London: 10 Things You May Not Know

The hidden secrets and pub-told stories are what really give a city its life. So, here are some things I have picked up over the years about London.

1. Horses. The Queen, owning so much of London as she does, has the right to exercise her horses through the streets of London until 7am (or thereabouts). I moved into a flat in central London and, the first morning, woke up to hear horses’ hooves, lots of them. Wondering if perhaps the Apocalypse had finally come, I looked out the window and there were really horses, lots of them. All the same shade of glossy brown, the same size, the same expensive breeding. Half were being ridden, half led by the riders in British Army greens. They were the horses of the Royal Household, the Horseguards, and they were pretty magnificent, if a little surreal at dawn.

2. Bridges. In the late 1960s, a wealthy American came to London and decided he wanted to buy the bridge, you know London Bridge, the one in the song, the famous one. The English in charge were a little puzzled, but Robert P. McCullough of McCullough Oil assured them he wanted to buy it. A price was negotiated, London Bridge was packed up and shipped to America – the Brits were happy to get rid of it because it was sinking anyway. But our millionaire was disappointed when he opened the boxes: he’d thought he was buying Tower Bridge, the pretty one. No wonder the Brits were wondering why he wanted the dullard London Bridge. He denied he’d bought the wrong bridge and set it up in Arizona in an English-style theme park; it’s now Arizona‘s second biggest tourist attraction after the Grand Canyon…

Apparently the Brooklyn Bridge is for sale, too

3. Rivers. The Thames has lots of tributary rivers that have become a little inconvenient in a city this size. Some of them were incorporated into the city’s sewers but some flow under the streets. The Effra in South London was once a river big enough for Queen Elizabeth I to sail down; now it runs underneath the suburbs and in Orleans Road, Crystal Palace, you can stand over grates in the asphalt and hear the water rushing only a few feet below the cars, baby strollers and very cool urban foxes. (No, not cool slang for hip city folk, but real furry foxes.)

4. Churches. The old St Pancras Church, behind St Pancras Station, has an altar which has been dated back to the 7th century. If you go to visit, don’t get confused with the new St Pancras Church in Bloomsbury, which has a façade of Grecian women holding up a portico, based on the original on the Acropolis in Athens. Unfortunately, when delivered, these women were too tall. So a section was cut out at the waist, hence making them more Rubenesque than Amazonian.

5. Propaganda. During the Second World War, the railings surrounding London’s many parks and gardens were ripped out so the metal could be used for making war planes. Recently this has been revealed to be a lie, mere propoganda to make people feel a sense of the war effort and the great sacrifices that needed to be made. Most of these fences have now been copied and replaced.

6. Apocraphal. Also during the Second World War, much of the area around Bloomsbury was spared by the German bombers. Why? Apparently Hitler had already decided which building he wanted as his headquarters: the Senate House in Malet Street, now part of the University of London. Sometimes described as Stalinesque, the building does look like it would have fitted the bill.

No marks, so it must be a Royal swan

7. Swan Upping. Each year, during one day and overseen by the Master of Swans, all the new cygnets on the River Thames are tagged. According to rights granted in the 1400s, they are owned by either the Queen, the Vintners or the Dyers. The Worshipful Company of Dyers marks their swans with a nick on one side of the beak, and the Worshipful Company of Vintners marks theirs with a nick on each side. These days Royal swans are not marked, making both those against animal cruelty and the swans happy. Swans used to be eaten at Christmas but are grateful the turkey has now taken over that honour.

8. Land. Owning a house in London is a complex business. There is freehold which means you own the land, and leasehold which means you own the right to build on that land. Leaseholds are usually 99 years, so the worth of your house can depend on how long you have left on your lease. And who owns all the freeholds? Generally, the Queen and a lot of very wealthy old families. For example the Russells, the Duke of Bedford’s family, own much of Bloomsbury – nice for them! It’s the reason you see so many property adverts and grates on the street referring to this or that ‘estate’.

9. Private Squares. Luckily, a lot of London’s wealthy families were fairly enlightened. When they developed the gardens of their stately homes into residential developments, they often included communal gardens in their plans, hence the beautiful squares of London. Many of these, though, are still private, available only to keyholders who live around the square – we all saw Hugh Grant climb the fence into one of these in Notting Hill, right? Others are open to the public and restored to their original vision. Gordon and Woburn Squares have just been restored by English Heritage and reopened in 2007, largely because the infestation of rats was just getting too much for the residents to bear!

10. Naming. Pudding Lane, where the Great Fire of London of 1666 started, was named for the fact that’s where chamber pots were emptied into the River Thames. Gross.

Doing guided walks in London is a great way of learning the stories behind the bricks and paving; I’ve become quite addicted. Alternately, you can sit in a pub and chat to a local – you never know what you’ll find out.

–Philippa Burne

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours and things to do in London, from city tours to London shows to day trips. Also check out some of photos of London on the Viator Flickr site.