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This stone was erected the 8th of January 1921 in the Mayoralty of E H King Esq., J.P. to commemorate the first state-aided housing scheme commenced in the Borough of Islington.
CGE Fletcher, C.B.E. Town Clerk
ECP Monson, F.R.I.B.A., architect
Rice and Son, builders.
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Leaside - Gateway to Fish Island
Funded through Leaside Regeneration Ltd SRB4 Programme - London Development Agency -
Tower Hamlets - Transport for London Street Management -
This project is being part-financed by the European Community European Regional Development Fund - Groundwork Hackney
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{top left}The final Frost Fair was held in 1814. The construction of a new London Bridge with broader spans for shipping improved the flow of the tides. The Thames no longer froze over and the Frost Fairs were no more. {top right}Sleds, sliding with skeetes, a bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, cooks, tippling, and other lewd places ... a Bacchanalian triumph or carnival on the water. {bottom left}Tankards of beer, ale, brandy, a dish of famous new-made coffee, tea or chocolate, Roast beef, plum cake; hot codlins, pancakes, duck, goose and sack, Rabbit, capon, Turkey and wooden Jack. {bottom right}After the construction of London Bridge in 1468 its narrow arches slowed the Thames sufficiently for the water to freeze over in severe winters. During the freeze of 1664 the people of London took to the ice for what became the first ever Frost Fair.
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Golden Yard is derived from "Goulding" the family who dwelt in the Yard for about 200 years. The first copyhold grant of 20 Rods was made by the then Lord of the Manor of Hamstede Sir Robert Wroth to Henerye Gouldingy "by the Rod at the Will of the Lord according to the custom of the said Manor by Fealty Suit of Court" in the last quarter of the 16th Century. The area was then largely a disused sand pit, the sand no doubt used in the expansion of Elizabethan London. Its upper boundary was along the east side of the now Holly Mount and its lower boundary along the then Cloth Hill, later called the High Road and finally Heath Street. The first cottage in which the Gouldings lived was No. 6 the yearly rental value of which was assessed in 1646 at £3. Henry Goulding was married at the Parish Church in 1574 to Agne Bolden and they had at least 6 children, the 3rd son Edward married at the age of 12 to a local girl Elizabeth Lacraft in 1601, at which time the population of Hampstead was under 200. Other residences were erected here by the Goulding family in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, by which time this was called "Goulding's Yard." An entry in 1758 gives the names of those entitled to use "the said Pump in the yard for water, the common necessary house and watercourses". The properties were sold in 1779 by Sarah Goulding (then a Mrs Brown) to John Bitton, upon whose death in 1822 and as directed in his Will the small estate was sold separately, his beneficiary living at that time in Benham Place close by. Compiled from the Manorial and other Rolls, Parish Church Register, old Title Deeds and Maps, 1960, E.R. Levett, 6 Golden Yard.
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Hidden River 1860s. The River Fleet runs under your feet. This subterranean stream flows from the Hampstead and Highgate ponds to the River Thames
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Jacob, the Circle dray horse
The famous Courage dray horses were stabled on this site from the early nineteenth century and delivered beer around London from the brewery on Horselydown Lane by Tower Bridge.
In the sixteenth century the area became known as Horselydown, which derives from 'horse-lie-down', a description of working horses resting before crossing London Bridge into the City of London.
Jacob was commissioned by Jacobs Island Company and Farlane Properties as the centrepiece of the Circle to commemorate the history of the site. He was flown over London by helicopter into Queen Elizabeth Street to launch the Circle in October 1987.
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The roll of honour John Kidd & Co Ltd.
In memory of those who gave their lives in the World War 1939 - 1945 their name liveth for evermore.
Baines Alfred J Lieut Essex Reg May 1940 France
Black William E Bombadier RA Sept 1944 Malaya
Fisher Joseph Pte RAMC Dec 1944 Italy
Greenaway Stanley F Gunner RA Jan 1943 Singapore
Hawkins Edward L Pte Cambs Feb 1942 Singapore
Richards George F Caretaker Sept 1940 London
Richards Ann Mary his wife Sept 1940 London
Tenwick William J E Able Seaman RN June 1944 At Sea
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Designed by the eminent Architect Maxwell Fry in 1937, Kensal House was hailed at the time as the first "modern" housing scheme in Britain.
Kensal House forged new frontiers for social housing in several innovative ways. Built by the Gas, Light and Coke Company to house its work force and their families, it was the British attempt to produce a self-contained and self-supporting community. With its own nursery and residents social club, containing sewing rooms and workshops, the fame of Kensal House spread far and wide.
Kensal House was also built as a practical demonstration of the economic use of gas, the comprehensive use of which throughout the flats was included in the weekly rent of 11s 6d.
Kensal House is now a Grade II Listed Building and in 1991/1992 was provided with much needed environmental and security improvements with monies provided under the Governments "Estate Action" programme and by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Ten years later, modernisation works were carried out in 2001/02 funded by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. These works provided residents with new double glazed windows, new kitchens, new insulated roofs and large scale concrete repairs were undertaken to the building structure.
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(Note by John Mann, Historian): It says this house is on the site of the prebend which goes back to the times of Henry VIII [first half 16C]
This is wrong by two or three hundred yards and almost four centuries.
The area of the prebend was roughly the area bounded by Willesden Lane, Walm lane, and Shoot up Hill. The moated manor house was about half way between Deerhurst and Coverdale Roads with its main exit on to Willesden Lane [known until 19C as Mapes Lane]. In 19C the manor house garden extended as far as Chatsworth.
Walter Map after whom the prebend and the manor estate are named lived and flourished in the time of Henry II [ie second half of 12C] who spent most of his reign in France about half of which belonged to him or his wife. Map was an almost man in both church and state, who wrote satirical sketches about court life. H II's sons included Richard the Lion Heart and bad king John who was the one who was forced to sign Magna Carta which was really about rights for barons not rights for you and me.
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Both the Surrey County and Marshalsea Prisons had a long, thin site running towards the present Tennis Street. This site had been occupied by The Surrey County or White Lion Prison until 1799.
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Saint Pancras Middlesex. This fountain and works connected therewith were presented to the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association on the 3d day of August 1878 by Matilda wife of Richard Kent esq. Junior Churchwarden 1878. The figure now cast in bronze was designed by Joseph Durham ARA {roman date unreadable}
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Northern Outfall Sewer, part of London's main drainage system, constructed mid 19th century by Sir Joseph Bazalgette, engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works.
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On this site stood Norway House and Norway Yard. By the beginning of the 19th century this fine house set in its own large garden, had become a famous boarding academy for young gentlemen. We know that in 1805 the school was run by Bidmead & Johnson, but by 1840 control was in the hands of James Hessey. There is a story in Mary Hill's "Hampstead in Light and Shade" of bread and apples being smuggled in to the hungry pupils by a kindly maidservant. The house and garden underwent further changes of use before being swept away in 1931 to make room for a garage. At a point nearby coaches set-off for London when Hampstead was a country town. Erected by the Hampstead Plaque Fund
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In the mid 16th century this site was the timber yard for the nearby Whitehall Palace. In 1560 Sir Francis Knollys, Treasurer of the Royal Household, leased the land to "buylde a convenient house", which later passed to his son, Viscount Wallingford, becoming known as Wallingford House.
In 1622 George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, the Lord High Admiral, purchased Wallingford House and so began an association between the site and the direction of the Royal Navy that lasted for some 350 years. Sir Christopher Wren recommended this site for the first planned Admiralty Office, which opened in 1695. The builder, John Evans, became Navy Board Purveyor but his building soon failed to meet the Admiralty's growing needs.
The present building was designed by the Master Carpenter, Thomas Ripley, and completed in 1726 (at an "Expence that hath very much exceeded the Estimate"), becoming known as Ripley Block.
The screen wall facing Whitehall was designed in 1760 by the great Scottish architect, Robert Adam. In 1826 "in" and "out" side entrances were added to allow easier access for the carriage of the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV, but the screen was restored to its original condition in 1923.
The building contains the room where Nelson's body lay overnight 8th/9th January 1806, before his funeral. It also contains the Admiralty Board Room, a survivor from Evans' building of 1695, with its finely carved overmantel, attributed to Grinling Gibbons' workshop, depicting ancient nautical instruments.
The Board Room boasts an imposing table, with a cut out portion to accommodate the Secretary and his papers. The wind dial, controlled by a vane on the roof , and the carving have survived from the 1695 building. The room was expertly repaired after being damaged by a bomb in World War 2.
From here the worldwide affairs of the Royal Navy were run for centuries by " the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty" until they were replaced, on the formation of the Ministry of Defence in 1964, by the "Admiralty Board of the Defence Council". The board still occasionally meets in the Old Admiralty Board Room.
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...St Alphage...ning parts of...Old Roman City Wall Closed by act of parliament.
Laid out as a garden 1872 .
George Kemp MA - Rector
William Smith, G. R. Tattershall -Churchwardens
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{top plaque} The parish of Clerkenwell extends 27 feet westward.
Thos Haynes Parker
Wm Croft Fish
Churchwardens, 1845.
{{bottom plaque} St. M. I.
James Wagstaff
John Savage
John Shadgett
Churchwardens, 1855
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The Pepys Estate was opened on 13th July 1966 by Admiral of the Fleet, The Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG.
The Estate, built by the Greater London Council, stands on the site of the Royal Victoria Dockyard, founded over 400 years ago. Here Samuel Pepys, Secretary of the Royal Navy, ordered the fitting out of the fleet for the Dutch Wars and here through the centuries British warships were built and rigged.
This is now dedicated to the peaceful enjoyment & wellbeing of Londoners.
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Victualling Department Admiralty
This plaque commemorates the closing of the Royal Victoria Yard in 1961 after 219 years of service to the Royal Navy.
This terrace and adjacent colonnade were part of the Victualling Yard, Deptford, built on a site of 35 acres purchased from the Evelyn Estate in 1742. The yard was re-named the Royal Victoria Yard in 1858 by gracious permission of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
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Memorial Buildings
These buildings stand on part of the Old Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. The first freehold possessed by London Friends, used by them for burials during nearly two hundred years, it was closed to such purposes in 1855.
In 1880 The Metropolitan Board of Works purchased parts of the property for widening streets from which, and also from the site of these premises, all remains of interments being first carefully removed were re-interred in the ground adjoining. And out of the proceeds of such compulsory sales these buildings with their halls, coffee-tavern club and committee rooms have been built.
Near this spot George Fox was interred in 1690, previously Edward Burrough and some ninety other martyr Friends who died in London prisons had been buried here.
To the memory of these ancient worthies and for the furtherance of religious, moral and philanthropic objects are these buildings now dedicated by The Society of Friends in London .... thereby to promote the best welfare & happiness of the surrounding population.
London, 10, Mo., 1881.
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Queens Wood Highgate
This wood comprising 50 acres was opened for the use and enjoyment of the public as an open space for ever, on July 23rd 1898 by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Albany.
I have no information about Richmond Milestone Obelisk. Please contact me if you do.
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{lettering on three sides:}
{left in photo/ West side facing river}: The first stone of this Bridge was laid 23rd August 1774 and finished December 1777.
{middle in photo / North side}: to HAMPTON IIII Miles; SUNBURY VI Miles One quarter; WALTON VII Miles three quarters; CHERTSEY X Miles and half; HOUNSLOW III Miles three Quarters; WINDSOR XV Miles three Quarters.
ANY PERSON WHO SHALL WILFULLY DEFACE OR DAMAGE THIS OBELISK WILL BE PROSECUTED BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
{Right in photo / East side}: To HYDE PARK/CORNER VIII Miles three Quarters; WESTMINSTER Bridge X Miles; To LONDON/Bridge XI MilesOne quarter.
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Light in the Darkness 2000 by Julian Stocks
This stained glass window celebrates the River Tyburn that flows beneath Marylebone Lane. It was commissioned by Jurys Clifton Ford Hotel in consultation with The Howard de Walden Estate and Westminster City Council and takes the form of a lantern window which, when illuminated, will act as a beacon.
During the 18th century the River Tyburn was an open stream that ran from the hills of Hampstead Heath down to the River Thames. Marylebone Lane followed the banks of the river, the course of which has since been culverted, but still maintains a presence most noticeable in it's serpentine form.
The design makes reference to other aspects of the site's history and includes a chronology of maps and drawings as well as key dates relating to The Howard de Walden Estate. The historical context belies the contemporary method of production which employs the latest techniques of enamelling, etching and computer aided design. This honours the past but also holds up a mirror to the many and varied aspects of urban society.
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Rotten Row - The King's Old Road, Completed 1690 This ride originally formed part of King William III's carriage drive from Whitehall to Kensington Palace. Its construction was supervised by the Surveyor of Their Majesties Roads, Captain Michael Studholme, and it was the first lamp-lit road in the kingdom. Designated as a public bridleway in the 1730's, Rotten Row is one of the most famous urban riding grounds in the world.
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This plaque commemorates 335 years of the tea industry in the City of London, which in its heyday controlled over 85% of the world's tea trade.
The City's trade opened with the British East Indian Company which had a monopoly over the importation of tea from China & India. As a result of the growing tea trade in the City, St Katharine Docks opened on 25th October 1828, with Butler's Wharf following 65 years later in 1893 on the opposite side of the River Thames. At this time, St Katharine Docks was at the centre of Britain's roaring commercial trade and, alongside Butler's Wharf, was recognised as the main tea storage and processing centre in London.
During its 140 years as working docks, St Katharine Docks regularly welcomed tea clippers such the famous 'Cutty Sark' in addition to more modern steam ships. The Docks gained prominence due to its prime location on the River Thames, ensuring ease of access to the main tea companies in the City.
Tea trading was central to Britain's commercial trade in the 1800s as tea was the second largest commodity after wool, with tea warehouses receiving 120,000 tea chests annually. These chests were transported by ships into the docks and then lifted by manual chain pulleys to the platforms and storage floors. At its peak, Butler's Wharf handled 400,000 tea chests a year.
This plaque was generously donated by.....
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The Mercer's Maiden is the symbol and coat of arms of the Mercers' Company and adorns the exterior walls of buildings on sites belonging to the Company.
The above stone is the earliest surviving Maiden property mark dating from 1669. It was reinstated on this site during redevelopment works by USS Ltd, completed in 2004.
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The Trafalgar Way Destination - The Admiralty On Monday 21st October 1805 the Royal Navy decisively defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar on the south west coast of Spain. This victory permanently removed the threat of invasion of England by the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte The first official dispatches with the momentous news of the victory, and the death in action of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, were carried to England on board H. M. Schooner PICKLE by her captain, Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere. Lapenotiere landed at Falmouth on Monday 4th November 1805 and set out "express by post-chaise" for London. He took some 37 hours on the 271 mile journey, changing horses 21 times at a total cost of £46 19s 1d. Lapenotiere delivered his dispatches here to the Secretary of the Admiralty, William Marsden, at 1 a.m. on Wednesday 6th. Shortly thereafter a summary of the news was posted here and a crowd soon gathered. The news was passed to the Prime Minister and the King at once and special editions of newspapers were published later the same day to inform the nation.
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The Trafalgar Way Brentford & Chiswick On Monday 21st October 1805 the Royal Navy decisively defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar on the south west coast of Spain. This victory permanently removed the threat of invasion of England by the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte The first official dispatches with the momentous news of the victory, and the death in action of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, were carried to England on board H. M. Schooner PICKLE by her captain, Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere. Lapenotiere landed at Falmouth on Monday 4th November 1805 and set out "express by post-chaise" for London. He took some 37 hours on the 271 mile journey, changing horses 21 times. The last of these was at Hounslow late at night on Tuesday 5th. His orders were to lose no time in reaching the Admiralty so, as the horses were still fresh, he pressed on through fog in Brentford and Chiswick toward Whitehall. Over the following four weeks other important messages arrived from the fleet with further details of the victory and anxiously awaited information on casualties. All the dispatches were landed at Falmouth and their couriers followed the same route through Brentford and Chiswick where horses and hospitality were available from the inns to all travellers on what is now the Trafalgar Way.
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The circular stone on the traffic island 300 paces east of this point marks the site of the ancient gallows known as Tyburn Tree. It was demolished in 1759.
I have no information about Teddington Water Fountain. Please contact me if you do.
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{left}Presented by 600 inhabitants of Teddington as a memento of the Jubilee of 1887 {right}Restored by the residents of Teddington as a memento of the jubilee of 2002 ansd 2012
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(brass plaque, photo on left) From near this spot, December 19 1606, sailed with 105 'adventurers':
The 'Susan Constant' 100 tons. Capt. Christopher Newport in supreme command;
The 'Godspeed' 40 tons. Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold;
The 'Discovery' 20 tons. Capt. John Ratcliffe.
Landed at Cape Henry, Virginia April 26 1607.
Arrived at Jamestown Virginia May 13 1607 where these 'adventurers' founded the first permanent English colony in America under the leadership of the intrepid Capt. John Smith, Edward Maria Wingfield President of the Council, the Reverend Robert Hunt and others.
At Jamestown July 30 1619, was convened the first representative assembly in America.
Erected by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities in 1928 in commemoration.
(on Marble Base, photo on right) Virginia Quay.
The Virginia Settlers Memorial tablet was unveiled in 1928 on the wall of Brunswick House which formerly stood about 100 yards to the west of this point. In 1999 Barratt Homes Limited reinstated this monument and commissioned the mariner's astrolabe by Wendy Taylor C.B.E.
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Whales in the Thames
[top centre]
Occasionally whales and seals are seen in the Thames. Since 1986 Common Seals have been spotted as far up as Richmond. A Lesser Rorqual Whale has been seen as well as a Bottle-Nosed Dolphin which was stranded at East India Dock. Such incidents have offered exciting distractions for the people of London over many centuries.
[top left]
Several incidents of whales in the Thames were recorded by John Evelyn, Deptford's famous 17th century diarist. In 1658 he noted that "a large whale was taken betwixt my land abutting on the Thames and Greenwich, which drew an in the concourse to sea it, by water, coach and on foote. It appeared first below Greenwich at low water, for at high water it would have destroyed all the boats.
[top right]
After a long conflict it was killed with a harping yron, struck in the head, out of which spouted blood and water by two tunnels and after a horrid groan it ran quite on shore and died."
Again in 1699 Evelyn wrote "After an extraordinary storm there came up the Thames a whale fifty-six feet long".
In 1842 the capture of a young fin whale about 20 feet long provided quite an attraction. It was killed off Deptford Pier one Sunday by a number of watermen and its two ton body was displayed at the Bull and Butcher public house on the corner of Old King Street nearby. A printer in Flagon Row, Deptford quickly printed up some bills to advertise this "Extraordinary and Surprising Novelty" for sight-seers.
In 1965 there was great excitement when a school of about 20 whales was sighted off Woolwich pier. Billy Smart's Circus tried to catch one and enlisted the support of skin-divers, a gigantic fishing net and a rubber dingy {stet} to inflate under the unfortunate captive. They planned to take the whale to a temporary pool on Clapham Common then to a permanent aquarium at Windsor.
All was frustrated when a policeman pointed out that anything caught in the Thames becomes property of the Queen and under the Whaling Industry Act you cannot catch a whale in British waters. The whale catchers were last seen edging the whales out of the river, hoping to catch one in the open sea.
I have no information about Whitechapel Drinking Fountain. Please contact me if you do.
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(On the outer arch:)
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
(On the inner arch:)
Whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.
Erected 1860 by one unknown yet well known.
Removed from old church railing and re-erected on present site AD 1879.
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{around the top}The gift of Sam Gurney M.P. 1859
{in the centre}The first metropolitan drinking fountain erected on Holborn Hill in 1809 and removed when the viaduct was constructed in 1867
{at the bottom}Replace the cup
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The Adelphi This building stands on the site of Adelphi Terrace built by the brothers Adam in 1768 - 1774. Among the occupants of the Terrace were Topham and Lady Diana Beauclerk, David Garrick, Richard Doyly Carte, Thomas Hardy & George Bernard Shaw, The London School of Economics and Political Science and the Savage Club also had their premises here. LCC 1951
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The Aldgate Pump A well for fresh drinking water has been on this site since the 13th century. The Aldgate Pump has long been a landmark point for visitors to east London, mentioned by Charles Dickens and in traditional rhyme and song. In 1876 the pump's water was connected to the mains water supply after the old well was found to be contaminated. The current Portland stone obelisk dates from the 18th century. The brass wolf's head spout is 19th century. The lantern on top is a handmade replica of the original lost around 1900. Repaired and restored in 2019 by the City of London with the assistance of the Heritage of London Trust and a gift from Miss Anthea Gray.
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Dined at my Lord Treasurer's, the Earle of Southampton, in Bloomsbury where he was building a noble square or piazza, a little towne" John Evelyn's diary, 1665.
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{left-hand plaque}Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea {right-hand plaque}Erected 1906-8
W. J. Mulvey JP - Mayor 1905-6
Hon. W. Sidney JP - Mayor 1906-8
Maj. W. F. Woods JP - Chairm. of Comtee.
Thomas Holland - Town Clerk ES
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{Bottom Right} This plaque is presented with much pleasure by China Travel Services (H.K.) Ltd to commemorate the unveiling of two Chinese Lions by HRH the Duke of Gloucester on the 29 October 1985 (during the quatercentenary year of the City of Westminster) at the formal opening of Gerrard Street China Town. The unveiling ceremony was attended by His Excellency Hu Ding Yi the Ambassador of The People's Republic of China, the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Westminster Councillor Roger Bramble, Mr Colvyn Haye, CBE, the Hong Kong Commissioner and Mr Harry Chi-Cheung Lee President of the China Town Chinese Association (London).
The two Chinese Lions were generously donated by the People's Republic of China.
The Sculpture of the Chinese characters on the Gateways were sponsored by the Hong Kong Government. The Chinese Couplets on the Gateways were composed by Mr B. Tran Huynh. The 29th day October 1985. {on Left}This plaque was unveiled on 7th February 2000 by HRH the Prince of Wales on the occasion of the Royal Visit to London Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Dragon Millennium 2000.
Presented by Mr Tim Yau, MBE, President London Chinatown Chinese Association.
{Top Right} This plaque was laid by Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on Thursday 1st November 2007 with warmest affection from Mr Chu Ting Tang, President The London Chinatown Chinese Association and The Chinese Community in Britain
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This building was erected by voluntary contributions for a dispensary and soup kitchen. It was intended as a thank-offering to Almighty God for his special mercy in sparing this parish during the visitation of cholera in the year 1849. The site was purchased in 1850 and the building completed in 1853. He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence. Thomas Ainger M.A. Incumbent
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This bank of earth was raised and formed to support the Channel of the New River. And the frame of timber and lead which served that purpose 173 years was removed and taken away.
MDCCLXXXVI {1786} Peter Holford Esquire, Governor
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This tablet is erected by the Cromwell Association to the memory of the undermentioned whose remains were disinterred from Westminster Abbey at the time of the restoration of King Charles II and were in September 1661 buried in this churchyard of St Margaret's....
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City of London. The Dragons represent a constituent part of the armorial bearings of the City of London and have been erected to indicate the Western Boundary of the City. This commemorative plaque was unveiled by The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Sir Ralph Edgar Perring on 16th October 1963.
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Under auspices of our most gracious sovereign George III the sanction of His Majesty's government and the patronage of the East India Company these wet docks appropriated to the commerce of India and ships in that employ were accomplished in those eventful years MDCCCIV, MDCCCV, MDCCCVI the first stone being laid March IV, MDCCCIV. They were opened by the introduction of five ships from 1,200 to 800 tons with valuable cargoes.
On IV August MDCCCVI the grand undertaking in the laudable endeavours of the managing owners of ships in the company's service and the important national objects of increased security to property and revenue combined with improved accommodation, economy and despatch were thus early realised....