- Picture by LoopZilla
This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 20th December 1909: The distinctive Arding and Hobbs department store near Clapham Junction is destroyed by fire. Having been rebuilt, it is now a branch of Allders.
- Tuesday - 21st December 1842: Pentonville Prison near Islington accepts its first prisoners.
- Wednesday - 22th December 1974: A bomb explodes at the Victoria home of Conservative leader and former Prime Minister Edward Heath. No-one is hurt.
- Thursday - 23rd December 1690: At Greenwich Royal Observatory, astronomer John Flamsteed catalogues what he believes to be a star as ‘34 Tauri’. It would later transpire that this is the first recorded sighting of the planet Uranus.
- Friday - 24th December 1890: Surrey House Museum (later to become known as the Horniman Museum) in Forest Hill is officially opened to the public.
Random London Quote Of The Week
A country gentleman should bring his lady to visit London as soon as he can, that they may have agreeable topicks for conversation when they are by themselves.
Samuel Johnson
