In 1820, a group of English radical activists plotted to kill the entire British government while they were sat down to dinner in central London. The Cato Street Conspiracy – so-called from the place where they met to plot – was uncovered and the ringleaders executed in a public and grisly manner. One of those…
In the year 1091 a huge tornado hit the city of London tearing down its famous bridge as Tony McMahon discovers
People either hate or love London street performers but they have been around for hundreds of years and won’t disappear any time soon
In the year 1212 London Bridge burned down and according to contemporary accounts it may have claimed the lives of over three thousand people
The Great Plague of London and how King Charles II fled the city
On the 16th October, 1834, the old Houses of Parliament were completely burnt down by a huge fire. It took several days to extinguish an inferno that engulfed ancient medieval halls, Georgian houses and most of the palace of Westminster. Westminster Hall – a vast space dating back to the Norman period – was only…
This is a curious story about how Sir Walter Raleigh allegedly caught fire and was extinguished by his manservant. Raleigh – swashbuckling adventurer under Queen Elizabeth I (or Queen Bess if you prefer) – and Islington don’t exactly sit together in your mind. But Raleigh and other Elizabethans loved popping over to the village of…
Solomon Eagle was a preacher who claimed to predict great events. Just in case nobody was paying attention, he stormed around London with a flaming brazier on his head. During the great plague of 1665, he added to the general misery by screaming at his fellow Londoners that a great fire was about to consume…
The tragic story of an 18th century teenager Isabella Courtenay whose expansive dress caught on fire and soon turned her into a human fireball
