The Underground Map

The Underground Map is a project which is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying inside the M25.

Kenway Road (1970)
Credit: British History Online

In a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s, you can see how London grew from a city which only reached as far as Park Lane into the post war megapolis we know today. There are now over 85 000 articles on all variety of locations including roads, houses, schools, pubs and palaces.

You can begin exploring by choosing a place from the dropdown list at the top.

As maps are displayed, click on the markers to view location articles.

Latest on The Underground Map...

Kenway Road, SW5

Kenway Road was, after 1803, called North Row. Kenway Road was originally part of a country track linking the Manor House at Earl’s Court with Kensington village, via what are now Wright’s Lane and Marloes Road. It may be an abbreviation of ’the Way to Kensington’.

In 1797, one Thomas Smith bought a local piece of land called ’Pound Field. At Earl’s Court Smith began building in 1803 along established thoroughfares - today’s Kenway Road and Hogarth Place.

In 1856, Charles William Wallgrave (of King’s Road, Chelsea) invested in a plot of land at Earl’s Court. Four years later he decided to build Wallgrave Road but wrote to the local Parish Vestry to say that the drains at Earl’s Court appeared to be blocked, since all the sewage from the cottages in Kenway Road was overflowing onto his ground. The vestry replied that this was not surprising, since there were no sewers at Earl’s Court. Nor did they intend to do anything ab...

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SEPTEMBER

2022

George Lane, E18
George Lane is the main road of South Woodford South Woodford’s original name was Church End. This continued as the electoral ward for the part of South Woodford north of the Central Line railway.

There were five inns in Woodford in 1753: The George, The White Hart, The Ship and Castle, New Wells, and Old Wells. The George at Church End, already existed as Horns Inn in 1657. It faces High Road at the junction with George Lane - the road is named after the inn.

In the early 19th century, the upper and lower roads of Woodford, together with Snakes Lane and George Lane were the only thoroughfares through the parish.

George Lane originally crossed the railway with a level crossing immediately to the north of the station. This was closed and the road split into two when the line was electrified.

The first cinema in the district was the South Woodford Cinema, opening in 1913 at 170 George Lane.

George Lane station became a Central Line underground station ...
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SEPTEMBER

2022

Agincourt Road, NW3
Agincourt Road dates from 1881 Thomas E. Gibb, a developer from Kentish Town, purchased a large area of land and proposed to build 120 small houses for middle-class residents (at ’the lower end of middle-class respectability’), as well as a sewer. He laid out several roads, including Cressy Road, Agincourt Road, and Lisburne Road - Agincourt and Cressey were both notable battles.

However, the closure and reopening of a local smallpox hospital caused land values to decrease, and little housing was built initially.

In 1886, the Church Commissioners recognised the social change and allowed Gibb to build 215 houses on the remaining land. This led to the construction of Constantine Road in 1887, which provided a direct route from Gospel Oak and Kentish Town to South End Green and the heath. Building then began, and after Gibb’s death in 1894, his successors built an additional 153 houses in Constantine Road, Cressy Road, and Mackeson Road.
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SEPTEMBER

2022

The Adelphi
The Adelphi is a small district surrounding the streets of Adelphi Terrace, Robert Street and John Adam Street The Adelphi district gets its name from the Adelphi Buildings, a collection of 24 neoclassical terrace houses located between The Strand and the River Thames in the parish of St Martin in the Fields. The buildings were constructed between 1768-72 by the Adam brothers (John, Robert, James, and William Adam) and also included a headquarters building for the "Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce," now known as the Royal Society of Arts. The Greek-derived name of the buildings honors the Adam brothers’ architectural design. The ruins of Durham House were removed to make way for the Adelphi Buildings. The nearby Adelphi Theatre takes its name from the Adelphi Buildings. Robert Adam was inspired by his visit to Diocletian’s Palace in Dalmatia, and some of that inspiration is reflected in the design of the Adelphi Buildings.

The Adelphi district is not strictly defined by boundaries, but generally, it is considered to be situated betwee...
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SEPTEMBER

2022

Ainsty Street, SE16
York Street until 1873, Ainsty Street was one of a group of Rotherhithe Streets commemorating royal names Built in the early 19th century, York Street - before it was Ainsty Street - was named for George III’s second son, the Duke of York.

It was typical of many other streets of workers’ terraces.

Destroyed in the Blitz, Ainsty Street originally ran to what is now Albatross Way. It was redeveloped when the Ainsty Estate was built.
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LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT

Christine D Elliott Blockhouse Street, SE15 Added: 20 Mar 2023 15:52 GMT	The Blute Family My grandparents, Frederick William Blute & Alice Elizabeth Blute nee: Warnham lived at 89 Blockhouse Street Deptford from around 1917.They had six children. 1. Alice Maragret Blute (my mother) 2. Frederick William Blute 3. Charles Adrian Blute 4. Violet Lillian Blute 5. Donald Blute 6. Stanley Vincent Blute (Lived 15 months). I lived there with my family from 1954 (Birth) until 1965 when we were re-housed for regeneration to the area. I attended Ilderton Road School. Very happy memories of that time. Reply
Pearl Foster Dukes Place, EC3A Added: 20 Mar 2023 12:22 GMT	Dukes Place, EC3A Until his death in 1767, Daniel Nunes de Lara worked from his home in Dukes Street as a Pastry Cook. It was not until much later the street was renamed Dukes Place. Daniel and his family attended the nearby Bevis Marks synagogue for Sephardic Jews. The Ashkenazi Great Synagogue was established in Duke Street, which meant Daniel’s business perfectly situated for his occupation as it allowed him to cater for both congregations. Reply
Dr Paul Flewers Hawthorne Close, N1 Added: 9 Mar 2023 18:12 GMT	Some Brief Notes on Hawthorne Close / Hawthorne Street My great-grandparents lived in the last house on the south side of Hawthorne Street, no 13, and my grandmother Alice Knopp and her brothers and sisters grew up there. Alice Knopp married Charles Flewers, from nearby Hayling Road, and moved to Richmond, Surrey, where I was born. Leonard Knopp married Esther Gutenberg and lived there until the street was demolished in the mid-1960s, moving on to Tottenham. Uncle Len worked in the fur trade, then ran a pet shop in, I think, the Kingsland Road. From the back garden, one could see the almshouses in the Balls Pond Road. There was an ink factory at the end of the street, which I recall as rather malodorous. Reply
KJH Andover Road, N7 Added: 7 Mar 2023 17:14 GMT	Andover Road, N7 (1939 - 1957) My aunt, Doris nee Curtis (aka Jo) and her husband John Hawkins (aka Jack) ran a small general stores at 92 Andover Road (N7). I have found details in the 1939 register but don’t know how long before that it was opened.He died in 1957. In the 1939 register he is noted as being an ARP warden for Islington warden Reply
The Queens Head Added: 2 Mar 2023 13:50 GMT	The Queens Head Queens Head demolished and a NISA supermarket and flats built in its place. Reply
Mike Elia Street, N1 Added: 28 Feb 2023 18:09 GMT	6 Elia Street When I was young I lived in 6 Elia Street. At the end of the garden there was a garage owned by Initial Laundries which ran from an access in Quick Street all the way up to the back of our garden. The fire exit to the garage was a window leading into our garden. 6 Elia Street was owned by Initial Laundry. Reply
Fumblina Whitfield Street, W1T Added: 21 Feb 2023 11:39 GMT	Error on 1800 map numbering for John Street The 1800 map of Whitfield Street (17 zoom) has an error in the numbering shown on the map. The houses are numbered up the right hand side of John Street and Upper John Street to #47 and then are numbered down the left hand side until #81 BUT then continue from 52-61 instead of 82-91. Reply
P Cash Woburn Place, WC1H Added: 19 Feb 2023 08:03 GMT	Occupants of 19-29 Woburn Place The Industrial Tribunals (later changed to Employment Tribunals) moved (from its former location on Ebury Bridge Road to 19-29 Woburn Place sometime in the late 1980s (I believe). 19-29 Woburn Place had nine floors in total (one in the basement and two in its mansard roof and most of the building was occupied by the Tribunals The ’Head Office’ of the tribunals, occupied space on the 7th, 6th and 2nd floors, whilst one of the largest of the regional offices (London North but later called London Central) occupied space in the basement, ground and first floor. The expansive ground floor entrance had white marble flooring and a security desk. Behind (on evey floor) lay a square (& uncluttered) lobby space, which was flanked on either side by lifts. On the rear side was an elegant staircase, with white marble steps, brass inlays and a shiny brass handrail which spiralled around an open well. Both staircase, stairwell and lifts ran the full height of the building. On all floors from 1st upwards, staff toilets were tucked on either side of the staircase (behind the lifts). Basement Floor - Tribunal hearing rooms, dormant files store and secure basement space for Head Office. Public toilets. Geound Floor - The ’post’ roon sat next to the entrance in the northern side, the rest of which was occupied by the private offices of the full time Tribunal judiciary. Thw largest office belonged to the Regional Chair and was situated on the far corner (overlooking Tavistock Square) The secretary to the Regional Chair occupied a small office next door. The south side of this floor was occupied by the large open plan General Office for the administration, a staff kitchen & rest room and the private offices of the Regional Secretary (office manager) and their deputy. First Dloor - Tribunal hearing rooms; separate public waiting rooms for Applicants & Respondents; two small rooms used by Counsel (on a ’whoever arrives first’ bases) and a small private rest room for use by tribunal lay members. Second Floor - Tribunal Hearing Rooms; Tribunal Head Office - HR & Estate Depts & other tennants. Third Floor - other tennants Fourth Floor - other tennants Fifth Floor - Other Tennants except for a large non-smoking room for staff, (which overlooked Tavistock Sqaure). It was seldom used, as a result of lacking any facities aside from a meagre collection of unwanted’ tatty seating. Next to it, (overlooking Tavistock Place) was a staff canteen. Sixth Floor - Other tennants mostly except for a few offices on the northern side occupied by tribunal Head Office - IT Dept. Seventh Floor - Other tenants in the northern side. The southern (front) side held the private offices of several senior managers (Secretariat, IT & Finance), private office of the Chief Accuntant; an office for two private secretaries and a stationary cupboard. On the rear side was a small kitchen; the private office of the Chief Executive and the private office of the President of the Tribunals for England & Wales. (From 1995 onwards, this became a conference room as the President was based elsewhere. The far end of this side contained an open plan office for Head Office staff - Secretariat, Finance & HR (staff training team) depts. Eighth Floor - other tennants. The Employment Tribunals (Regional & Head Offices) relocated to Vitory House, Kingsway in April 2005. Reply

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AUGUST

2015

Lullington Garth, WD6
Lullington Garth has a very unusual name! The "poet" roads of Borehamwood had names suggested by David Scott-Blackhall, ultimately of Melrose Avenue, Chief Housing Officer of the Elstree Rural District Council and himself a published poet.

While other roads had standard poetry names - Melrose Avenue, Tennison Avenue etc., Lullington Garth - while poetic - was named after one in Woodside Park, some five miles to the east of here. [[23215|Lullington Garth, N12]] was named after a village in Sussex.
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AUGUST

2015

Princess Frederica School
Princess Frederica School on the corner of College Road and Purves Road, NW10. The Princess Frederica School was opened as a National School by the Church Extension Association, working through the Anglican community of the Sisters of the Church in 1889 for boys, girls and infants. It was financed by a parliamentary grant, voluntary contributions, and school pence – and opened by Princess Frederica who was a patron of the Association and a cousin of Queen Victoria. It was reorganised by 1948 and in 1965 was passed to the London Diocesan Board of Education.

It was extended and modernised in 1975 and reorganised again in 1978.
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AUGUST

2015

Latimer
Latimer is a village that sits on the border between Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. Latimer was originally joined with the adjacent village of Chenies. Both were anciently called Isenhampstead, at a time when there was a royal palace in the vicinity. However, in the reign of King Edward III of England the lands were split between two manorial barons: Thomas Cheyne in the village that later became called @@@[email protected]@@, and William Latimer in this village. Latimer came into possession of the manor in 1326.

At the time of the English Civil War Latimer belonged to the Earl of Devonshire. When Charles I was captured by the Parliamentarian forces he was brought to Latimer on his way to London.

The small village includes 17th- and 18th-century cottages around a triangular village green with a pump on it. The church of St Mary Magdelane was rebuilt by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1867. The rectory was built in the 18th century in grey and red brick.

The nearest railway station to Latimer is Chalfont and Latimer situated in the near...
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AUGUST

2015

Ladbroke Square Garden
Ladbroke Square communal garden lies in Notting Hill. The huge Ladbroke Square communal garden is unusual on the Ladbroke estate in being part communal garden accessed from the backs of the houses lining it (on its north side) and part traditional London Square with roads between the houses and the square. It is bordered by Ladbroke Grove on its west side, Kensington Park Road on its east side, and the road called Ladbroke Square on its south side – so the latter is something of a misnomer, being a single long road.

It is one of the largest private garden squares in London and is Grade II listed by English Heritage.
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AUGUST

2015

Kensington Park Gardens, W11
Kensington Park Gardens is a street in Notting Hill. Kensington Park Gardens is a broad, open street, connecting Ladbroke Grove to Kensington Park Road at the apex of Notting Hill, with a magnificent vista to St John’s church at the western end. Both sides of the street back onto communal gardens, and St John’s Church was built on its chosen site to close the vista at the west end of the street.

The housing was built in the 1850s during the second great wave of construction on the Ladbroke estate. In the filthy atmosphere of London in the 19th century, a considerable premium was put on being high up, and the land on which Kensington Park Gardens now stands was amongst the most valuable on the estate. The street contains some of the most important and grandest houses in the Ladbroke area.

The original layout plan for the area and designs for the houses in Kensington Park Gardens had been drawn up by the Ladbroke family’s architect and surveyor Thomas Allason in 1849, but he died before it could be ...
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AUGUST

2015

St Peter’s Italian Church
St. Peter’s Italian Church is a Basilica-style church located in Holborn. It was built by request of Saint Vincent Pallotti, and it is still under the control of the Pallotine order which he founded. He had assistance from Giuseppe Mazzini, who was in London at the time, for the growing number of Italian immigrants in the mid 19th century and modelled by Irish architect Sir John Miller-Bryson on the Basilica San Crisogono in Rome.

It was consecrated on 16 April 1863 as The Church of St. Peter of all Nations. At the time of consecration, it was the only Basilica-style church in the UK. Its organ was built in 1886 by Belgian Anneesen.

The frontal section of the church consists of a loggia and portico with twin arches, above which are three alcoves. The central alcove contains a statue of Christ, whilst the sides contain statues of St. Bede and St. George. Between the alcoves are two large mosaics depicting the miracle of the fishes and Jesus giving the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to St. Peter.

Although the origin...
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AUGUST

2015

South End Green
South End Green is the focus of a distinct Hampstead community. South End Green has been marked as such on maps since the 18th century, going simultaneously by another name - Pond Street.

The area took more shape along the rough edges of Hampstead Heath in 1835, when the small puddle at the bottom of aptly-named Pond Street was filled in. Much like Parliament Hill on the opposite side of the Heath, the arrival of a tram terminus brought people, shops, roads, homes and large public houses to this once sleepy hamlet by mid-century.
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AUGUST

2015

Bridge Approach, NW1
Bridge Approach was once a busy thoroughfare connecting Regents Park Road with the world. Regents Park Road was a major east west route from central London to the east was very busy. To the north lay Bridge Street.

In the 1960s, two children were knocked down and killed at the railway bridge. As a result the bridge was closed to traffic and one of the five entry points into Primrose Hill was blocked to cars whilst still allowing pedestrian access. The road was renamed Bridge Approach.

Regents Park Road was no longer a through route. The massive decrease in traffic flows encouraged restaurants and shops to settle and form a more vibrant Primrose Hill. Although they have many attributes, the presence of busy through routes ultimately prevents the formation of a relaxed village neighbourhood which Primrose Hill has susequently become.
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AUGUST

2015

Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath railway station has been part of the London Overground since 11 November 2007. In the nineteenth century up to 100,000 people per day used the station at weekends and on public holidays as the Heath was a popular holiday destination for Londoners. The station was rebuilt, after Second World War bomb damage, and in the 1990s in conjunction with works to allow Eurostar trains to use the North London Line.
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AUGUST

2015

Benevolent Institution for the Relief of Aged and Infirm Journey
The Benevolent Institution for the Relief of Aged and Infirm Journeymen was founded on 10 February 1837. The work originated with a Mr Stulz, the President of the Society, who, at one of the anniversary meetings, announced to the members that he would present them with a piece of land as a site for an asylum.

Accordingly, upon the sale of the Southampton estate, he made the purchase; and, at his sole cost and charge, erected the chapel, and six of the adjoining houses.

The Asylum was built in the old English style, from the design of Mr. T. Meyer. The first stone was laid by the Marquis of Salisbury, on the 31 May 1842; and the chapel was consecrated by the Bishop of London, on the 24 June. The chapel was endowed by Mr Stulz; and the communion-plate, books, altar-screen, and furniture of the chapel presented by different master members of the institution.

The asylum consisted of the chapel and ten houses; the dwelling at the south end being appropriated for the chaplain. Each house consisted of eight rooms, two being allotted to each pension...
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AUGUST

2015

Shepherd’s Well
Shepherd’s Well, whose flow was thought to be nearly as pure as distilled water, is the source of the River Tyburn. Also known as The Conduit, the well provided a source of good quality soft drinking water for the residents of Hampstead. The walk to the nearest road meant that well carriers sold water by the pail or two pails because of the yoke needed for carrying the water. The spring never froze and only vary rarely ran dry.

There was an arch over the conduit, and rails stood round it.

At the close of the 1700s Lord Loughborough, its landwoner, tried to stop locals from obtaining the water, by enclosing the well. So great was the popular indignation, that an appeal was made to the Courts of Law, when a decision was given in the people’s favour, and so the well remained in constant use until well into the nineteenth century.

Hone’s Table Book, in the nineteenth century, writes the following about Shepherd’s Well:

The arch, embedded above and around by the green turf, forms a conduit-head to a beautiful spring; the specifi...
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AUGUST
16
2015

Belsize Park Mews, NW3
Belsize Park Mews lies in the Belsize Park Conservation Area. The areas of mews to the north of Belsize Lane and either side of Belsize Crescent were
developed initially by Tidey (1850-1870) and later by Willett in the 1870s on a field formerly
associated with Belsize Farm.

The single-aspect, two storey mews terraces are built generally in London stock brick, with red brick detailing, fronting directly onto the narrow streets and courtyards. The properties are generally uniform in their simple elevational treatment providing a rhythm and consistency to the terrace.
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AUGUST
15
2015

Princess Mews, NW3
Princess Mews is a mews of Belsize Park. Princess Mews has been substantially remodelled but the overall scale remains appropriate to the original design.
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AUGUST
11
2015

Belsize Court Garages, NW3
Belsize Court Garages were built by Willett in around 1880 as livery stables. Moving with the times, Belsize Court Garages was originally called Belsize Court Stables and is alternatively called Belsize Court Gardens.

The street forms an attractive group of relatively intact mews terraces, many retaining original
features such as garage doors, sash windows, and a door at first floor to No. 6.

No. 9 has an overtly modern extension but this maintains the building line and scale.
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AUGUST
7
2015

Perivale
Until the 18th century Perivale was called Little Greenford or Greenford Parva. Perivale formed part of Greenford Urban District from 1894 to 1926, and was then absorbed by the Municipal Borough of Ealing. Before the residential building expansion of the 1930s, the fields of Perivale were used to grow hay for the working horses of Victorian London, a scene described in the ending of John Betjeman’s poem ’Return to Ealing’: "...And a gentle gale from Perivale/blows up the hayfield scent."

Although now mainly residential, there are some office blocks and parades of shops. Perivale has two golf courses: Ealing Golf Club and Perivale Golf Course. The BBC Archives are in Perivale.

Perivale is one of the settings of Anthony Trollope’s novel The Belton Estate (1865).

The Great Western Railway opened "Perivale Halt" in 1904 but it was closed when the current London Underground station was opened on 30 June 1947. It was designed in 1938 by Brian Lewis, later Chief Architect to the Great Western Railway, bu...
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AUGUST
6
2015

Great Castle Street, W1W
Great Castle Street was one of the main streets of the Harley Estate. The plan for the Harley estate published by John Prince in 1719 accurately foreshadows the position and alignment of Castle Street as well as its name. The origin of the name is mysterious, but the likely reason is that the street pointed eastwards towards traces of one of the biggest of the Civil War fortifications round London. This according to George Vertue was ‘a large Fort with Four half bulwarks, across the road at Wardour Street’, which if accurate would mean it impinged on the line of Castle Street at what is now Berners Street, just beyond the confines of Harley property. The ‘castle’ in question was distinct from a minor fort further east which probably gave its name in the 1670s to Joseph Girle’s Castle Inn, on Oxford Street near Hanway Place.1 In due course Castle Street spawned its own Castle pub, at the southern corner of the former Bolsover Street. It was rebuilt in an equivalent corner position in the 1820s when Regent Street superseded Bolsover Street, acqu...
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AUGUST
5
2015

Maple Cross
Maple Cross is a village in Hertfordshire straddling the modern M25. Maple Cross is thought to be a contraction of Maypole Cross and the village was once a place where maypole dancing took place. The nearby village of Mill End is on record as having complained to the lord of the manor about the noise of the dancing in 1588. The village stands on the western edge of the River Colne flood plain with the river a third of a mile to the east. The village has no churches, historically it lacked the population to support one and its residents were part of the parish of St Thomas’s West Hyde a mile to the south.

Until the Second World War, Maple Cross consisted of an inn, a blacksmith’s shop and a few cottages. After WW2 it was intentionally developed as a dormitory for workers in the nearby towns and at the new sewage treatment plant by the river. Today there are around 800 postwar council houses with some of these have been sold into private ownership.

The ancient route known as Old Shire Lane runs in a north south ...
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AUGUST
4
2015

Grosvenor Place, SW1X
Grosvenor Place is the main road connecting Hyde Park Corner with Victoria. It forms the eastern boundary of Belgravia, extending south from St. George’s Hospital (which later became the Lanesborough Hotel) and overlooking the gardens of Buckingham Palace. It was at the beginning of the nineteenth century described as "a pleasant row of houses".

When George III added a portion of Green Park to his new garden at Buckingham House, he sold the fields on the opposite side of the road for £20,000. The ground was consequently leased to builders, and a new row of houses was erected "overlooking the king in his private walks, to his great annoyance."

In maps of London dating from the beginning of the nineteenth century, the whole of the future site of Belgravia, between Grosvenor Place and Sloane Street, appears still covered with fields. In the centre of Grosvenor Place, at that time, stood the Lock Hospital, which was founded in 1787 by the Rev. Thomas Scott.

This area of countryside was originally known as Five Fiel...
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AUGUST
3
2015

The Prince of Wales Cinema
The Prince of Wales Cinema was located at 331 Harrow Road. Located in Westbourne Park, the Prince of Wales’ Cinema was built on the site of an earlier Prince of Wales’ Picture Playhouse (1912-1934) which had 650 seats and was designed by architect M. Wilson. The new cinema was built for W.C. Dawes’ Modern Cinemas circuit, a small independent chain of cinemas in west London.

It opened on 27 October 1934 with Tom Walls in “A Cup of Kindness” and George Arliss in “The House of Rothschild”. Architects J. Stanley Beard and W.R. Bennett designed a pleasing Art Deco style cinema which was equipped for cine/variety programmes. The facade of the building was clad in cream faiance tiles and had three large windows in the centre which let in light to the large foyer. Seating was provided in stalls and balcony levels and the auditorium was illuminated by indirect lighting.

It was taken over by John Maxwell’s Associated British Cinemas (ABC) chain from 19 February 1935 and they continued to ope...
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AUGUST
2
2015

Cape Nursery
The Cape Nursery once lay along the south side of Shepherd’s Bush Green. By the early 19th century the north side and west side of Shepherd’s Bush Common were lined with terraces but the southern side remained open land. The lands here were called Charecroft’s - part of the charity estates belonging to the parish.

A Little History Of British Gardening by Jenny Uglow reported that during 1760, James Lee and Lewis Kennedy "started a great nursery in Shepherd’s Bush".

In 1797 the Cape Nursery was reported by a botanist to be owned by two gentleman called Middlemist and Wood, and supplying rare plants: "many novelties from the North African flora were exhibited, the proprietor having resided there during many years"

The London Gazette of 1834 notes: "His Majesty’s Commissioners authorised to act under a Fiat in Bankruptcy, bearing date the 31st day of January 1834, awarded and issued forth against John Middlemist, of Cape’s Nursery, Shepherds-Bush, in the County of Middlesex, Nurseryman, Seedsman, Dealer a...
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AUGUST
2
2015

Corner of Johns Hill and Pennington Street (1906)
The corner of Johns Hill and Pennington Street, Wapping, December 1906. The long range of late 17th century dwellings of Pennington Street stood directly opposite the towering walls and warehouses of London Docks, which they pre-dated - hence the raised level of road surface which provided access to the Docks.

By the early twentieth century, many older buildings such as these, offered rooms and lodgings for the working poor, who are gathered here outside their houses.
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AUGUST
1
2015

The Load of Hay
The Load of Hay was established by 1721. On Haverstock Hill the Load of Hay was so named by 1723 although it is said once to have been called the Cart and Horses.

It had a varying reputation. Its boisterous landlord Joe Davis (d. 1806) was widely caricatured in prints and patronised by the nobility, whereas Washington Irving remembered it for its rowdy Irish haymakers.

In 1863 the Load of Hay was rebuilt and from 1965 until 1974 it was called the Noble Art in honour of the Belsize boxing club and of a gymnasium behind used by the British Boxing Board of Control.

It was more recently called "The Hill".

Just opposite the Load of Hay lived Sir Richard Steele, in a picturesque two-storied cottage. The cottage was later divided into two and in 1867 was pulled down.
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