The museum is located in the former Royal Bethlem Hospital for the mentally ill (from where the term ‘bedlam’ comes). The iconic guns at the front are 15 inch naval cannon, both used in action in WW2.
This area gets its name from the fields of the hospital of St.Mary’s priory, founded in 1197 on the site of a Roman cemetery. It was demolished in the Reformation.
Built to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, the height of the Monument is the same as its distance from the bakery on Pudding Lane where the fire started.
A wonderful place for people watching on a sunny day or as a romantic meeting place at dusk, but look out for the pigeons. A visit to the National Gallery is also highly recommended.
Piccadilly is named after a type of broad lace collar fashionable in the early 17th century, the ‘piccadil’. The best examples were sold by a local tailor whose shop became known as Piccadilly Hall.
Two traffic milestones occurred in this square. In 1868 the world’s first traffic lights were installed here (which later blew up) and in 1926, it became Britain’s first official roundabout.
A Carthusian priory was founded here in 1371 on the site of London’s biggest plague pit. After the dissolution of the monasteries it became a private estate, and then a school.
