90 REASONS TO LOVE LONDON
(As complied by Timeout)
Enraged by the transport? Ripped off by rent? You know you wouldn’t put up with it if living in London wasn’t worth it. And to remind you why you do, we have compiled (in no particular order) a list of a hundred places, spaces, people, events, shops and bars that make London one of the best places in the world to live. Many of them are featured in our listings every week; others demonstrate London’s ability to surprise.
| 1. |
The Thames. Calm and leafy at one end, strong and industrial at the other, the Thames’ journey through London sees it take on several guises. There is even a sandy beach by the Tower of London. Though some see it as a divide between arrogant north London and laid back south London, the space and vistas it brings to the centre of the city define the capital’s character.
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| 2. |
Nightlife. mean and lean Up North, they prefer to stick to one nightclub per city, leading to lazy local monopolies and cash-bloated promoters and residents. In London, the scene is more - to use the marketing industry’s favourite buzzword-viral, with word-of-mouth still making or breaking parties and venues. A few years ago, no one could get enough of Ministry and The Complex. How long before Fabric, Cargo and 93 Feet East are banished to the realm of the terminally uncool? Promoters who stay small, sharp and credible-Faith, say-are the ones who cream off the discerning punters.
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| 3. |
London Eye... but the capital doesn’t always display such courage in its planning decisions.
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| 4. |
Driving past the Houses of Parliament when it’s sitting and knowing that you’ll find out what’s going on inside on TV later that night.
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| 5. |
Jukebox at Bradley’s. The Hanway Street, W1, bar’s vinyl jukebox has a changing lineup of magic artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, and the Walker Brothers. Great sounds, great bar.
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| 6. |
Buying the Sunday papers at Charing Cross on a Saturday night on your way home.
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| 7. |
The Dogs. Cheap to get in, cheap to bet, cheap to drink. Apparently, greyhound racing is Britain's second most popular spectator sport after football. Guy took Brad (but don’t let that put you off). Try Catford, Walthamstow, Wimbledon or Romford, or visit www.thedogs.co.uk for all listings.
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| 8. |
Urban farms. Who needs the countryside? Hackney City Farm, 1a Goldsmith’s Row, E2; Surrey Docks Farm, Rotherhithe St, SE16; Vauxhall City Farm, Tyers St, SE11.
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| 9. |
Affordable world food. London has more diversity, affordability and good quality world cuisines than any other city in the world. Apart from the obvious - great dim sum, every style of Indian food - where else could you find a good Burmese restaurant, cheap Japanese diners, great Syrian meze or Alsatian tartuf?
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| 10. |
Enjoying luxury for less. People moan that London’s expensive, but if you know where to go there are excellent bargains to be had. You can nab your designer clothes at bargain prices and regular designer sales throughout the year: best one is the Designer Warehouse Sale (020 7704.064/www.dwslondon.co.uk) held in King’s Cross. Keep an eye on Sell Out for other good ones every week.
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| 11. |
Living alongside famous people. Look us in the eye and tell us it doesn’t feel good to be eating at the same restaurant or queuing in the same supermarket as someone off the telly. Don’t you get a little frisson using that Abbey Road zebra crossing?
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| 12. |
Canal life. Joggers, strollers and cyclists may appreciate its tranquil charms, but only boat-owners really know what the canal is all about. Catch one in the right mood, and they’ll tell you that London’s waterways - indeed, London itself - are the perfect sites for lazy afternoons spent chugging through King’s Cross and Camden, under the Westway, past Trellick Tower and into distant Middlesex, as coconuts dropped by Hindu worshippers float past your hull. Then there’s the magical moment when the canal becomes an aqueduct and passes above the North Circular. Below, nose-to-tail traffic stretches into the haze, drivers cursing claustrophobia and coughing carbon monoxide, while you slip serenely over the top. It’s not when you get there, it’s how you travel.
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| 13. |
All night bagel bakeries. Especially Beigel Bake at 159 Brick Lane (020 7729 0616).
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| 14. |
Tate Modern.
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| 15. |
No matter how many times you walk down the same streets there is still something surprising. Simply keeping your eyes peeled is the best way to see what London’s streets have to offer, and even tourist-clogged Oxford Street has its virtues. Largely, it is the jumble of architectural styles, but let your gaze linger and other delights are found: the beavers adorning the hat factory opposite the 100 Club; a pair of androgynous fascists above Swatch; the studio where The Beatles cut their demo, now a shoe shop; elegant mosaic letters spelling out names of long gone pubs and theatres, still advertising their trade years after new occupiers have installed their own gaudy enticements, bouncing, chanting Hare Krishnas crossing paths with the brass pomp of the Sally Army band, whose headquarters at No275 was once an ice rink.
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| 16. |
North London Line. its London’s secret railway. If you open the London tube map you will notice that there is a line with no colour at all, and seemingly no logic to it either. Whereas others make a dash straight for the city centre, the North London line begins in the bottom left hand corner at Richmond and throws a loop to terminate at the extreme right in North Woolwich. That’s what I like about it. To long suffering commuters it is the line from hell, but if time and the occasional cancellation is no object it provides one of the most unusual perspectives on London. I usually ride if from Acton to Highbury on the weekends that Arsenal are playing at home, past the old goods yard at King’s Cross and Hampstead Health. But if you carry on, you soon find yourself in the heart of London’s East End and, if you take it in the opposite direction, Kew Gardens and the Public Record Office. Unlike the colour coded lines, the NLL has few tunnels so if Silverlink has remembered to clean the windows you get a perfect view of ‘backdoor’ London. Take a sandwich for the inevitable delays and buy a day pass so you can get on and off.—Mark Honigsbaum From the book ‘City Secrets London’, published by the Little Bookroom priced at £11.99. © 2001 Robert Kahn.
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| 17. |
CABBIES. They’re not all arseholes, believe it or not. It’s late, you’re on your own, and sobriety has deserted you. Chances are, you’re going home in one of London’s magical little black buses. As you slide gratefully into the high-ceilinged haven within (Londoners have a thing about high ceilings), you will know that you have entered a serene space troubled only by the arcane clicks and wheezes of an unassailable vehicular fortress. The only concern of the inscrutable professional up front is to Take You Home… and then wait quietly to see you past the key stage and through the door.
Cabbies do have their detractors, of course, but at their best they are London’s finest. Even a quick trawl of anecdotes reveals examples of humanity and decency amongst the usual tales of bigotry and balminess...
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| 18. | The bridges. We’ve got a bouncy bridge (sadly, planned not to be so bouncy come December), at Bankside; Westminister Bridge is so cool, it inspired Wordsworth to write poetry; the Americans brought London Bridge and plonked it in the desert; Vivienne Leight turned from ballerina to prostitute in the 1940 remake of ‘Waterloo Bridge’.... For goodness sake, how many reasons to do you need why the bridges over the Thames are all so ace? |
| 19. | Borough Food Market. Best of all the food markets. Not a true farmers’ market, as the growers are not always the people behind the stalls, but what they do share is a genuine passion for their produce. Here you can find the finest organic meats, breads baked with love and care, pickles and chutneys like Grandma never made, and, of course, there’s also Brindisa (the Spanish food importer) and Neal’s Yard Cheeses in residence. |
| 20. |
Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. (or the bronze ones in Crystal Palace Park).
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| 21. |
Rep Cinema. Can a true cinephile live anywhere outside London? While the provincials fight for seats to the latest block buster at their local ‘plex, we still have the luxury of choice: big screens, a huge range of titles and subtitles.Sunday matinees offer classics old and new all over town, but the picks of the bunch have to be the National Film Theatre, with 1500 different movies a year, and the Everyman, with its comfy sofas.
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| 22. |
Southall Broadway. It’s often called "Little Punjab", but Southall is like nothing on the subcontinent. Its shabby gentility is a peculiarly English take on South Asian multiculturalism, a defiantly independent suburb of Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus and Indian Christians. It’s also the best-and cheapest–place in Europe for Indian canteens, restaurants, food stores, fabrics, jewellery, hardware, books and records, with the added appeal of the most ramshackle market in London. And you wonder why even Punjabi millionaires choose to live there?
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| 23. |
Vintage London. has some of the best vintage shops in the world—everyone from Galliano to Nicole Kidman comes here to plunder ideas and one-offs. Apart from the obvious Portobello market, there’s eccentric treasure trove Steinberg and Tolkien (193 King’s Road, SW3;020 7376 3660); Kate Moss hangout Rellick (8 Golborne Road, W10;020 8962 0089) specailsing in vintage Westwood; or follow in the Dior designer’s footsteps to pricey Virginia (98 Portland Road, W11;020 7727 9908).
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| 24. |
Street markets. Apart from London’s famous markets, like Portobello and Camden, there are lesser known beauties like Columbia Road (Sundays) for flowers and quirky shops, Brick Lane for retro furniture, and Spitalfields for organic food, fashion and accessories. Best of all, London has a local market in every pocket of the city, each with its own colour and charisma: there’s noisy, scruffy Berwick Street for fruit and veg; Brixton Walthamstow, Ridley Road and Southall for global foods; and Camden for tourist tat, plus good vintage furniture at the Stables Yard.
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| 25. |
Edgware Road. It’s a measure of London’s strength that even a thoroughfare as visually charmless as the Edgware Road can harbour its own quirks and qualities. For over 30 years, the Arab community has gathered at the pavement cafes, to join in gesticulative debate or suck contemplatively on a hookah. Outstanding food—Meshwar, Al-Dar and, over the flyover, Kandoo– and the juices at Ranoush are justly renowned. These days, though, there’s a stark reminder that things are not as they should be: three pairs of policemen on conspicuous patrol around this tiny patch of the Middle East.
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| 26. |
Top Shot Oxford. Circus It’s always (at least) one step ahead with the trends, and it’s affordable.
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| 27. |
Indian food. that’s cheap but excellent There are a few suburbs which excel at Indian food– Southall and Wembley, especially–but our favourite is Tooting. In the mile-long stretch around Tooting Broadway you can find Indian food in all its diversity, from the sweet flavours of East African Gujarati vegetarian cookery (Kastoori) to the colourful dishes of South India (Radha Krishna Bhavan; Sree Krishna) and the rich and meaty Pakistani-Tanzanian Moslem cookery (Masaledar). And at this time of year, there’s the bonus of Diwali lights decorating Upper Tooting Road.
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| 28 |
- 37. It All Adds Up - Ten Reasons why London’s officially the best.
London gets less rain than anywhere else in the UK: around 700mm a year compared to the national high of 1,200mm a year, endured by the poor sods who live in Cardiff (source: Met Office). London is good for your health. Men in London live to an average of 75.1 years, compared to 74.9 UK wide, while London women live to 80.4, compared to a UK average of 79.9 (source: Office of National Statistics). Londoners earn more. An average of £529.80 a week, compared to the £410.60 a week national average (source: Office of National Statistics). Londoners spend more on fun than anyone else in the UK. We spend almost 25 percent more on holidays (£22.26 a week per household, compared to national average of £17.90) and more on food (£65.90 a week, compared to the national average of £58.50). We drink the most wine (spending £4.50 a week) and shell out more on clothes and shoes (£24.50 a week, compared to the national average of £21.00) (source: Office of National Statistics). London is the heart of the UK music scene. There are 700 live events every single week. (source: London Arts). London has better opportunities. London is consistenlty ranked in the top five ‘cities for business’ in Europe (London Employer Survey 2000), and more than a quarter of the world’s top companies have their HQ’s here (Healy and Baker European Cities Monitor). London produces a fifth of the GDP of the UK (Office of National Statistics) and accounts for 15 percent of the UK’s total employment (DTI), particularly in the creative and financial sectors. Londoners are lucky, especially when it comes to the National Lottery. The London pay-out office has awarded £757 million to Londeoners since 1994. In total, the 11 pay-out offices have handed out £5.1 billion, which averages out at £469m each. (source: Camelot Group Pic). London is one of the most attractive European cities. With 28 million tourists a year, London is second only to Paris in terms of visitor popularity. In terms of outstanding architecture, there are 3,849 listed buildings in Westminister alone and 18,165 in Greater London. (source: London Tourist Board and English Heritage). Londoners enjoy top recreational facilities. In a recent Quality of Life Survey of world cities, our restaurants, theatres and cinemas were deemed to be among the best in the world, beating Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome and many more. (source: Quality of Life Survey, William M Mercer). London is one of the greenest cities in the world. The eight Royal Parks alone add up to 5,000 acres. Londoners enjoy 30 square metres of open space per captia, compared with 19 square metres in Paris, 12 in New York, 11 in Tokyo, and 0.5 Bangkok. (source: Royal Parks Agency). |
| 38. |
The Almeida. The Almeida’s homebase is the most attractive space in London. Its curved, beaten up brick walls provide the perfect foil for theatre. Current artistic directors, Jonathan Kent and Ian McDiarmind, also have a genius for tuning old building into new venues. They are presently installed in the old coach station in King’s Cross.
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| 39. |
Ronnie Scott’s. Still a legendary shire to music: Hendrix died hours after jamming here, for God’s sake!
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| 40. |
Stand up comedy. From the pub round the corner to the Comedy Store, new talent just keeps coming up through the system.
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| 41. |
Catching the Inverness and Fort William sleeper. Until you pull your cabin blind up the following morning, it seems inconceivable that you might be surrounded by breathtaking mountains and glistening Highland streams. But that’s the magic of sleeper. Escaping London is never more thrilling.
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| 42. |
Off-beat music venues. The lifeblood of London’s music scene lies in its mass of tiny, quirky fire-traps. From the heaving clubby eclectica of the Notting Hill Arts Club to the weird and wobbly avant jazz of the Vortex; from the wonderfully pokey folkiness of the 12 Bar Club to the clubby elegance of Cargo, London is awash with quirky halls which indulge the most marginal tastes.
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| 43. |
Fashion designers. Big London names might have been lured to big Paris houses, but London is still heaving with creative young talent in the fashion arena - we’ve got hot young hopes like Sophia Kokosalaki, Hamish Morrow, Warren Noronha, Eley Kishimoto, Boudicca, Blaak, Clements Ribeiro and many, many more. Often, they’re stocked in small select boutiques that are also unique to London (such as Yasmin Cho, 22 Poland St, W1; 020 7287 6922).
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| 44. |
Vinyl heaven. From clubby jazz at Sounds of the Universe on Ingestre Place to indie rarities at Berwick Street’s Selectadisc; from Mr Bongo’s funky worldbeat haven to Cheapo Cheapo’s chaotic jumble-sale bargains; from Portobello Road’s Exotica to north and west London’s assorted Music and Video Exchanges and vinyl palaces like Beano’s in Croydon - this is the best city in Europe to trawl for music in all its beautiful guises.
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| 45. |
Selfridges. From the entrance in the midst of wonderful designer bags and accessories, through the softly scented white perfume hall and the mouthwatering displays in the food hall, up the vertiginous atrium passing through cutting-edge fashions, to SCP’s furniture concession at the top, there is always something so elegant and inviting about Selfridges. With the addition of art galleries, and stunts such as wrapping the entire building in a giant Sam Taylor-Wood photograph or turning a window space into a 24 hour Japanese convenience store, Selfridges has become to John Lewis what neat Polish vodka is to a nice cup of tea.
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| 46. |
Science Museum basement. The most fun it’s possible to have in London, especially if you’re under ten.
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| 47. |
Eurostar to Paris. Three hours from the centre of London to the Gare du Nord. Fantastique!
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| 48. |
Union Chapel! It’s beautiful, albeit in a rather draughty and hard-pewed way. Fabulous atmosphere for those Sparklehorse/Low/Goldfrapp-type shows, where you want to drink it all in, rather than get crushed and endure someone else spilling their drink all over you.
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| 49. |
Claridges. The ultimate afternoon tea and one of the coolest bars in town.
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| 50. |
Free museums and galleries. Open access to some of the most important art works in the world. From November 22, even the V & A will be free.
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| 51. |
Thirteen football clubs. London has more professional clubs than any other city in the world. So whether you’re a glory-hunting Arsenal or Chelsea supporter, or you’re into the perennial scrap for survival at Leyton Orient down in Division Three, there’s a club to suit every personality.
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| 52. |
Jubilee Line Extension. The cathedrals for the twenty-first century. From the soaring roof of Stratford, through the deep blue of North Greenwich and the vast hall of Canary Wharf, this is public architecture at its most uplifting. Even the ventilation shafts are works of art.
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| 53. |
The meridian. We’re at 0 degrees longitude; the whole world has to take its time from us.
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| 54. |
The Oval. More democratic and relaxed than Lord’s. The Oval has few airs and graces; indeed, parts of the ground are a bit shitty, but it’s still a great atmosphere in which to watch England get wapped by the tourists.
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| 55. |
Night buses. They may not be perfect (long wait, nutter in the seat next to you) but London has the best late-night public transport in the country. In the absence of a 24-hour tube service, use of night buses has increased by 16 per cent over the past year, according to Transport for London, and the maximum fare is just £1.
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| 56. |
Wildlife. London’s wild animals aren’t confined the plucky mice that live in the tube network—it’s a hot-blooded, furry capital out there. Foxes took advantage when London began spreading into the countryside after WWI and have made a success of living cheek by jowl with Londoners ever since. Even if they do make a terrible mess of your dustbin, they are a special sight on the prowl in the early hours. Other creatures that you may bump into in the capital include weasels and stoats in Kensal Rise, badgers in Putney and grass snakes in the wilds Dagenham.
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| 57. |
Nobody talks to you on the tube, so at least you can make your journey in peace and get some reading done.
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| 58. |
Heathrow Airport. It’s one of the biggest, busiest and most important international air hubs. Just looking at the list of possibilities on the departure board prompts endless fantasies.
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| 59. |
Baby Massage. [Soothe the blighters to sleep!] All those who flee the city once they hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet are missing out. Who wants to live in the country when your kids are going to use you as a taxi service until they’re old enough to run away to swinging London? Easily one of London’s best reasons to procreate has to be the Active Birth Centre. Founded by Janet Balaskas in the ‘80s and tucked away close to the one-way hell of Archway, its yoga and therapy sessions offer an oasis of calm as much as a celebration of everything good about having a baby. Forget the worries about job security, the cost of nappies and the sleepless nights; instead think baby massage. There’s no great science to it and plenty of places offer it now, but at Peter Walker’s sessions, smothering your little one in olive oil isn’t the latest Guardian-readers’ sport, or merely a great way to break down the caution with which we treat newborns. What’s more, it’s a relaxing and fun way to spend a hour with your bundle of chaos. “Mums come in with their babies all huddled up and leave with them confidently slung across their shoulders” says Walker, whose books and lectures take his knowledge and enthusiasm far beyond N19. “Giving birth is way more creative than a Picasso and yet we rate motherhood below career achievements. If you give them a chance, babies can give you so much more than that.
From ante-natal classes to these massage and gym groups, the ABC miraculously manages to be evangelical about natural birth without you fearing the guilt police will be at your door if you pop a sprog using an epidural. And as for baby massage: of course you can do this at home but there really is something strangely fabulous about spending Monday morning with a gang of greased up gurgling babies. Laura Lee Davies Active Birth Centre, 25 Bickerton Rd, N19 (020 7482 5554/www.activebirthcentre.com) Archway tube. For Peter Walker’s baby massage and gym sessions (all bookings in advance): Active Birth Centre (020 7687 1608): The Life Centre (020 7221 4602): Triyoga (020 7483 3344). For more check www.thebabyswebsite.com/home.htm |
| 60. |
Hidden Pleasures. London’s lesser known gems. Much of what’s best in London is tucked away or just underpublicised. You can’t actually take tours around the disused tube stations at the British Museum, Brompton Road or Wood Lane, but dim, dusty Aldwych was commandeered last month by theatre company ATC, who staged Bernard-Marie Koltes’s play ‘In the Solitude of Cotton Fields’ there to mysterious effect. At 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Sir John Soane Museum houses the eighteenth-century architect’s impressive collection of treasures and artifacts—among them Hogarth’s 'Rake’s Progress' a cast of the Apollo Belvedere works by Canaletto and (one of Soane’s greatest purchases) the sarcophagus of Seti 1. Which he bought after the British Museum passed on it. Hampstead’s Hill Garden - with its 244-metre pergola walk - was designed to screen Inverforth House from people walking on West Heath. With its sloping lawns, lily pond and shrub borders, it’s the perfect place to wile away a Sunday afternoon. John O’Connell |
| 61. |
Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music Wander into London’s music schools and you could easily find Anne-Sophie Mutter taking a master class or an international artist like James Bowman giving a recital. And when it’s not cheap, it’s free.
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| 62. |
Wigmore Hall. Internationally renowned for is excellence. It’s superb art spotting talent and you’re unlikely to see a dud thing there. Every musician in the world with any self-respect wants to do a Wigmore Hall Bridge.
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| 63. |
Robert Elms’ show. BBC London 94.9 London’s oddities and forgotten histories com dictators working in the capital to double-decker buses jumping Tower Bridge.
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| 64. |
Great restaurants. London is now one of the great world cities for culinary excellence, up there with New York or Sydney - yet it’s in Britain, not a culture known for its culinary excellence. Small wonder then that around seven in every ten of the best and most interesting restaurants in Britain are located in the London area.
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| 65. |
RoTa sessions at Notting Hill Arts Club. Still a top tip for the relaxed yet enthusiastic, pre Saturday night atmosphere and the chance to see mostly first-rate, leftfield acts for nothing. Specially cut-price bottle beer, too!
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| 66. |
Eccentrics London’s always been something of a safe haven for the strange and outré, from living artworks Gilbert and George to fashion maven Isabella Blow and the number 38’s harmonica-playing bus conductor Luke Baysee, late performance artist Leigh Lowery and (even later) ‘50s record producer Joe ?eek, who turned his Holloway Road flat into a makeshift studio.
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| 67. |
Strange byelaws If the law is an ass, then London’s byelaws are a truckload of monkeys. You can’t molest fish in Richmond-bon-Thames. Nor can you ply for hire with a “goat-chaise’ in the park around Alexandra Palace. Under Section 17 of the Zoological Society of London Act of 1928, you are forbidden from giving any of the animals in London Zoo a cigarette.
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| 68. |
Taking the tube to the countryside Of course, you can drive to the countryside, but (a) you risk having a nervous breakdown: and (b) it’s not nearly as novel watching tunnels and crowds give way to greenery through the windows of empty carriages. Try the Central Line to Grange Hill, from where the gorgeous woodland of Hainault Forest awaits; or maybe the Metropolitan Line to Ruislip Manor, from where an walk through the old forest of Middlesex and meadows of the River Pinn will take you to Ruislip’s beautiful nineteenth-century lido.
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| 69. |
Hopping on a Routemaster with no regard for bus stops.
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| 70. |
Everyone’s heard of it when you go aboard "Where from are you? Derby? Is that in London? Edinburo? That’s in England, right?"
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| 61. |
Croydon trams. Because trams aren’t just for Blackpool, they’re a bloody good way to get around. Another link between Brixton and Camden could get the go ahead in the new year.
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| 72. |
Size. London is so huge that there are squares, bars and streets that you only visit once a decade and when you do it’s like taking a bite on Proust’s madeleine. Old friends, jobs, or lovers all come flooding back.
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| 73. |
International newsagents. A feature of most capitals, but it’s hard to tire of the cosmopolitan superiority of just popping out for fresh copies of El Pais, La Gazzetta dello Sporta or Liberation.
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| 74. |
Private members’ clubs. The granddad of them all is the Garrick, founded in 1831 by the Duke of Sussex and named after actor David Garrick. Beloved of old buffers like Kingsley Amis, it famously voted against the admission of women in July 1992. Until the mid—’90s, Soho’s Groucho Club was the favoured hang-out of London’s meritocracy, like Julie Burchill and her Modern Review crew and the Fat Les contingent. Nowadays, celebs prefer the plusher, more sedate Soho House and Black’s. Just opened is Adam Street, off the Strand, which is hoping to attract the film and media crowd.
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| 75. |
Rockwell bar at the new Trafalgar Hotel. Modern, slick and you can get a seat (for now).
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| 76. |
Shoreditch bar scene. Still throbbing with a new must-view bar or restaurant opening every month.
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| 77. |
Old Compton Street. It’s a gay comfort zone. Perfect for watching the idle straight tourists from godforsaken places drifting by (scared or pissed or both) and remembering that you did manage to get away. Are you’re not going back.
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| 78. |
Public Life. Cubicle-sized, below street-level venue/club in Spitalfields that’s actually a converted public toilet. Cool live sounds and DJs/visuals, rampantly eclectic.
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| 79. |
The front room at 93 Feet East, where wooden benching with cushions run around the edge of some of the wall space and there’s plenty more squashy couch-type seating arranged for clustered conversation. Perfect for taking a break from the back-room activity. The open courtyard with seating is a winner in summer, too.
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| 80. |
TUNE THAT NAME. Our funny old street names. It’s easy to convince yourself you’ve got the hang of London place names. After all, many are so descriptive as to remove all the mystery from their history. Yes, cows did cross the Fleet on their way to Smithfield Market at Cowcross Street. Silver Street was, indeed, where silversmiths operated. Chancery Lane was where information for the Rolls of Chancery was processed, not far from where the ‘Clerken’ of the Order of St John made merry at the Well. Anything with-gate at the end had a gate, and anything that finished with-bury came with a group of houses attached.
But all is not so simple. While Saffron Hill was where saffron was grown, and Cloth Fair where traders sold cloth, no shoes were made in Shoe Lane: it’s named for the shoe-shaped land upon which it sits. Gutter Lane, too, was not for rain water, but was owned by Guthran. And then there’s Pudding Lane, where the Great Fire of 1666 began. It wasn’t caused by some hapless cook napping over the cakes: these ‘puddings’ were actually the discarded entrails of animals. Said animals did not end up in Mincing lane, either: Mincing comes from the Old English word “mynecenu” meaning nuns.
You may also be disappointed to discover that Turnagain Lane does not refer to Dick Whittington, who ‘turned again’ to become Lord Mayor: it’s named thus as it’s a dead end. Some names were changed. Sherbourne lane is a polite form of Shitebourne Lane. Monkwell Square was not home to a great many monasteries: it was once Muckwell. And Spital? It’s a contraction of ‘hospital’.
The more colourful the names the better the story behind them. Paternoster Row, Ave Maria Lane and Amen Corner are thought to refer to Beating the Bounds, a service at Ascensiontide. Threadneedle Street, Home of the Bank of England either derives from the three needles found in the Needlemakers’ Company coat of arms, or from the ancient children’s game of Threadneedle. Other places were named after inn signs such as (disappointingly) Bleeding Heart Yard and (even more disappointingly) Elephant & Castle: it refers not the mythic infanta de Castille but rather an inn sign representing the Cutlers’ Company. The ‘castle’ was the howdah on top of the elephant: the ivory for knife-handles.
But in any case, we hope you are enjoying living in Londino’s Settlement (London). Perhaps you have a flat in Bayard’s Watering Place (Bayswater), near the road down which Queen Victoria once travelled (Queensway). Maybe you like to visit the Abbey of the Western Monks (Westminster) every so often? Shop where knights once fought each other to the death on a bridge (Knightsbridge). Or hang around the King’s Road in Chalk Landing Place (Chelsea), stopping for lunch at the bijou restaurants on the road belonging to Fulia’s farm (Fulham Road).
Back in town, head to the British Museum in Bleymond’s manor (Bloomsbury). See the buskers in the garden belonging to a convent (Convent Garden). At the weekend, more shopping in the market belonging to the Earl of Camden (Camden Market), and perhaps a trip to the Roundhouse at Chalcot’s farm (Chalk Farm). But keep enough energy for nightlife where, if you strain your ears above the crowds and music you might hear an ancient hunting cry. ‘Soho….’ Catherine Arbuthnott. Extract from ‘Time Out London Guide’. Published by Penguin at £10.99.
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| 81. |
Squares. London’s squares have a tremendous impact on the city. The first squares in London-Convent garden among them–were paved and public, and it wasn’t until the early nineteenth century that the familiar gated gardens of the residential squares had their heyday. Developers like Thomas Cubitt argued that, when building high-density housing, it was better to pool all square garden space into a central communal area. Often private, most squares can be visited on London Squares Day each June.
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| 82. |
Early morning pubs. Ostensibly for the market traders, but handy post-club, the pubs serving London’s markets are blessed with early licences. Start at 5.30am at the Cock Tavern in Smithfield Market or at 6am at the Market Porter, Stoney Street, next to Borough Market.
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| 83. |
Pub theatre. Ever since the late ‘60s, pubs all over London have transformed their function rooms into theatres. Seats prices aren’t high, standards vary from the best to the memorably appalling, and the actors are only six terrifying inches away. The Gate and The Bush, in particular, punch way beyond their weight.
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| 84. |
British Museum. Forget, Greece, Turkey or Egypt… we’ve nicked all the good stuff.
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| 85. |
The bar seats at the Borderline. Opened in 1989, the Borderline is a relative pup on the live music scene, yet it has to be the best venue to catch upcoming talent, intimate club gigs and secret special events. Get there early for the prized few seats, just inches away from the bar.
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| 86. |
Gastropubs. These have really come into their own in the past ten years. Some of you can eat, some of you can drink, and some of you can just hang out.
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| 87. |
Your city as film location. Recently, ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ did wonders for Lewisham Fire Station (more than ‘Intimacy’ did for New Cross at any rate). There was ‘SW9’, of course. ‘Enigma’ features St Martins-in-the-Fields. ‘Longtime Dead’ (the Candles Factory, Battersea) and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest (Lancaster House) all make use of our heritage. So, too, in a different way, Ali G Inda House’ (the Mall). Robert Redford and Brad Pitt cavort around the Lloyd’s Building and Senate House in ‘Spy Game’, Hugh Grant visits London Zoo in ‘About A Boy’ and, bringing us bang up to date, Danny Boyle’s sci-fi thriller ‘28 Days Later’ has been shooting in Westminster, Piccadilly and Canary Wharf underground station. As for next year, two Harry Potter sequels and 007 are already booked in….
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| 88. |
Ken. As Mayor’s go, pretty funky.
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| 89. |
BAC. The poet John Betjeman drooled over this old Victorian Town Hall. Who knows what he would say about its transformation today? This is where the theatrical iconoclasts gather.
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| 90. | Time Out. Where would you be without us? As well as the magazine, we publish numerous guides to the joys of London: ‘London City Guide’ (Penguin £10.99); ‘London Walks Vol 2’ (Penguin £11.99); ‘London Short Stories Vol 2’ (Penguin £7.99); ‘Eating and Drinking Guide’ (Timeout £9.99); ‘Shopping Guide’ (Timeout £7.99); ‘London for Children’ (Timeout £8.99); ‘Pubs and Bars Guide’ (Timeout £6). And we’ve even got a website where you can buy them at www.timeout.com/shop. |
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