the_london_spy
David Harry - The London Spy
7Following162.2KFollowers8.4MLikes
London tour guide - Walking Tour Company of the Year in England Award for 2022
Videos
Liked
What is Mudlarking?
Flowing through the heart of Central
London towards the sea, the River Thames was once the largest port in the world and vital transportation link between London, the British Empire and the rest of the world. The busy, congested port was filled with ships and boats of all sizes, from large ocean-going vessels, importing and exporting cargo around the globe, to small row boats with watermen transporting passengers from one side of the river to the other.
Over the past 2.000 years of human activity alongine River thames, countess is
120
objects have been intentionally discarded or accidentaly dropped in its waters For uite
millennia, the Thames has been an
objects, protected and preserved in the dense, anaerobic mud. Mudlarking is the act of searching the riverbed for these historical treasures. Mudlarks comb the Thames foreshore, which is only ideo wh‹ accessible for a few hours a day at low tide, in their hunt for objects. Untouched ppy since they were lost hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Each artefact, whether ordinary or extraordinary, tells us something unique about London's history. #thelondonspy #davidharry #riverthames #mudlarking #londontourguide #towerbridge
Flowing through the heart of Central
London towards the sea, the River Thames was once the largest port in the world and vital transportation link between London, the British Empire and the rest of the world. The busy, congested port was filled with ships and boats of all sizes, from large ocean-going vessels, importing and exporting cargo around the globe, to small row boats with watermen transporting passengers from one side of the river to the other.
Over the past 2.000 years of human activity alongine River thames, countess is
120
objects have been intentionally discarded or accidentaly dropped in its waters For uite
millennia, the Thames has been an
objects, protected and preserved in the dense, anaerobic mud. Mudlarking is the act of searching the riverbed for these historical treasures. Mudlarks comb the Thames foreshore, which is only ideo wh‹ accessible for a few hours a day at low tide, in their hunt for objects. Untouched ppy since they were lost hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Each artefact, whether ordinary or extraordinary, tells us something unique about London's history. #thelondonspy #davidharry #riverthames #mudlarking #londontourguide #towerbridge
What is Mudlarking?
Flowing through the heart of Central London towards the sea, the River Thames was once the largest port in the world and vital transportation link between London, the British Empire and the rest of the world. The busy, congested port was filled with ships and boats of all sizes, from large ocean-going vessels, importing and exporting cargo around the globe, to small row boats with watermen transporting passengers from one side of the river to the other.
Over the past 2,000 years of human activity along the River Thames, countless objects have been intentionally discarded or accidentally dropped in its waters. For millennia, the Thames has been an extraordinary repository of these lost objects, protected and preserved in the dense, anaerobic mud. Mudlarking is the act of searching the riverbed for these historical treasures. Mudlarks comb the Thames foreshore, which is only accessible for a few hours a day at low tide, in their hunt for objects, untouched since they were lost hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Each artefact, whether ordinary or extraordinary, tells us something unique about London’s history. #thelondonspy #davidharry #riverthames #mudlarking #londontourguide
Flowing through the heart of Central London towards the sea, the River Thames was once the largest port in the world and vital transportation link between London, the British Empire and the rest of the world. The busy, congested port was filled with ships and boats of all sizes, from large ocean-going vessels, importing and exporting cargo around the globe, to small row boats with watermen transporting passengers from one side of the river to the other.
Over the past 2,000 years of human activity along the River Thames, countless objects have been intentionally discarded or accidentally dropped in its waters. For millennia, the Thames has been an extraordinary repository of these lost objects, protected and preserved in the dense, anaerobic mud. Mudlarking is the act of searching the riverbed for these historical treasures. Mudlarks comb the Thames foreshore, which is only accessible for a few hours a day at low tide, in their hunt for objects, untouched since they were lost hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Each artefact, whether ordinary or extraordinary, tells us something unique about London’s history. #thelondonspy #davidharry #riverthames #mudlarking #londontourguide
Robert Clive, a general of the East India Company, was despised by his contemporaries – so why was a statue of him erected outside the foreign office by the Edwardians years later? In 2020, there were petitions to remove Clive of India’s statue from outside the Foreign Office in London. Leading historians view Robert Clive as unworthy of celebration since his reputation falls far short of the values demanded of public office and because his administrative failures led to the catastrophic Bengal famine of 1769–1773. He has been described as the ‘worst corporate figure in British history’. It was not Robert Clive’s contemporaries, or the Victorians, who erected the statue in London. Indeed, Victorian governments were embarrassed by the exploitation that Clive and the EIC represented. It was the Edwardians who erected the statue, to celebrate Clive’s achievements, over one hundred years after his death. The power of the empire was starting to wane, and nervousness about working-class loyalty was on the rise, the Edwardians used imperial propaganda to create a sense of nationalist pride. The period around 1890 to 1914 saw several statues erected to imperialists, including Bristol’s Edward Colston (1895) and Oriel College’s Cecil Rhodes in Oxford (1910). By then, British imperialists had lost their swagger abroad and were nervous of the threat posed by industrialised Germany (the Anglo-German naval race had begun). Britain’s rulers were worried that her sickly troops, stunted by the impact of urban poverty, might not be up to the task of defending the empire. #thelondonspy #davidharry #cliveofindia #colstonstatue #londontourguide
To prevent Victorian up-skirting, Pugin, the designer of the interior of the House of Commons, it is alleged, deliberately left the eyes out of the lions along the central section of the corridors to avoid them being tempted to look at the skirts of the ladies passing by. I’ve no idea if this is true, but I can’t think of any other reason why this difference should be there. Amazing facts inside the Houses of Parliament . #thelondonspy #davidharry #housesofparliament #pugin #londonhistory #londontourguide #parliament
This is Banqueting house, where King Charles I had his head chopped off, for opposing Parliament. A fateful day in January 1649, the clock on Horseguards opposite has a black mark to show the time it happened. #regicide #horseguards #charlesthefirst #charles1 #execution #rubens #banquetinghouse #olivercromwell
This is the first ever recorded image of London. It’s on a gold coin currently not in display, but it’s part of the Museum of London. The Arras Medallion shows Constantius Chlorus, armed with a spear, approaching the walls of London on horseback. We know it's London because it helpfully says
"LON". Before him, a female figure (variously said to be Britannia or the personification of London) kneels in supplication. There's a galley full of troops below Constantius to commemorate the two fleets who made the daring raid under the cover of fog. The legend translates to "Restorer of the Eternal Light" and celebrates Constantius bringing the province out of the darkness it had endured, and back to the blessings of roman civilisation. #thelondonspy #davidharry #romanlondon #museumoflondon #romanhistory #londonhistory #romanbritain #romancoin #constantinethegreat #diocletian #constantiuschlorus #allectus
"LON". Before him, a female figure (variously said to be Britannia or the personification of London) kneels in supplication. There's a galley full of troops below Constantius to commemorate the two fleets who made the daring raid under the cover of fog. The legend translates to "Restorer of the Eternal Light" and celebrates Constantius bringing the province out of the darkness it had endured, and back to the blessings of roman civilisation. #thelondonspy #davidharry #romanlondon #museumoflondon #romanhistory #londonhistory #romanbritain #romancoin #constantinethegreat #diocletian #constantiuschlorus #allectus
“Third rate” comes from one of the six types of ship that were of the British Navy at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar. In fact, the majority of ships, there were third rate, it refers to the number of men and officers and guns that the ship had a first rate ship, such as the Victory would be suitable for Lord Nelson, of course as Admiral of the Fleet . This figurehead is of King George the third - the monarch in Hamilton who lost the Americas. #d#davidharry t#thelondonspy h#hmsvictory k#kinggeorgeiii f#figurehead p#portsmouthdockyard b#battleoftrafalgar
St Lawrence Jewry is a church in the City of London right next to the Guildhall, and it commemorates the life of Saint Lawrence, who in Roman times was executed by being barbecued to death on a grill. He became the patron saint of comedians, because halfway through his ordeal, he turned to his torturers and said “This side is now done please flip me over”.
#davidharry #thelondonspy #patronsaint #cityoflondon #wrenchurch #churchhistory #londonhistory #londontourguide #comedian
#davidharry #thelondonspy #patronsaint #cityoflondon #wrenchurch #churchhistory #londonhistory #londontourguide #comedian
The British flag is made of three separate sections, representing England, Scotland and Ireland. It’s official title is the union flag. However, it is interchangeable with Union Jack and the word. Union Jack has been sanctioned by parliament officially in 1908, so you will not be put into the tower for using the wrong version. #davidharry #thelondonspy #unionjack #u#unionflag f#flaghistory g#greatbritain b#britishhistory
The monster book of monsters is a key prop in the third Harry Potter film, the prisoner of Azkaban, and this is the genuine book as used in the film. It was created by the house of Mina Lima, the designers for the entire Harry Potter film series and sent to the Wyvern bindery in Hoxton for them to create it into a book. It was then sent back to the film where it was covered with teeth and fur and motorised, so it could snap open and shut and run under the bed from which Harry eventually jumps on it, having dangled his sneakers in front of it to make it safe again. ##davidharry ##thelondonspy ##prisonerofazkaban ##filmprop ##movieprop ##harrypotterprop ##hoxton ##bookbinder ##bookbinderoftiktok ##londontourguide ##harrypottermovies ##minalima ##minalimaharrypotter
In this one street near Euston is the headquarters of the magic circle, the most prestigious magic society in the world, of which King Charles is a member, as am I. But opposite it is the former nuclear research offices from which the most effective female KGB agent in British history worked secretly for many years. Her name was Melita Norwood, and she was never unmasked until after her retirement. The story was so interesting that a film was made of it, starring Judi Dench called Red Joan . ##davidharry ##thelondonspy ##melitanorwood ##magiccircle ##kingcharles ##kgb ##kgbspy ##euston ##magician ##judidench ##londontourguide
The Samaritans were founded in St Stephen Walbrook in 1953 by Chad Varah. Chad Varah founded the Samaritans in 1953 in the crypt of his church, with the stated aim that it would be an organisation "to befriend the suicidal and despairing." The phone line, MAN 9000 (for MANsion House), received its first call on 2 November 1953. Varah began to understand the problems facing the suicidal when he was taking a funeral as an assistant curate in 1935, his first church service, for a fourteen-year-old girl who had taken her own life because she had begun to menstruate and feared that she had a sexually transmitted disease.[3] He later said "Little girl, I didn't know you, but you have changed the rest of my life for good." He vowed at that time to encourage sex education, and to help people who were contemplating suicide and had nowhere to turn. #davidharry #thelondonspy #ststephenwalbrook #londonchurch #samaritans #chadvarah #londonguide #londontourguide
The famous altar by Henry Moore in this wonderful Christopher Wren church was heavily criticised after its commissioning by some parishioners, who claimed it was a pagan style altar, completely inappropriate for the wonderful church. After they lost the original appeal, the parishioners went even higher. There was an appeal, to an even more obscure ecclesiastical court, the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved. This is a very rare beast indeed. Since its creation in 1963, it has only sat twice. It has to have 5 judges sitting and can only consider cases involving questions of doctrine, ritual or ceremonial. Three judges have to be past or present bishops and the other two have to be senior judges from the High Court. Eventually it was allowed in. They cut a hole in the side of the church as the steps were too high, and it was rolled in on its side. #da#davidharry h#thelondonspy l#altar e#henrymoore t#ststephenwalbrook r#wrenchurch h#christopherwren o#londonchurch r#wren300 r#traventine o#londontourguide i#cityoflondon
Never married, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded survived! This incredibly rare document seeks to prove that Henry was, in fact, never married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Extremely rare first edition of a refutation of a Glasse of the Truthe, a tract justifying the king's proposed divorce partly writen by Henry VIl himself and published in 1532.
Published under the pseudonym "Philalethes Hyperboreus" ("the truth-loving man from the north"), the been friend and spiritual counsellor of Katherine of Aragon and tutor to Princess Mary. The text mentions the
author's education in Paris, which fits Vives.
Another person suspected of writing it was the future cardinal William Peto (c.485-1558), then an Observant friar. It is a detailed refutation of his case, arguing that he could have no other wife while Katherine lived unless he could prove that Prince Arthur had intercourse with her, something the king could not do, as the only evidence was Arthur's light word' about having been 'in the midst ofSpain! #d#davidharry t#thelondonspy r#rarebooks P@Peter Harrington Rare Books h#henryviii h#henryviiiwives c#catherineofaragon t#tudorhistory d#divorcedbeheadeddiedsurvived t#tudors a#anneboleyn
Published under the pseudonym "Philalethes Hyperboreus" ("the truth-loving man from the north"), the been friend and spiritual counsellor of Katherine of Aragon and tutor to Princess Mary. The text mentions the
author's education in Paris, which fits Vives.
Another person suspected of writing it was the future cardinal William Peto (c.485-1558), then an Observant friar. It is a detailed refutation of his case, arguing that he could have no other wife while Katherine lived unless he could prove that Prince Arthur had intercourse with her, something the king could not do, as the only evidence was Arthur's light word' about having been 'in the midst ofSpain! #d#davidharry t#thelondonspy r#rarebooks P@Peter Harrington Rare Books h#henryviii h#henryviiiwives c#catherineofaragon t#tudorhistory d#divorcedbeheadeddiedsurvived t#tudors a#anneboleyn
The world’s longest running play is the Mousetrap in the centre of London’s West End. Next door is a new play about the Vardey Rooney Wagatha Christie trial which they have fantastically subtitled the Scousetrap. ##davidharry ##thelondonspy ##tourguide ##themousetrap ##wagathachristie ##scousetrap ##londontheatre ##westendtheatre ##agathachristie ##rebeccavardey ##coleenrooneyrebekahvardy