Woodbine Cottage

The first day of November was an important day for two London notables: William Shakespeare and W.H. Smith

William Shakespeare
Credit: User unknown/public domain

On 1 November 1604, William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello was presented for the first time, at The Palace of Whitehall. The palace was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698. Seven years to the day, Shakespeare’s romantic comedy The Tempest was also presented for the first time, and also at the Palace of Whitehall.

On 1 November 1848, WH Smith opened its first railway bookstall, at Euston Station.

On 1 November 1956, Premium Bonds first went on sale in Britain with the winning numbers picked at random by a machine with the acronym ’ERNIE’. The first Premium Bond was bought by the then Lord Mayor of London, Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd.

On 1 November 1959, The first stretch of the M1 motorway linking London with the North of England was opened.

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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY

Linda Webb Hungerford Stairs Added: 27 Sep 2021 05:51 GMT	Hungerford Stairs In 1794 my ancestor, George Webb, Clay Pipe Maker, lived in Hungerford Stairs, Strand. Source: Wakefields Merchant & Tradesmens General Directory London Westminster 1794 Source: Hungerford Stairs Reply
Richard Roques Hungerford Stairs Added: 21 Jan 2021 16:53 GMT	Buckingham Street residents Here in Buckingham Street lived Samuel Pepys the diarist, Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling Reply
Linda WEBB Craven Street, WC2N Added: 8 Jun 2023 23:16 GMT	Craven Street, WC2N James webb lived in Craven Street Westminster. He died in 1758 and his states he was of Craven Street. FROM England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 for James Webb PROB 11: Will Registers 1773-1776 Piece 1004: Alexander, Quire Numbers 1-45 (1775) Reply

LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT

Tony Whipple Frank Whipple Place, E14 Added: 16 Apr 2024 21:35 GMT	Frank Whipple Place, E14 Frank was my great-uncle, I’d often be ’babysat’ by Peggy while Nan and Dad went to the pub. Peggy was a marvel, so full of life. My Dad and Frank didn’t agree on most politics but everyone in the family is proud of him. A genuinely nice, knowledgable bloke. One of a kind. Reply
Theresa Penney Whites Row, E1 Added: 16 Apr 2024 18:08 GMT	1 Whites Row My 2 x great grandparents and his family lived here according to the 1841 census. They were Dutch Ashkenazi Jews born in Amsterdam at the beginning of the 19th century but all their children were born in Spitalfields. Reply
Wendy The Polygon Added: 22 Mar 2024 15:33 GMT	Polygon Buildings Following the demolition of the Polygon, and prior to the construction of Oakshott Court in 1974, 4 tenement type blocks of flats were built on the site at Clarendon Sq/Phoenix Rd called Polygon Buildings. These were primarily for people working for the Midland Railway and subsequently British Rail. My family lived for 5 years in Block C in the 1950s. It seems that very few photos exist of these buildings. Reply
Steve Charleville Circus, SE26 Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT	Road construction and houses completed New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only. Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date. Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London Reply
Steve Charleville Circus, SE26 Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT	Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS) One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc. I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever. Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London Reply
Charles Hornsey Rise, N19 Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT	My House I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s. Reply
NH Woodgrange Road, E7 Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT	Telephone House Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000 Reply
Paul Cox Aldine Street, W12 Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT	War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there. Reply

LOCAL PHOTOS

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The Hole In The Wall, Waterloo. A noted venue for many a traveller awaiting their train or ending their evening. Credit: Virtual Tourist TUM image id: 1605093975 Licence:	Trafalgar Square was a former station on the Bakerloo Line before it combined with Strand station on the Northern Line to become the new Charing Cross underground station. Credit: The Underground Map TUM image id: 1624972963 Licence:	Strand stretches along the River Thames between Trafalgar Square and Aldwych Credit: The Underground Map TUM image id: 1625131830 Licence:	1893 programme cover - Canterbury Theatre Credit: London Borough of Lambeth TUM image id: 1513437589 Licence: CC BY 2.0	The old wooden Temple Bar Credit: Walter Thornbury TUM image id: 1523115955 Licence: CC BY 2.0
Waterloo Bridge on an 1810 map. TUM image id: 1556885410 Licence:	Hungerford Stairs circa 1828 Hungerford Stairs led down to the water, where landings could be made. The formation of floating piers at the quay facilitated the arrival and departure of numerous steam boats that left during the summer months every quarter of an hour, for the City, Westminster, and Vauxhall, and at other times for Greenwich and Woolwich. When Hungerford Market was sold to the South Eastern Railway, the railway company demolished the stairs, building Charing Cross railway station over the top of the site. TUM image id: 1557403389 Licence:	Buses outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, early twentieth century Credit: Stockholm Transport Museum TUM image id: 1557142527 Licence:	The Sea Life London Aquarium is located on the ground floor of County Hall on the South Bank of the River Thames, near the London Eye. It opened in March 1997 as the London Aquarium and hosts about one million visitors each year. TUM image id: 1557161405 Licence:	Westminster Abbey with a procession of Knights of the Bath (1749) Credit: Canaletto TUM image id: 1557315488 Licence:
The Royal Opera House, Bow Street frontage, with the statue of Dame Ninette de Valois in the foreground Credit: Russ London TUM image id: 1557227200 Licence:	London Hippodrome in 2017 Credit: Ethan Doyle White TUM image id: 1528649183 Licence: CC BY 2.0	Sectional view of Wyld’s Great Globe, which stood in Leicester Square, London 1851–62 Credit: Illustrated London News TUM image id: 1490829375 Licence:	Trafalgar Square (1905) The steeplejack firm of W. Larkins Co Ltd. are at work cleaning Nelson’s Column for the first time since it was erected in 1843. The firm had been founded by Willliam Larkins in 1897 and he is pictured at the top next to Lord Nelson. TUM image id: 1663086959 Licence: CC BY 2.0	The Strand frontage of Northumberland House (1752) The Percy Lion is atop the central façade and the statue of Charles I at right survives to this day The pedestrianised area in the foreground became the site of Trafalgar Square - back then it was the Royal Mews Credit: Giovanni Canaletto TUM image id: 1605613806 Licence: