London Archives
Places worth finding, things worth seeing, and stories worth knowing.
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Sherlock Holmes Theme Park
A Sherlock Holmes corkscrew roller coaster, a Dr. Watson tilt-a-whirl, or a Moriarty log flume ride? Well, anything is possible as plans are in the early stages in Portsmouth, England for a new £25 million (about $41.6 million) theme park attraction that will celebrate the life of the world’s most famous fictional detective. The interactive, ‘world-class multimedia…
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The Great Gunpowder Plot of 1605
REMEMBER, REMEMBER. THE 5th of NOVEMBER . . . Angered by the treatment of Catholics in England, Guy Fawkes and a small group of conspirators developed a plot to blow-up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant King James I in the process. The conspirators stored 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar, just…
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The Oldest Shop in London
This London shop dates back to 1567 and is considered to be the oldest shop in central London, surviving both the Great Fire of 1666 and The Blitz. Although the site claims to be the inspiration for Dickens’ fourth novel The Old Curuiosity Shop (1840-1841), there is no evidence to support the claim. The shop’s name was actually added…