Jack Goldstein - 101 Amazing Facts About London

Title Page

101 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT LONDON

Jack Goldstein

Publisher Information

Published in 2013 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The right of Jack Goldstein to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright 2013 Jack Goldstein

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Disclaimer: All facts presented in this title were gained from common and reputable sources in print and on the internet. If any detail within this title is found to be incorrect, the author will be happy to publish a corrected version.

Introduction

In this amazing eBook you will find more than one hundred facts about London. What are the top landmarks, museums and galleries to visit? What is the history of the London Underground? Separated into sections covering these topics and more (such as its history, its culture and the many bridges which span the Thames river), you will learn some fascinating information!

Whether you are planning on visiting London, working on a geography project or just want to know more about an amazing historic city, this is an excellent addition to your bookshelf. Find the information you need, fast!

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Key Facts and Figures

1. London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom.
2. England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom are all different entities... Great Britain contains the three countries on its island: England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland, which is on a separate landmass.
3. In 2012 it was estimated there were just over 8.3 million people living in London.
4. This means that an amazing 12% of Great Britains entire population live in London!
5. It is the most populated city in Western Europe.
6. In the whole of Europe, it is the third biggest city - with Istanbul (13.9 million people) and Moscow (11.7 million people) coming in first and second respectively.
7. London is built around the River Thames.
8. The city as we know it today was founded by the Romans and was called Londinium - although there is evidence people had settled in the area for many hundreds of years before this.
9. London boasts an amazingly high population density of nearly 5000 people per square kilometre - no wonder house prices there are so high!
10. London is the seat of the government of Great Britain.

Landmarks to Visit

1. Buckingham Palace - the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II.
2. The Palace of Westminster - Also known as the Houses of Parliament; Big Ben is the well-known bell which is housed in the Queen Elizabeth tower at the north end of the building.
3. The Tower of London - a royal fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078 AD.
4. St Pauls Cathedral - iconic domed 17 th century cathedral designed by architect Christopher Wren.
5. Tower Bridge - one of the most famous bridges in the world.
6. Westminster Abbey - gothic church dating back to 1245 AD which is the traditional site of coronation for Kings and Queens of England.
7. Nelsons Column - celebrating Admiral Nelson, naval hero during the Napoleonic wars.
8. The London Eye - Europes tallest Ferris wheel.
9. Shakespeares Globe Theatre - rebuilt 400 years after the original was consumed by fire.
10. The Cutty Sark - clipper ship built in 1869, now sited at a permanent dry dock in Greenwich.

The London Underground - Part 1

1. London was the first city in the world to build a subway system. This is known today as the London Underground.
2. Around 2.7 million journeys are made on the underground every day.
3. The most travelled Underground route for tourists is between Leicester Square and Covent Garden - however it is actually quicker to walk this route than take the tube!
4. London Victoria is the tubes busiest station, catering for 76.5 million passengers every year.
5. The oldest tube line is the Metropolitan line, which opened on the 10 th of January 1863.
6. The newspaper The Times had this to say about The London Underground in 1884: A form of mild torture which no person would undergo if he could conveniently help it!
7. Every year, Londons tube trains travel 43 million miles. That is around half the distance between the earth and the sun!
8. 80,000 umbrellas are lost on the Underground every year!
9. In addition to this, an amazing array of objects has found its way into the lost property offices of the London Underground after being left on trains. These include a stuffed puffer fish, a human skull, a coffin and a samurai sword (although not all lost by the same person we hope!).
10. The iconic tube map was designed by Harry Beck in 1933 and the format is still in use today. He was paid just five guineas for this (around 800 today).

General Facts

1. London covers around 620 square miles
2. It is one of the worlds leading financial centres.
3. London is the worlds most visited city.
4. The heart of the city is actually known (confusingly) as The City of London and is just over one square mile in size.
5. The tallest building in London is known as The Shard and is 309.6 metres high - this also makes it the tallest building in Europe.
6. The exact centre of London is at the church of St Martins-in-the-fields at Trafalgar Square.
7. When London hosted the Olympics in 2012 it became the first city in the modern era to host it three times.
8. Behind St Barts Hospital there is an area called Postmans Park which commemorates ordinary Londoners who committed heroic acts.
9. The tiered style of wedding cakes today is based on the design of St Brides church in Fleet Street.
10. The Millennium Dome is the largest structure of its kind in the world. Amazingly it could house the Statue of Liberty or the Great Pyramid of Giza within its walls!

Historical Facts

1. Pall Mall in London was home to the worlds first street lighting in 1807.
2. In 1811 London became the worlds first city to be home to one million people.
3. The first public zoo in the world opened in London in 1829.
4. In 1868, London became home to the first traffic light in the world, set up outside the houses of parliament. It actually blew up and injured the policeman who was operating it!
5. The worlds first market to be fully electrified was at Brixton; the road it was held on is now called Electric Avenue.
6. The nursery rhyme pop goes the weasel supposedly refers to how one would pawn all their worldly goods after spending every last penny in the pubs of Clerkenwell.
7. In the graveyard of the shurch of St Leonards in Shoreditch sits a gravestone belonging to the Elizabethan actor Richard Burbage. It features just two words: Exit Burbage.
8. There is an area of London strangely called Elephant and Castle - this name actually comes from the sign of a local craftsmens guild, which featured Elephants in reference to the ivory handles of the knives which they made.
9. Soho in London is home to the building where John Logie Baird demonstrated his new invention in 1926 - the television.
10. The Palace of Westminster - home of the British Government - was built by a river so it could not be entirely surrounded by an angry mob!