This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 5th March 1856: The second Covent Garden Theatre is destroyed by a fire that breaks out at 5am, during a masked ball. Its replacement would become known as the Royal Opera House.
- Tuesday – 6th March 1997: A gunman walks into the Lefevre Gallery in Mayfair and rips a £650,000 Picasso painting – Tête de Femme – from the wall, before making his escape in a black cab. The painting would be recovered a week later.
- Wednesday – 7th March 1969: The Victoria Line is officially opened by the Queen, in a ceremony at Victoria Station. Intended as a fast, congestion-relieving alternative to other lines (such as the Piccadilly Line), the line makes significant use of ‘cross-platform interchanges’ to help with changing lines.
- Thursday – 8th March 1750: London experiences a minor earthquake, one month to the day after a previous similar quake, causing superstitious concern that another such event would be experienced on April 8th. It would be the last recorded earthquake with a London epicentre (so far).
- Friday – 9th March 1994: In the first of three unsuccessful attacks, the IRA fires five mortars into the grounds of Heathrow airport. None of the mortars explode.
Random London Quote Of The Week
The way was long and weary,
But gallantly they strode,
A country lad and lassie,
Along the heavy road!
The night was dark and stormy,
But blithe of heart were they,
For shining in the distance,
The lights of London lay!
O gleaming lights of London,
That gem of the city’s crown,
What fortunes be within you,
O Lights of London Town!
George Robert Sims, Lights of London
Photo by windinherhair7 via the Londonist Flickr Pool.
