Savoy to Albemarle: The Tale of Wilde’s Demise
The Savoy On the 2nd March 1893, the Savoy Hotel’s adjoining rooms 362 and 361 were checked into by an Oscar Wilde rapidly approaching the apogee of his dramatic career. Soon to be joined by Lord Alfred Douglas – or ‘Bosie’ – to whom Wilde had been introduced some two years earlier, the pair would…
Read MoreBuilding Bush House: Britain and America’s ‘Special Relationship’
Before Bush House was home to the BBC or, more recently, to King’s students, it was a personal project of one Irving T. Bush within his larger agenda of cementing America and Britain as pillars of international trade. Bush’s vision for an international trade centre was unlike the primarily electronic centres of exchange we might…
Read MoreSt. Mary-Le-Strand – its history and a special announcement
As promised, we reveal the bonus footage from our talk with Canon Peter Babington, Priest -in-charge of St. Mary-Le-Strand about its history and a special announcement! The first video reveals some of St. Mary’s history, which we also explore in our previous post on the Island Churches, but also some stories that are not as…
Read MoreLondon’s First Taxi Rank – The development of urban folklore?
Introduction: That title may seem either overly grandiose or simply just confusing, however, I promise there is good reason for the confusion. I began looking into this, seemingly simple, story of London’s first taxi rank around 4 weeks ago. One afternoon I was watching a video about the history of London taxis, the joys of…
Read MoreVoices from the Strand – Peter Babington, Priest in charge of St. Mary-Le-Strand
In this episode of Voices from the Strand we talk to Canon Peter Babington, Priest-in -charge of St. Mary-Le-Strand who only started last September 2020! We warmly welcome Peter to the Strand community and in this recorded conversation he regales us on his life’s calling, how the pedestrianisation project will affect the church and his…
Read MoreLondon History Day – The India Club’s Resilience
To celebrate London History Day, Strandlines presents a short interview about the social institute within the Strand: The India Club. Existing in its current location on 143 Strand for over 50 years; the India Club embodies resilience. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and threats of eviction, the India Club stands strong and will continue to do so…
Read MorePedestrianisation Project on the Strand Aldwych
As part of our series on the Pedestrianisation of the Strand Aldwych we Q +A with Cannon Ivers (@realm) , ahead of the project as the Landscape Architect and Director of LDA Design (@ldadesign.) based in London. Please comment below with your ideas about the project and keep in touch, as more pedestrianisation voices are…
Read MoreSipping in London
I left the train station and walked past the Savoy theatre, recalling memories of watching ‘Dreamboats and Petticoats’ with Mum and Dad, pre-London lockdown. I remembered, the crowd went wild for the appearance of Hank Marvin in the audience, although I was too young to know who he was; Dad educated me. Crossing the road,…
Read MoreVoices from the Strand: Ben Riley @ Primal Media TV
As part of our ongoing series ‘Voices from the Strand’, where Strandlines visits and talks to businesses, institutions and people in the Strand, we present a conversation between Ben Riley, Head of Development @ Primal Media TV, and Tristan Tetteroo editor at Strandlines . Ben Riley was so kind as to share his time with us…
Read MoreTourists on the Strand in the 1860s: A whirlwind tour from New York to the Temple Bar
Introduction: On July 1st 1867, American journalists published their reports of traveling through London back in the United States. A Brooklyn-based newspaper called the Circular (1851-1870) was printing the series named, “Journal of European Travel.” Where we can view London, as if a tourist, from over 150 years ago! What might surprise you is how…
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