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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 2h

Where was the first crewed flight in England? Surprisingly, it started about a kilometre from St Paul's, and the 'airfield' still exists londonist.substack.com/p/the-first-...

londonist.substack.com

The First Flight in England

From an ‘airfield’ in central London that still exists.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 28/09/2026

Two lovely old mosaic roundels... but can you name the stations?

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 27/09/2026

Curious fact: in the olden days, these unusual openings in Tube station walls were known as 'ticket offices', and you actually had to get a rectangle of card called a 'ticket' if you wanted to travel.

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Reposted by Londonist: Time Machine

M@ @mattfromlondon.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The Northern Line, if it were proper Northern. (Made this a few years back, but thought I’d whippet out again.)

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 26/09/2026

It was 57 years ago today... that the Beatles released Abbey Road. And it's 15 years since TfL opened Abbey Road DLR station near West Ham. Ever since, the station has displayed 'you are at the wrong Abbey Road' signs to help lost Beatles fans get back to St John's Wood

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 25/09/2026

Phyllis Pearsall, creator of the A-Z, was born 120 years ago today. Her sort-of-statue stands in Greenland Dock, Rotherhithe, in the company of fellow local, Michael Caine (and a cormorant representing cycling campaigner Barry Mason). Very odd.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 23/09/2026

We've coloured in another section of the 1746 Rocque map (much bigger than the section shown in preview). See how Rotherhithe and Greenland Dock looked in Georgian times, now in colour londonist.substack.com/p/1746-in-co...

londonist.substack.com

1746 in Colour: Rotherhithe Docks

Continuing my project to colour in the John Rocque map of London.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 22/09/2026

We chanced across this lovely mosaic celebration of Sir Tim Berners-Lee near Mortlake station. The man who invented the world wide web, HTML and URLs grew up in the area. Curiously, Ada Lovelace, often regarded as the world’s first programmer, also lived here as a teenager

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 18/09/2026

From Ealhswith to Ealdgyth... I've rejigged the Anglo-Saxon royal family tree to put the (largely) forgotten queens at centre stage londonist.substack.com/p/the-family...

londonist.substack.com

The Family Tree of Anglo-Saxon Queens

A who’s who of medieval women.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 16/09/2026

Gardenlarking... a bit like mudlarking but in the garden. This writer dug up loads of glass and pottery and then went to the archives to learn about where they came from londonist.substack.com/p/mudlarking...

londonist.substack.com

Mudlarking at Home: Digging the Minor Treasures of a South London Garden

Gardenlarking?

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 11/09/2026

Rediscovering the Euston mammoth, and the other hirsute trunksters buried beneath London londonist.substack.com/p/the-mammot...

londonist.substack.com

The Mammoths of London

In search of the hirsute trunksters.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 10/09/2026

Ever wondered how the streets of Soho got their names? I've popped the etymologies onto a street map... londonist.substack.com/p/mapped-the...

londonist.substack.com

Mapped: The Origins of Soho’s Street Names

Fun with etymology.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 06/09/2026

These two fragments of old London are lurking in a tiny play area in Belsize Park londonist.com/london/secre...

londonist.com

Fragments Of Old London In Belsize Park

See part of Old Waterloo Bridge and the House of Commons.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 05/09/2026

Nutter Lane in Wanstead. If I were Mayor, it'd lead to Tosser Road and Plonker Avenue.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 04/09/2026

Who's old enough to remember (a) Mansun, and (b) when they scattered a fortune in banknotes inside Liverpool Street Station? londonist.com/london/music...

londonist.com

That Time An Indie Band Scattered £25,000 In Liverpool Street Station

The Taxloss video was a memorable one.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 04/09/2026

Ever visited the City of London Cemetery over towards Ilford? It's packed with London history... and foxes londonist.substack.com/p/a-visit-to...

londonist.substack.com

A Visit to the City of London Cemetery

Famous burials and a howl of foxes.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 02/09/2026

100 years before the London Eye, Earl's Court had the biggest wheel in the world... londonist.substack.com/p/earls-cour...

londonist.substack.com

Earl’s Court: The First London Eye

Welcome to Londonist: Time Machine, the newsletter of London history.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 28/08/2026

In London, a plot of land the size of a parking space can have a deep, deep history londonist.substack.com/p/some-notes...

londonist.substack.com

Some Notes From the Centre of London

The ultimate historical hotspot.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 26/08/2026

How many of London's 'working-class sculptures' have you seen? I've found 16... but they're all of men londonist.substack.com/p/london-has...

londonist.substack.com

London has at Least 16 ‘Working-Class Sculptures’... But Where Are The Women?

The city is very good at commemorating labouring men.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 23/08/2026

Nothing to do with London history, but this just blew my mind

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 21/08/2026

Blue Plaques are just the tip of the iceberg... dozens of other plaque schemes operate across London, and here are the most important and unusual -> londonist.substack.com/p/track-the-...

londonist.substack.com

Track the Plaque: A Colourful Guide to London’s Memorials

Blue Plaques are only the start.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 16/08/2026

Quick reminder about the 1st annual Londonist: Time Machine history writing competition. £350 top prize. But enter soon, as the deadline is Wednesday londonist.substack.com/p/the-1st-an...

londonist.substack.com

The 1st Annual Writing Competition From Londonist: Time Machine

With prizes for London's next great history writers.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 15/08/2026

It's so sad to visit St Pancras churchyard and see where the Hardy Tree once stood (it died of disease a few years back). That said, its engirdlement of gravestones looks all the more surreal in the tree's absence

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 14/08/2026

A map and guide to Tudor buildings in London (outside the centre, which was covered in a previous article) londonist.substack.com/p/the-comple...

londonist.substack.com

The Complete Tudor Part 2: Tudor Buildings Beyond Central London

Hampton Court, obviously... but where else?

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 13/08/2026

Lacking special glasses, I thought it'd be possible to watch the eclipse through a pint of light ale. Alas, it didn't work. The Sun just appeared as a bright glow. I did get some good stock photos of beer in the sunshine though. Lesson learned: try cider next time

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 29/07/2026

Another panel done! I've coloured up to the very edge of London, as it was in 1746. This latest panel shows Mile End and Stepney Church surrounded by fields. (High-res and article in comments.)

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 22/07/2026

I see that Pret is 40 years old today (according to their own plaque). True story… when I first moved to London in the 90s, I was so introverted and provincial that I didn’t dare set foot inside Pret a Manger, in case I had to order in French.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 21/07/2026

He may have been the smallest man from the smallest county, but Jeffery Hudson led a big life... much of it in London londonist.substack.com/p/how-the-sm...

londonist.substack.com

How 'the Smallest Man From the Smallest County' Came to London

... and led the biggest life.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 15/07/2026

Previously unseen aerial photos of London in 1983 show the city on the cusp of change. And we've recreated each one in Google Earth, so we can do the 'Now vs Then' thing londonist.substack.com/p/london-in-...

londonist.substack.com

London in 1983 From Above (and Recreated)

Then and Now photos from the air.

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Reposted by Londonist: Time Machine

M@ @mattfromlondon.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I stumbled across Count Binface with his visor up, and this is the shocking truth

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 08/07/2026

That was the fourth best morning of my life... flying over London in the Goodyear Blimp. London is so, so beautiful from up here. I want to go round again! About 4,000 photos to go through, but here are a few highlights (including the toilet).

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 08/07/2026

The City's first proper skyscraper is now half a century old. The NatWest Tower once dominated the skyline, but is now lost among other towers. Here's its history -> londonist.substack.com/p/50-years-o...

londonist.substack.com

50 Years of the City's First Skyscraper

The NatWest Tower's half-century on the skyline.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 06/07/2026

A road sign in Farringdon that speaks for half the nation this morning... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚽️

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 03/07/2026

The forgotten story of the first aeroplane flight over London, and why the pilot got a bit of a b*ll*cking londonist.substack.com/p/the-first-...

londonist.substack.com

The First Aeroplane Flight Over London

Later than you might think.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 01/07/2026

Ancient maps and demented entanglograms... these are the biggest 10 stories from the first three years of our history newsletter, Londonist: Time Machine londonist.substack.com/p/top-10-the...

londonist.substack.com

Top 10: The Biggest Articles From Londonist: Time Machine's First 3 Years

Quite a few maps...

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 30/06/2026

In case you missed it... I just finished colouring in the 1746 map of Mile End, Stepney and Bethnal Green. In took about 25 hours, but it really makes the different types of land and building stand out londonist.substack.com/p/1746-in-co...

londonist.substack.com

1746 in Colour: Bethnal Green, Mile End and Stepney Green

Colouring in the old East End...

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 29/06/2026

Add this to the list of London streets that sound like they're actually a rotating space-station colony, in orbit around Alpha Centauri.

A london street sign called 'Prospect Ring'

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 26/06/2026

250 years ago, it was Whitechapel's most prominent landmark...now, very few people have heard about it. londonist.substack.com/p/the-myster...

londonist.substack.com

The Mystery of the Whitechapel Mount

What was this forgotten East End landmark?

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 24/06/2026

In colour for the first time! Know someone in Bethnal Green, Whitechapel or Stepney? They might like this highly detailed map from 1746, which we just finished colouring in -> londonist.substack.com/p/1746-in-co...

londonist.substack.com

1746 in Colour: Bethnal Green, Mile End and Stepney Green

Colouring in the old East End...

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 22/06/2026

Just seen a press release for a major new book called London: Secret Hidden Places. One of the featured ‘secret hidden places’ is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which is first-class trolling.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 20/06/2026

While the Post Office is busy closing its branches, here’s an example of some branches closing in on the Post Office. This postbox on Drayton Gardens, South Kensington is slowly being devoured by a London plane tree.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 19/06/2026

What sounds used to be common in London, but are now rare or non-existent? My thoughts -> londonist.substack.com/p/the-lost-s...

londonist.substack.com

The Lost Sounds of London

How the city's soundscape has changed.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 18/06/2026

The pair of glasses on the right were worn by both Bono AND Ali G; just one of the unusual exhibits at London's most central museum (free to explore) -> londonist.substack.com/p/londons-mo...

londonist.substack.com

London's Most Central Museum is an Eye on the Past

Why you should give the British Optical Association Museum a look-see.

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 12/06/2026

This is my favourite topical joke from 1880: "If William Penn’s aunts kept a pastry shop, what would be the prices of their pies? The pie-rates of Penn’s Aunts"

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Londonist: Time Machine @londonist.com · 12/06/2026

"More of gravy than of grave..."? The Victorians were masters of the terrible pun, and we've compiled some London-themed examples in the article below -> londonist.substack.com/p/victorian-...

londonist.substack.com

Victorian Jokes: The Old Ones Aren't the Best

What groan-some jokes tell us about Victorian society.

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