London

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These can be found in ABAB’s Places.
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LONDON’S ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE

Discovered during excavation work for the new Guildhall Art Gallery, the remains of London's Roman Amphitheatre date from the 2nd century AD. It had a capacity for an audience of 7,000 watching animal fights, executions and gladiatorial contests. The ruins of the eastern entrance, including sections of wooden drains, are displayed in an innovative way, underneath the art gallery - which is where you need to enter to see the amphitheatre.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
off Gresham Street
County
London
Post Code
EC2V 5AE
Main Historic Period
Roman
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Bank of England, Museum of London
Primary Management
Local Authority
LONDON STONE (The)

Nondescript looking piece of limestone, of unknown origin or purpose, but which had some particular meaning in medieval times.  Possibly Roman. Not worth making a special trip unless you're a real enthusiast.

Note that as of 2016 current information is that the stone has temporarily been moved to the Museum of London.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
111 Cannon Street
County
London
Post Code
EC4N 5AR
Main Historic Period
All
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Opposite Cannon Street Station
Primary Management
Local Authority
LONDON ZOO

Regent’s Park Zoo, or ZSL (Zoological Society of London) London Zoo, is still generally known as London Zoo.  It was the brainchild of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore and is the world’s oldest scientific zoo, opened on 27 April 1828 by the Zoological Society of London.  Its collections were augmented by the additions of the menageries from Windsor Castle and the Tower of London.  At that time, it was only accessible to fellows of the Society for the purposes of scientific study, but the zoo was opened to the public in 1847 to help funding.

London Zoo packs a great deal into a limited space.  Animals you are generally able to see include: African hunting dogs, camels, donkeys, flamingos, giraffes, goats, gorillas, insects, lemurs, lions, llamas, macaws, meerkats, mongoose, monkeys, okapi, otters, pelicans, penguins, porcupines, pygmy hippos, reptiles, tiger, vultures, warthogs and zebras.  Many larger animals are kept at ZSL Whipsnade in Hertfordshire.

Two of the zoo’s most famous residents include Guy the Gorilla, who was at the zoo from 1947-1978, and Winnie the bear.  Winnie arrived with a Canadian regiment on its way to the front in 1914; she died in 1934, but inspired AA Milne to rename his most iconic character Winnie-the-Pooh.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Outer Circle
Regent's Park
County
London
Post Code
NW1 4RY
Main Historic Period
Modern
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Camden Town station (Northern Line) is the nearest Underground station to the Zoo.  Alternatives include: Chalk Farm (Northern Line and less busy than Camden), Baker Street (Bakerloo, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City Lines), Regent’s Park (Bakerloo Line).
Primary Management
Other
LORD MAYOR’S SHOW (The)

The Lord Mayor's Show has been an annual event in London's calendar for 800 years. It is a festival of pageantry and colour, free to see, which begins with a flotilla of boats and barges on the Thames, a river pageant. Next comes the parade, a procession of something like 7,000 participants in the region of 3 miles long, crammed into a 1.7 mile route from Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence in the City, near Bank, to the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in Westminster. In the evening, the grand finale is a spectacular firework display over the Thames.

The Lord Mayor’s Show always takes place on the second Saturday of November. Most roads in the City are closed all day and the Embankment is closed until the evening.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
The City of London
County
London
Post Code
EC4
Main Historic Period
All
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Somewhere near St Paul's Cathedral is a good spot to watch the procession. But see the river pageant first, at about 9am, have breakfast, then watch the procession go by.
Primary Management
Local Authority
Agnus Dei, emblem of the Middle Temple

Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court which have the exclusive right to call students to the Bar. The education and training of advocates lies at the heart of the Inn, but it is also a professional society with a worldwide membership. The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, to give it its full name, is based on the site of the headquarters of the medieval Knights Templar. Though very little survives from this period - and the area was also extensively bombed in the 1940s - walking through Middle Temple is like walking through history, with links to Magna Carta and the exploration of the New World. Visits inside the Elizabethan Great Hall can be arranged in advance - most of the buildings contain barristers' chambers. Middle Temple is also responsible, with the Inner Temple, for the historic Temple Church.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Middle Temple Lane
County
London
Post Code
EC4Y 9AT
Main Historic Period
Tudor
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Just off the Strand. Also see Temple Church
Primary Management
Educational establisment
The Monument

The Monument (note the definite article), designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr Robert Hooke, commemorates the Great Fire of 1666 which destroyed most of the medieval City of London. The fire began in Pudding Lane, less than a stone's throw away.  The column is 202 feet high and there are 311 leg-busting steps to the top; great views, though!

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Fish Street Hill
County
London
Post Code
EC3R 8AH
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
North end of London Bridge, Monument tube station
Primary Management
Local Authority
MUSEUM of BRANDS

We are so used to brands these days; some names have actually become part of everyday speech. Here is an unusual museum - the museum of brands, packaging and advertising - a collection of some 12,000 items providing a taste of consumer culture from Victorian times to the present. Something for those with an interest in design, advertising, business in general - or maybe just searching for a bit of nostalgia (it's not what it used to be).

Region/Nation
Location/Address
111-117 Lancaster Road
Notting Hill
County
London
Post Code
W11 1QT
Main Historic Period
Modern
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Portolbello Road market. Nearest tube - Ladbroke Grove (Circle and Hammersmith lines)
Primary Management
Other
MUSEUM of LONDON

A fascinating museum which tells the wonderful story of London from prehistoric times, through Roman occupation, medieval and up to its current status as a world city. Full of intriguing exhibits and includes full-size recreations. One of its prize exhibits is the Lord Mayor of London's State Coach (pictured) - used annually at the Lord Mayor's Show. Special exhibitions are also held.

The museum is located in the architecturally hideous Barbican Centre.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
150 London Wall
County
London
Post Code
EC2Y 5HN
Main Historic Period
All
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
A short walk from St Paul's. Top tip - popular with school parties
Primary Management
HM Government
Museum of LONDON DOCKLANDS

The Museum of London Docklands (part of the Museum of London) tells the story (surprisingly) of London’s docks, how trade developed, the involvement of slavery, the time when London was the hub of a great empire and the world’s busiest port. You can also walk through 19th century ‘sailortown’.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
No 1 Warehouse
West India Quay
County
London
Post Code
E14 4AL
Main Historic Period
Victorian
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Canary Wharf
Primary Management
Local Authority
NANCY’S STEPS

Steps on the south-west side of London Bridge associated with the fictional murder of Nancy in Charles Dickens' novel 'Oliver Twist'

Region/Nation
Location/Address
London Bridge
South Bank
West side
County
London
Post Code
SE1
Main Historic Period
Victorian
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
London Bridge, Southwark Cathedral, HMS Belfast, Borough Market
Primary Management
Local Authority

If your favourite attraction is not listed yet, and you have a good quality digital photograph of it that you are able to freely send, please get in touch. 

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