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| On our way to stop No.11 Camden Pan-Africanism © Felicity McWilliams |
For the past month or so you may have seen me posting links to the
crowdfunding page for an event King’s History Department runs biennially – the
Monuments Marathon and Parks & Palaces Plod. The ‘Marathon’ was set up in
2014 by former KCL Professor Ludmilla Jordanova in order to raise funds for the
Undergraduate Hardship fund, although this years’ sponsorship was for the
equivalent MA fund. The idea as pitched to us was to take to the ‘streets and
parks of London to tour sites of historical interest, learning from each other’
along the way.
Hearing that, I should think it will come as no surprise to hear that
when we received an email advertising the event back in April, I was
immediately on board with the idea – fundraising while learning about history
and walking around London – what was not to love! The plan was to walk to 26
historic sites over the distance of around 10 miles, the walk starting at
King’s and featuring 4 minute ‘street talks’ from volunteers choosing to speak
on sites of their choice along the route.
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| Stop No. 3 - Mammoths in the Square © Elle Larsson |
And that is exactly what we did last Sunday. We walked a grand total of around
13.8 miles, taking in 26 historic sites over the course of around 10 hours. I
should say at this point however that 4 members of the department put in an
extra tremendous effort, rising early and running an 11.5 mile route taking in
the palaces of London – beginning with the Tower of London and ending with
Kensington Palace, before heading back to KCL and joining the rest of us on the
walk!
It was a really fantastic day – we had good weather, great company and
were able to share some of the lesser known stories of London we’ve each come
across during the course of our own research. A huge range of topics were
covered and what struck me in particular was that even though some of these
places are signified by plaques and statues, the stories are much richer than
can be conveyed by those markers alone, while others simply had no markers at
all.
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| Stop No. 2 Benjamin Franklin House/Bodies in the basement © Elle Larsson |
A few things from the day have stuck out in particular. For example the
origin of the legend of the ‘Black Dog’ of Newgate and how beneath Trafalgar
Square there was/is a rich source of prehistoric archaeological material,
including Mammoths; the fact that beneath Benjamin Franklin’s house a large
number of human skeletons had been excavated, owing to the fact that another of
its former residents had been a comparative anatomist, who himself died after
contracting sepsis from one of his cadavers! But I think my favourite snippet has
to be hearing about the mechanized waxwork of Mrs. Salmon which was booby-trapped
to kick patrons as they left her establishment. Who new early nineteenth
century waxworks could be mechanized?
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| Stop No. 10 - Fitzrovia Revolutionaries © Felicity McWilliams |
These stand out for me but each talk was incredibly interesting and below
I’ve put the entire list of places we visited and topics covered by our talks
to give you an idea of the history that is out there and sites that you may
have previously walked passed having never realized their significance. It was
truly a case of Ispyhistory at its best and it’s safe to say that in two years’
time, when this event comes round again, my feet better be ready for a repeat
performance!
The Route
1. Lady
Somerset and the Temperance Child, Victoria Embankment Gardens (Statue).
2.
Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street, (Plaque).
3.
Mammoths in the Square, Trafalgar Square.
4. The
Strand Menagerie, 372 Strand, (Building).
5. Mrs
Salmon’s Waxworks, 17 Fleet Street, (Building).
6. Picasso
in London, 51 Floral Street (Plaque).
7. The
Slayer of Soho: John Snow’s Pump, 39 Broadwick Street.
8. Banking
Natural History, 32 Soho Square (Plaque).
9. Penning
the Vindication, Store Street.
10.
Fitzrovia Revolutionaries, Fitzroy Square (Statue).
11. Camden
Pan-Africanism, 22 Cranleigh Street (Plaque).
12. South
African Freedom Fighters, 13 Lyme Street (Plaque).
13. Gandhi’s
London, Tavistock Square (Statue).
14. Emmeline
Pankhurst’s House, 8 Russell Square, (Building).
15.
Literary Lights and Colonial Students, Mecklenburgh Square.
16.
Anti-Suffragism and Settlement Houses, 42 Queen Square, (Building).
17. The
Women’s Freedom League, 144 High Holborn, (Building).
18.
Meating One’s Maker, Smithfield Market.
19. ‘The
Black Dog of Newgate’, Warwick Lane.
20.
Indigenous Transnationals at St Paul’s, (Building).
21. Rude
Deeds on Rood Lane, Rood Lane, (Building).
22. Tower
Hill Memorial, Trinity Square Gardens, (Memorial).
23. The
Falklands Memorial, Trinity Square Gardens, (Memorial).
24. Altab
Ali Park, Adler Street, (Memorial).
25.
Responding to the Ripper, 14 Cannon Street Road, (Exhibition).
26.
Execution Dock, 57 Wapping Wall.
It will come as a little surprise that after a grand total of 13.8 miles, well-earned celebratory drinks and a sit down were then had at the prospect of
Whitby Pub!
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| Sunsets over London © Elle Larsson |
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