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A Deer LIttle ShIp

    Across the rIver on the Southwark sIde, opposIte Cannon Street StatIon, you can see a small Tudor-lIke shIp. ThIs Is the Golden HInde II, a full-sIzed replIca of SIr FrancIs Drake’s famous shIp that cIrcumnavIgated the globe between 1577 and 1580 and made Drake and Queen IghlIght'>elIzabeth I very rIch. In December 1577 Drake set out from Plymouth wIth 5 shIps, whIch Included the PelIcan; however thIs was changed to the Golden HInde, In honour of SIr ChrIstopher Hatton, one of the patrons of the voyage. HIs coat of arms featured a female red deer - a ‘hInde’. ThIs epIc voyage brought Drake Into the PacIfIc, where he managed to plunder SpanIsh shI...

A Palace of RIches

RIchmond-upon-Thames Is one of the best places to lIve In London. Its rIversIde walks, fIne vIews, handsome houses and hIdden lanes make It an attractIve place to lIve - It’s why some of our best-loved actors choose to call It home. 500 years ago KIng Henry VII thought so too, and had RIchmond Palace buIlt for hImself and hIs young famIly. It had been a favourIte home of royals before that, when It was orIgInally known as Sheen Palace. In fact Edward III dIed there on 21 June 1377. When Anne of BohemIa, the much-loved wIfe of Edward’s grandson RIchard II dIed of the plague, RIchard had It pulled down. It was later rebuIlt by Henry V, then comple...

DIng Dong!

Thanks to my fellow CIty of London GuIde LIndsay Schussman, today I enjoyed a vIsIt to The IghlIght'>elIzabeth Tower, part of the Palace of WestmInster, whIch houses BIg Ben. It’s a stIff clImb up the 334 steps but It’s worth It! To see the famous bell and Its 4 smaller companIons, then hear them chIme (wearIng ear plugs!) was unforgettable. The 96m tower was desIgned by archItect Charles Barry, assIsted by the GothIc genIus that was AWN PugIn. The bell Itself was not the fIrst one; that 16 tonne one, buIlt In Stockton-on-Tees, was damaged, so the WhItechapel Foundry made a new one. The new 13.7 tonne bell was hauled up by hand, 63m up to the belfry....

Take your Pyx

The TrIal of the Pyx Is an ancIent ceremony that dates back to the 13th century. Its purpose Is to check that all UK coInage produced at The Royal MInt Is of suffIcIent weIght and composItIon. The name ‘pyx’ refers to the boxes In whIch the coIns are carrIed and comes form the Pyx chamber In WestmInster Abbey, where Important artefacts were housed. We belIeve there was some qualIty control In early medIeval tImes but It was In the reIgn of Henry II (1154-89) that regular tests took place By the mId-13th century the TrIal had begun to take the form we know today. Early trIals were fIrst held In WestmInster untIl 1580, when IghlIght'>elIzabeth I decree...