The Victoria Memorial
Paul Waddams Background Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, her eldest son, King Edward VII, suggested that a Parliamentary committee should develop plans for a memorial to his…
St James's Square, London
St James’s Square: Henry Jermyn’s field of dreams
From the start a desirable area to live, St James's was close to both the royal palace and Westminster and so handy both for courtiers and politicians. But how did Henry Jermyn get his hands on what had been St James's fields?
Pepys' House, 12 Buckingham Street, on background map of area
Working from home with Samuel Pepys
Take a stroll down Buckingham Street with David Mullany to check out the view from Sam's 17th century home office and learn about the street's many other illustrious residents
Horse Guards Parade from the gates of St James's Park
The gateway to a fairy kingdom?
Dugald Sandeman once worked in an office with a view – one of Horse Guards Parade where, against the backdrop of the elegant and graceful Guard House, the annual ceremony to mark the sovereign’s birthday takes place every June
Houses of Parliament
Busting the budget
Massive overspending on public projects has plagued governments for centuries and iconic London landmarks, such as the Palace of Westminster and Trafalgar Square, are but two such examples
Nell Gwyn in The Legend of Chelsea Hospital
When women staged an entrance
The return of the monarchy with Charles II in 1660 not only led to the reopening of theatres, but also brought innovations such as women taking to the stage. David Evans sets the scene
The church and hospital of Savoy, London: view from Southwark.
Credit: Wellcome Library, London. (http://wellcomeimages.org).
Engraving by G. Vertue, 1750. Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Strand: the route from trade to power
Long gone are the grand houses that once lined this thoroughfare linking London's centres of government and commerce, but traces of their past grandeur can still be found, as Felicity Wenzel explains
Henry VIII’s wine cellar (right) underneath the Ministry of Defence main building in Whitehall (centre)
Toasting Henry
Beneath the imposing grey building that houses the Ministry of Defence a Tudor gem lies hidden. Access is restricted, but one of our lucky guides has had the chance to…
George IV
George IV - Inveterate voluptuary or planning genius and unfortunate victim? ‘There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow creatures than this deceased King.’ Thus began The Times…