Monday Miscellanea

This Week In London’s History

Monday – 14th January 1437: The Great Stone Gate at the south side of London Bridge collapses, taking down two bridge arches and several houses with it.

Tuesday – 15th January 1867: The ice on Regent’s Park Lake gives way while hundreds of people are skating on it. Dozens drown. Wednesday – 16th January 1599: Poet Laureate Edmund Spenser is buried in Westminster. His coffin is borne by other poets of the time, who cast poetry and pens into the grave. Thursday – 17th January 1997: At the Old Bailey, a jury decides that Szymon Serafinowicz, the first man to be charged under the 1991 War Crimes Act, is medically unfit to stand trial. Friday – 18th January 1882: Alan Alexander Milne is born in Hampstead, north London. He would become known as successful author A. A. Milne, most notably for his Winnie-the-Pooh books.

Random London Fact Of The Week

The small park in Brockley, south-east London, known as Hilly Fields is 175 feet above sea level at its highest point. This results in an excellent view in many directions – on a clear day you can see large swathes of London and Kent, and even some of Essex if you’re lucky (or unlucky).

London’s Weather This Week

Make the most of the brief windows of sunshine this week, because the weather will mostly be dominated by wind and rain.

View from Hilly Fields taken from Expitheta’s photo via Wikimedia Commons.