated from Tin Pan Alley. In 1926 Melody Maker was founded and run from 8 Denmark Street, and in 1952 New Musical Express set up business and operated from 5 Denmark Street.
Rolling Stone
WRONG Incredibly two music newspapers originated from Tin Pan Alley. In 1926 Melody Maker was founded and run from 8 Denmark Street, and in 1952 New Musical Express set up business and operated from 5 Denmark Street.
Thinking allowed

A TfL Mole

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Listening to the excellent WizzAnn Podcast, one of the contributors advanced the idea that TfL has inserted a mole among London’s cabbie fraternity. The theory goes that how is it that an organisation filled with desk wallas knows all the cut-throughs we learned on The Knowledge? Once informed the road is then blocked to vehicles – thanks!

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Johnson’s London Dictionary: New Year’s Day Parade

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NEW YEAR’S DAY PARADE (n.) Annual walk around central London by 10,000 participants demonstrating the local council’s ability to remove 85 tonnes of street rubbish before the procession.

Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon

Taxi Talk Without Tipping