The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2014

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a car person in any way, shape or form. I am a history person, though, so I couldn't resist heading along to Regent Street on Saturday to check out the old cars taking part in this year's London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. For, when I say old, I mean OLD. To be eligible to take part in the Run, the cars must have been manufactured before 1905.

The Run came into being to celebrate the passing of the Light Locomotives on the Highway Act of 1896, which raised the speed limit from 4mph to 14mph, and abolished the need for cars to be preceded by a man on foot with a red flag. The Run has taken place every year since, with the occasional gap for world wars and petrol rationing. 

This is the very earliest days of motoring, complete with steam-powered cars. I've been getting into steampunk lately, and there was a distinct steampunk vibe about the event, especially as many of the cars' owners got into the spirit of the thing, and turned up in Victorian/Edwardian costume. It might be enough to tempt me into driving, if it meant I got to wear an extravagant hat and goggles.

There are a few misconceptions about the London to Brighton Car Run, the main one being that it's a race. It isn't. The cars keep to an average speed of 20 miles per hour. This got me wondering whether steam might be the way to go to solve our fossil fuel woes. According to figures from London Transport, the average speed in the centre of the city is a shade under 10 miles per hour! It would certainly be a more elegant way to travel, with all that wood and leather. Modern cars look very boring, in comparison.

London's Statues - from the quirky to the serious

If you love a good statue, London's your city. There are a lot of them here, commemorating the great and the good, the powerful and the worthy, along with the unexpectedly quirky. Or not so unexpected - this is London after all, a city which takes pride in its eccentrics.

So, amidst the imposing depictions of dukes and kings on horseback, you can also find a memorial to the firemen of World War Two near St Paul's Cathedral, a ballerina opposite the Royal Opera House, Eduardo Paolozzi's thoughtful "Newton" at the British Library, Henry Moore's Three Graces in Battersea Park and the ever-changing occupant of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. These are just a few examples, and their numbers are often boosted by temporary displays of public art, like the book benches which adorned London over the summer.

Now I think about it, maybe I'll do a London Statues Part 2 video at some point!

Covent Garden and the Back-to-Front Church

Transcript

The area known as Covent Garden lies in the heart of London’s Theatreland. It was long known for its fruit and vegetable market and its flower sellers - just think of Eliza Doolittle - but its story goes back much further. This district lay at the heart of the old Saxon city, Lundenwic, and it’s been a trading hub for a long time.

 The market moved out to Nine Elms in 1974, but the Piazza remains a busy, slightly chaotic place, with its antiques markets, street entertainers, upmarket boutiques, cafes and restaurants. The Royal Opera House has an entrance on the square itself.

A New Square and a Back-to-Front Church

The square dates back to the seventeenth century, when the Duke of Bedford redeveloped the site, and created London’s first planned city square. He hired the architect Inigo Jones to create an Italianate piazza, complete with grand houses and colonnades on three sides. The western edge of the square was reserved for St Paul’s Church.

The story goes that the Duke was not that bothered about having a church there, and instructed Jones to build something “not much better than a barn”. Jones was not one to build any old building however, and he is reputed to have declared: “I shall build the handsomest barn in England.”

The site caused a problem though. Jones’ entrance, a grand portico was at the eastern end of the church, overlooking the piazza, which had the church authorities up in arms. The building was nearly finished, but Jones was forced to close the entrance, and build a new entrance at the western end.

Today, the portico frequently acts as a stage for street entertainers. It was here that Samuel Pepys saw the first performance of Italian puppetry in England, the ancestor of the Punch and Judy show.

St Paul’s Church has become known as the “Actor’s Church”. It has built close relations with the surrounding theatrical community, and even has its own drama company. Inside it is small and cozy, and you can see many memorials to famous figures from the stage and screen, including Ellen Terry, Edith Evans, Boris Karloff, Vivien Leigh and Charlie Chaplin.

The church, an afterthought on the part of the Duke, is the only remaining building on the site to survive from the seventeenth century.

Londinium, Lundenwic, London - a city of stories

Welcome to this, the first post on my new blog, London Histories!

Samuel Pepys' quote, about the man who is tired of London being tired of life, has become a cliche, but he wasn't wrong. There's always something going on in this huge, ancient city. It's not always good, but it's certainly always interesting! For a history geek like me, it's the perfect place to live.

This blog will, I hope, tells some of London's stories from its 2,000 years of history. And there are a lot, from Boudica's rebellion to the poet buried standing up, from the execution of King Charles I to the woman who survived an air raid as she was sheltered by her cast-iron bathtub. As the metropolis sees new skyscrapers soar, archaeologists are taking the opportunity to discover the origins of the city, uncovering artefacts and stories as they go. The city is always reinventing itself, shaking off war and rebellion and the depredations of developers alike.

I plan to document both new discoveries and the stories of the ordinary Londoner, as they are so often no less interesting than stories about the great and the powerful. I hope you can join me!