• Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596)
• Robert Blake (1598–1657)
• Horatio Nelson (1758–1805)
• An anonymous, modern 1905 admiral representing the contemporary Royal Navy of the building's era.
The Anonymous Admiral:
The front facade at Deptford Town Hall, New Cross Road, features four prominent carved figures standing in niches. While three represent real historical naval giants—Sir Francis Drake, Robert Blake, and Horatio Nelson—the fourth statue is completely anonymous. It simply depicts a generic, contemporary Edwardian admiral holding a sextant and binoculars, carved with the date 1905 to mark the building's completion.
Knowledge of London retweeted
London has many street bollards, some are from cannons said to be from the Napoleonic wars, others copied from the originals. But the only one as far as I'm aware of a policeman is the bollard on Gerald Road in Belgravia, it is a unique three-foot-tall iron street marker shaped like a traditional police officer.
The iron bollard styled Bobby with a helmet and silver badge wearing a uniform. It stands outside the former Gerald Road Police Station, which operated from 1846 until it closed in 1993 and has since been converted into a luxury private residence, but the policeman bollard and the original police overhead lantern remain as a reminder to the building's history.
You was my M.P @Anna_Firth and when you said on GBNews - "free clean tap water" I thought of my £88 per month Essex water bill... what's that all about then?
Knowledge of London retweeted
The Plessey electronics factory on Ley Street in the London Borough of Redbridge was a major local manufacturer, employer, and a vital wartime production site.
Plessey established premises on Ley Street around 1924 after moving from earlier local sites, growing into one of the largest electronics and telecommunications employers in the area.
The television pioneer John Logie Baird worked from a workshop on the roof of the Plessey premises on Ley Street during the 1920s.
After heavy German bombing damaged surface facilities during the 1940 Blitz, Plessey moved a massive defense manufacturing operation into the uncompleted Central line tube tunnels between Leytonstone and Gants Hill.
Up to 4,000 workers (predominantly women) worked 24-hour shifts in the deep tunnels producing vital war goods, including bomber wireless receivers, field telephones, wiring sets for Halifax and Lancaster bombers.
The original Ley Street factory buildings have since been demolished and replaced by modern housing developments.
Knowledge of London retweeted
The Haunted Cellars of Millbank Prison.
Beneath the Morpeth Arms, Millbank, holds the original underground holding cells and part of a tunnel system from the old prison.
This tunnel was used to march convicts directly from Millbank Prison to the river steps, where they were deported by ship to penal colonies in Australia.
Many prisoners died of disease or malnutrition in these grim vaults before their ships even arrived. The hauntings are traditionally linked to two specific spirits: a prisoner who tragically hanged himself in the cells to avoid deportation, and another who was fatally shot down by guards during a desperate escape attempt.
Staff and visitors have long reported sudden drops in temperature, intense feelings of panic, and objects moving on their own. Poltergeist activity is common; bottles have launched themselves from behind the bar, and drinks have been knocked clean off tables.
The phenomenon became so frequent that the pub installed a closed-circuit "Ghost Cam". Customers can watch a live feed of the haunted subterranean tunnels directly from the comfort of the bar.
I was given a private tour by bar staff a few years ago for the Knowledgeoflondon.com website. Very eerie experience!
Knowledge of London retweeted
The Mysterious Green "Mini" Stink Pipe, located at the eastern end of Shepherd's Bush Green near the Uxbridge Rd. The pipe is an anomaly among typical London sewer vents.
Unlike standard 6-to-8-metre-tall columns, this specific cast-iron pipe is unusually short. It is dark green, features decorative ridges, and is uniquely topped with a distinctive circle of crenellations (a crown-like top).
Because it is so low to the ground, local historians and urban explorers often debate its exact ventilation purpose. Its short height is highly unusual for venting foul odours directly into pedestrian paths. It is heavily speculated to have originally ventilated long-lost subterranean Victorian public toilets that once sat nearby
The History of the Old Kent Road mural is a massive 1,000-square-foot ceramic masterpiece created in 1965 by Polish artist Adam Kossowski.
Located on the exterior walls of the former North Peckham Civic Centre (now the Everlasting Arms Ministries church) at 600-608 Old Kent Road, London, it depicts the chronological story of one of Britain’s most famous thoroughfares.
The mural consists of a three-panel mosaic frieze rendered in highly textured, moulded, and selectively glazed ceramic tiles. It walks viewers through 2,000 years of London’s evolution:
In April 2017, following local campaigns spearheaded by organizations like the Twentieth Century Society, the mural was granted Grade II listed status by Historic England. This listing legally protects the artwork from destruction or careless redevelopment, keeping this vibrant visual anchor of Southwark history preserved for future generations.
Replying to @Glorieta
I agree, my first visit was magical, stones music only. Went there again a few years later no Stone's music, it lost the plot...
London Bridge Station is the oldest London station (opened 1836) and the only London terminus with the word "London" officially in its title.
Achaeologists uncovered the structural remains of an old clay pipe kiln that had been demolished centuries ago, preserving pieces of the superstructure and various pipes—including whole items and discarded/broken rejects from failed firings.
One notable clay pipe found during the excavations features the inscription “JOINER STREET” on one side of the stem and “TOOLEY STREET BORO” on the other, identifying it as the work of maker James Minto active between 1809 and 1811—decades before the construction of London Bridge rail station.
Replying to @cranialillusion
Yes 3d and 6d in America they called them the dime store✔️
Replying to @AmandaHLondon
Got all my chrissy bits from them,
Replying to @LoveGB_United
You made a lot of children happy 😢
Replying to @mwhite535
♥️ Remember them waking and the excitement...yes...brings a lump to my throat ✔️
Knowledge of London retweeted
Peek Frean's company was founded in 1857 by James Peek, a London tea merchant and George Hender Frean, a ship's biscuit maker. They initially set up production in a disused sugar refinery on Mill Street in Dockhead.
While Peek and Frean started the company, its legendary success is widely attributed to John Carr, who joined the firm and introduced innovative, modern biscuit-making machinery and techniques.
Needing more space to fuel their rapid growth, the company bought a site integrated with the London and Greenwich Railway arches, opening the newer, massive factory at Drummond Road in 1866.
Growing up in Bermondsey I can well recall the delicious smell of custard all about this area.
Sadly the factory closed in May 1989.
Replying to @wibble850347
That would make Christmas to have them back.
Knowledge of London retweeted
Happy 90th Birthday, Bill!
One love, Keith...
@bill_wyman
📷 #1 Bill Rasic
#2 Ethan Russell
#3,4 J.Bouquet





























