Big Ben and a Walk through London's Whitehall and the Victoria Embankement Gardens
It's such a beautiful day in London. I almost feel tempted to go for a little swim. Uh wouldn't that make for a good interesting YouTube viewing? Hi everyone Sinead with Free Tours by Foot standing one of my favorite views in the entire of London now I'll make it a little clearer for you in a moment when we reverse it but today I was just thinking and we were talking with Steven actually we've never actually explore the North Bank of the River Tens and I want to take you along because in every single corner there's a history and a story to be told a lot of monuments a lot about the great stink of London we're going to be visiting stunning gardens in the area. Spring is in full bloom in London and everybody's out. Now, very busy day here on Westminster Bridge. Pardon the windswept hair. It's not intentional but the last, not much I can do about that. Um we're going to head back on the
bridge. Head all along the North Bank. I want to talk to you about Queen Bodecia, the original feminist and we're going to head straight up towards Embankment Station. Uh the Sherlock Holmes Pub is coming up. Gordon's pub is coming up. Some beautiful parks is coming up. Floating barges. A lot of history coming your way and a lot of things that people tend to overlook. So, I will explain to you a few of these amazing little scenes in the area. Now, ladies and
gents, you've asked for it. It's finally back. Look at her in the background. So, I'm going to give you an amazing view. Big Ben in all her glory after four years. It's taken that length of time. Not fully revealed to the public just yet but we will be getting there very shortly. I believe there's
a big coming up. So, I'll show you that in just 2 minutes. So, stay with me. A lot of history coming your way and we're going to head right up the Victoria Ebankment but welcome back everyone. I feel like it's been forever. I can't take wait to take you on a little journey around London. I want to show
you some of the my hidden secrets of this area. Just wanted you to see the North Bank from my eyes. And what I noticed along the way. Some people tend to overlook certain areas but there's some amazing memorials along here but look at Big Ben. I mean it's been a long time coming. It truly has.
We're going to start with the statue over here in the corner. I've never actually spoken about this before. And we're going to talk about Queen Buddha of the Isini tribe. An incredible female warrior. Now many monarchs over the years have been influenced by Queen Buddha. Elizabeth the first is
said to have been interested in the history of the Buddhakin Revolt. Uh Queen Victoria is said to have been quite enamored with her. And actually that she was quite like her herself. Ehm back to Buddhacap. So it's a bronze sculpture
representing Buddhaca, the Queen of the Icini Tribe and she led a ehm an actual uprising in Roman Britain around AD 60 or AD 61. Ehm this wasn't erected actually until 1902 but it's a sculpture by Thomas Porneycroft. Eh he was favoured by Queen Victoria. Actually did an equestrian statue of her which was put in the great industrial exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851. Uh she was the wife of King Prasutagas. Now, this is probably going to be a very
wrong pronunciation. King Prasutagis was ruler of the Isini tribe and he had inhabited what we know today as modern day Norfolk. Now he actually had an alliance with the Romans when they arrived so he could secure independent status for Norfolk that area and even in his will he had gifted in his will half of his fortune was to go to the emperor and the Roman Emperor Nero and his two daughters. However that wasn't to come to pass however because as soon as he died the Romans actually conquered Norfolk removed his lands and actually enslaved his citizens. So the queen, his wife, Isini, she had been
captured as well, reputedly was lashed and her daughters were raped. She led a hundred and 20 thousand strong army of the Isini tribe and the tribe known as Trinovantes. They were a tribe from modern day Essex and in three different parts of the UK up to eighty people were slaughtered. Now the revolter her rebellion was eventually crushed by the Romans eventually. So not quite successful for her but she's lived on in the memories of several female powerful females. Elizabeth the first was said to be enamoured by her
and very interested in the history of Buddhista and also Queen Victoria but she became a key symbol as well for the suffrage movement as in many demonstrations she was referred to. George Bernard Shaw wrote several poems about Budisea but there is an actual full exhibit Buddhakin exhibit in the about the Buddhakin Revolt in the Museum of London ladies and gents. So that's her anyway. She starts off our tour today. But we're going to head up here. And we're going to make our way up the Victoria Embankment. And this building
by the way is Port Collis House ladies and gents. It's right here. And that's just an extension of the offices of the Houses of Parliament for the members of Parliament. Ehm obviously they can't all be housed. There's over 650
elected members of parliament. Some of them are housed of course in the House of Commons. More important ones. However Eh there is extra room of course in here for the ehm the MPs and members of parliament. Now we're going to continue on because I want to show you the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department. This is New Scotland Yard. But it is in fact new new new Scotland Yard because this is the fourth location on the site. Now some of you will be
quite familiar with this revolving sign down here. Eh here is the building, the new Scotland Yard building. But not the original site. It takes its name actually from eh UC
located on Whitehall Place and one of the entrances was actually on Scotland Yard. I'll show you probably now in a minute. I'm getting a few strange looks. They're wondering why I am filming them at the moment. Well, that's okay. It's a public building so we're allowed to talk about the history of Scotland Yard. So, it there it is. Now, the
headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department and that was formed on the 29th of September 1829. Now, the gentleman responsible for that is Robert P and here's an amazing bust here and in one of the several moves. Actually when they moved to the third location which was on Victoria they moved back to this location they found this bust of Robert Peel in a box under a staircase and it's now at a fitting tribute to him here. He was the founder of the Metropolitan Police Department. He was the founding father of the Conservative Party. So twice as Prime Minister. He was
twice Chancellor of the Exchecker I believe. Uh he was also foreign secretary but years later he referred to as a Liberal wolf and sheep's clothing. Ehm some relatively unknown facts about him actually. He is also eh the first British Prime Minister to have his photograph officially taken and he is also the first Prime Minister well he's the only Prime Minister that was on the front of the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band eh front cover on the album. Now inside the building as well and that is the very familiar New Scotland yard sign folks that a lot of people eh you'll be familiar with Sherlock and from the Bill which was a police well a lot of police crime dramas and actually I don't know is it featured in line of duty which is also a really good one that was just come out as well. But inside here is the one of the more spectacular museums in London which regretfully is not open to the public. And that is
the crime museum. And it was actually set up to help police recruits well study when they're investigating crimes here in London. Okay so location of that crime museum is inside New Scotland Yard here. Sorry, I was losing my words a little bit. It's quite noisy and distracting around here. The police just asked me what I was doing but I just
told them it's fine. So, it's a collection of criminal memorabilia kept at New Scotland Yards which is the headquarters of course of the Met. It's also known as the Black Museum. Now, it did start in eighteen seventy-four this museum arising from an act called the forfeiture act of eighteen seventy. Now, basically, that's when they confiscated prisoners property and they put it into this black museum and it it aided them in their study of crime and criminals. Ehm it was also that fortune four act in section 31
was abolished. The punishment of being undrawn and quartered. Isn't there amazing sometimes in English language there's words certain words you cannot pronounce. Anyway inside there they have over 500 exhibits and some of the most incredible exhibits I mean I would give my right arm to see. I would
absolutely love to see. Ehm firstly They have the private museum has opened up in 187-five but they have a noose, the hangman's noose that they used in there in the execution of the last female in Britain and her name was Ruth Ellis and she was executed for a well killing her partner in the 13th of July 1955 at Holloway Prison but the last executions in the UK of course were Peter Anthony Allen. He was hanged in Walton Prison in Liverpool and Gwen Owen Evans at Strange Ways in Manchester But not only that they also have death masks from criminals that were executed in Newgate Prison and inside there the infamous from Hell Leather from the Jack the Ripper ehm case. But apparently the only people that can use that crime museum now are police recruits police themselves. Not as of
the royal family of course they can use anything they like. And ehm visiting dignitaries I believe. So here's a little history of Victoria Ebankment Gardens. Let's have a quick look what they say here. So so Christopher Ren ehm of course
you're all familiar with him was the first person to suggest a river embankment in London after the fire in sixteen sixty-six. Work eventually began in 186-4. Now the reason this very area exists today is because of one incredible man called Joseph Basiljet. Eighteen fifty-8 a period in here in London it was called the Great Stink of London. And
yes it's as unpleasant as it sounds. So this is what is called Victoria Ebankment. Now the great stink of London effectively with the introduction of middle classes and flushing toilets the River Thames effectively became a sewer. Uh people were throwing all the rubbish, the dead animals and the smell of the River Thames. Now of course with the introduction of the flushing toilet where does the sewage go? It went straight into the River Thames. The smell was so bad from the River Thames. Even the of parliament
right down the end here had to soak eh the offices and the curtains and chlorides of lime to prevent the wolf from coming through. I mean insanely bad. Even the people of London themselves who didn't have the privilege of curtains of chlorides of lime headed down to ehm well Tooley Street to get a welcome relief of the spice merchants and banana merchants and all the ships coming in with the wonderful fragrances just to relieve them of the horrendous smell of the River Thames. Now also this caused a massive amount of problems in respect of cholera. There was massive toyfoid epidemics. So something had to be done. So Joseph Basiljet, I'm going to speak a bit more about Sir Joseph Basiljet. He
embanked this entire area. But we're going to walk through some of the gardens that came out as a result of these and these were usually laid out around so laid out between 1939 and 1959. But the gardens were also created on the site of the former Privy Garden of the Palace of Whitehall which was the primary residence of the English monarch. Monarchy actually between 1530 and 1698. That actual building was destroyed by fire and with the exception of banqueting house by Indigo Jones which still stands to this day in sixteen nineteen. But we should be doing a video on the Palace of Whitehall. But I want to show you some steps that exist from
that former building that was in the area as well. But the building I'm looking at right now is the MOD building. This is the Ministry of Defence and this was designed by Emmanuel Vincent Harris and again built on the site between 1939 and 1959. Now it's great to listed. Um it was designed by Vincent
Harris in nineteen fifteen. Um but it's a combination of Ministry of Defence of the Admiralty, the War Office and the Air Ministry. So there are more CCTV cameras I think on that building than there are anywhere else in London. There's over 300, 000 CCTV cameras in London. So behind the Ministry of Defence Building here is White and it's right across the road from of course the home of the Prime Minister 10 Downing Street. So if you head down there by the
Ministry of Defence you come out onto Whitehall which is known as the corridor of power. So one of the most secure streets in Britain. So of those 300, 000 CCTV cameras in London I honestly believe there must be about 2 hundred and90, 000 of them on this very building alone. But beneath the building is a three story bunker complex housing the defence crisis management centre and this is a protected crisis management facility provided especially for the government officials. So I guess a bunker in the event of any actual major catastrophic event of which the Queen is quite protected as well and the Prime Minister because this underground road network in London which connects so they say now I've never seen it but the rumour is there is a secret sophisticated underground road network of tunnels underneath the Ministry of Defence here connecting Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and it is said that they could successfully get the Queen and the Prime Minister out underground in London without even coming above ground in the eventuality of any major catastrophic event. Now this memorial here, I'm not
going to be able to do them all ladies and gents but I will try to be respectful of them. This is dedicated to the Korean War. And it says here at the end with gratitude for the sacrifices made by the British Armed Forces in defence of freedom and democracy in the Republic of Korea. Now this one I found recently which I find is amazing. And this is awarded to I think it's 14 Victoria crossholders. And these are plaques commemorating these Victoria crossholders. And
let's just read what it says. These oh sorry there's twelve of them. These paving stones commemorate twelve men who were were born in Westminster went on to be awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during the first World War. These included the first airmen and the first Jewish soldier soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The paving stones unveiled between 2000 14 and 20 18 on the centenary of the Victoria Cross recipient's actions. It's right so that and here ladies and gents is centuries of history. See these
steps here? These steps are known as the Queen Mary's steps and they are a remnant of the Tudor Palace which was once present here. So the steps eh led down actually to what would have been at the time the River Thames. So the Queen Mary's steps and some of the remaining Whitehall Palace. I mean there's history at every corner in the city and that's what blows my mind about London. Right let's continue on with our little history tour. And head in to our next part. Gonna
head into Whitehall Court and the second part of the Victorian Bankman Gardens. Whitehall Court Gardens. Now we featured this stunning stunning building. In my oligarch tour because on top in the penthouse two of the penthouses that went for £11 million pounds were bought by well Shuvlov. Former
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. And he features on my Russian oligarch tour. So oops sorry. My Russian oligarch tour. So don't forget to check that out if you haven't already seen it. But here we have. Look how beautiful it is here. Now
would you mind a resident like that ladies and gents? Right up here in this stunning building. But not only that Lord Kitchener lived here. Apparently George Bernard Shaw lived here. That's So spring is in full bloom in London so I'm going to do a a parks tour in the next few weeks. So this stunning home. Can you imagine having a penthouse right up there? Well really we can't can we because well it's certainly beyond my budget anyway. So 11 million and he bought two of
these properties. Now he has been known to have been said that they belong to his wife. But hey who knows? Pretty nice for George Bernard Shaw as well though. So London is all out
looking and enjoying their lunch. Taking a little well-earned break from what time is it actually? So it's approximately 10 to two right now so it's lunch time in London between one and two but look how pretty the gardens are. You guys, it's a beautiful day actually. Really well and truly spring has arrived. And we're going to go round the
backs of the buildings because I want to bring you around an up Northumberland Avenue very shortly as well. Look at these little eh table tennis tables that you're more than welcome to avail of with a little guided tour going on there. Amazing to think that this was all technically we're walking through what would have been the River Thames. I mean massive achievement by Joseph Basil Jet. Just giving you a beautiful idea of how attractive London looks in the spring and of course an undernight there through the trees. Now let's head over up and around here. I'm going to take you out around the embankment station. But there
is a little detour I want to take. But I just want to take you on a little detour. Let's walk through the lovely path here. I'm going to bring you over and you'll see directly in front of me the Hungerford Bridge and the pedestrian footbridges on either side which are the golden jubilee bridges now the first bridge was designed by Isenbard Kingdom Brunal and actually the footbridge the suspension footbridge the Hungerford the name comes from a market that would have been in the area the Hungerford Market but the bridge was bought by the railway company that extended the South Eastern Railway into the newly opened station. Look at this stunning bridge. Now I've walked across this on a previous tour. One of
the first tours I took across the bridge and along the embankment but I believe the audio isn't quite good in that. It just shows how amateurish we were at the beginning. Um I was still trying to catch my get my feet at the time. But the reason we're crossing here as well is the railway company they were East Isenbards Bridge, the suspension bridge with a structural designed by Sir John Haltshore. The chains actually from the old bridge are now used in Bristol's Clifton suspension bridge. But we're heading over here to see the memorial to the hero of the Victorian era. There is an
actual image of him. Seem to be constructing something along here. See the image behind the pole there? Talk a little bit about Sir Joseph Basiljet. Some people call him the patron saint of the noses of the people of London. Let's head over and you'll see it right here on the Victoria Embankment. Now Joseph Basiljet was an English civil engineer
in the 19th century and here he is so the engineer of the London main drainage system and of the embankment born 1819 and died in 1891, I'm so sorry about the noise folks but that's Central London there's not much I can do about that but he was the chief engineer engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works it's a major achievement as we spoken about alright was the sewage system here in London but he's also a credit it with the Hammersmith and Battersea Bridges, Putney Bridge, Chelsea Embankment, Albert Ebankment, Northumberland Avenue where we will be heading very shortly along here and Shaftsbury Avenue and his actions are thought to have saved more lives in the Victorian era than any other Victorian official. The historian Peter Akroyd argues that Basil Jet should be considered a hero of London. So next I want to take you up Northumberland Avenue. This is a lot of crossing over roads and jaywalking. I know a lot of
you will be a bit cross with me. But I want to get back to the headquarters of the Secret Service during the Great War. And one chap in particular but I've never brought you around this particular area. Doing a bit of jaywalking here. I'm very impatient. Alass. Off we go. So this is Northumberland
Avenue. Laid out as well by Joseph Basiljet. Let's take up and around the corner here. So obviously with the seating outdoors on a beautiful day in London, this is a very popular tourist destination and it is an actual must for any Sherlock Holmes fans in London. Um it is a complete recreation of homes and Watson's study upstairs and their sitting room with a large collection of objects and photographs related to the characters from the books but the collection was put together for the festival of Great Britain which of course took place in nineteen oh yeah no the Great Festival of Great Britain on the South Bank and it moved to its now permanent home here at the Sherlock Holmes Pub in nineteen fifty-seven. Now you're in for a special treat because the gentleman I just spoke to two minutes ago said it's closed upstairs and he's going to bring us in. Let's have a quick look inside and upstairs. We'll just get a look at that
recreation of their library and their living quarters. So this is what they have here. Oh now look at that you guys. Isn't that amazing? So nobody actually gets to go inside because these are all preserved this room. But just to give you an idea. Over the study of living quarters of Sherlock and Doctor Watson. And you get to have a bit of lunch here and it's great for fish and chips here actually. They're usually
quite busy though aren't you guys? It's best to book in advance okay. So just to give you an idea. Sir Conan Doyle's room. Sherlock Holmes room. And this is where you would eat. So does it get much more traditional than that ladies and gents. How amazing. Oh. Oh yeah there is a bigger window.
Thank you. Oh wow. It's all trial and error. Is it better to go that side as well? Okay let's have a better look here. Wow. What is that? That's so weird. That mannequin is quite
creepy. So she's just showing me that I can come this way. Oh my god. That's so much better. Thank you. No problem. Look at that. Oh my god. Why not? All of these were accumulated and brought here in 19fifty-seven. So technically like an old
Sherlock Museum. Excellent. I miss this bigger window. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Okay. Right, let's have a look at another very historic pub along here, the ship and shovel. Now, this is on Craven Street, Craven Passage actually but just for my American friends that are tuning in, this is Benjamin Franklin's house here that you can organize a tour on right at the back of the Sherlock Homs Pub.
And you can head inside there to have a view. You have to contact them directly for a tour in there. And we're on Craven Street. Look at these beautiful homes along here. And we're going to head down then. The ship and shuffle. And this is a rather quirky pub. This is the only pub in two halves in
London. Same pub. But in two halves. Sharing a cellar in a kitchen underground. How cool is that? And then we'll take us under here then, the Archer Shopping Centre. Love this pub
too. That one seems to be closed at the moment. And we'll show you where we end up out here then. I absolutely love it along here because we're heading in towards Villier Street. Which just connects us from the archway shopping area
here. Village Street connects us to somewhere we've been before as well. The incredible Gordon's Wine Bar. Busy day today. Wow. We're covering a lot of ground. I still have a few more stats to make. Very interesting stuff
coming up in Victoria Ebankment Gardens. Right at the back of the embankment station. So this is Lilier Street. Love this street as well. This place is usually packed if you can only smell the food here right now. Is the Italian restaurant. I kind of like it in there. And straight down here is embankment. But look
who lived in this building. Coming up on the left hand side. Another one of those circular blue plaques. I'm always telling people to make sure you keep your an eye above you in London when you're walking around. There's always so much as a wolf of information open to you. And here was the home. We moved down a little bit. Oh garbage truck coming. Let me
pause you for a minute. Of Rudyard Kipling. But there's Ruger Kipling's residence. Of course the author of the jungle book. And he lived here. He was this was erected in 1957 by the London City Council. Commemorating where he lived. And as you can see here he lived here from 1889 to 1891dummy. Now he won the Nobel Peace Prize for literature in
nineteen oh seven and he died actually of a perforated duodenal ulcer at the age of seventy. But his death and I always enjoyed this. I've been incorrectly reported and prematurely reported in a magazine to which he actually replied I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers. So so commonly as
well as the York Gateway or the York Watergate. Um it was built in 1874 and it's actually where the river would have met the bank, the North Bank, so the River Thames would have come entirely up as far as this water gate here. Now the it was built in eighteen seventy-four and it's part of the Yorkhouse which was built as a London base for the Bishops of Norwich in the twelve thirty However, the plaque over here will give us a little bit more information and it shows you the exact position where the River Thames went and it's right down here. This plaque was erected to commemorate this
area. Let's just see that the gateway marks the position of the North Bank of the River Thames before the construction of the Victoria Embankment in eighteen sixty-two. So the plaque tells us here about the 16th century house was acquired by Henry the Yates House and it took its name when it was given to the Archbishop of York in fifth eighty-six. And again as
it says there the later the house was owned by the Duke of Buckingham and the watergate was built around sixteen twenty-five. So for almost 400 years ago this has been a place where the duke used to alight eh from his boat on the river towns. So just this random piece of incredible history that people walk past everyday four years old standing here with so many stories to tell of its origin. Now let's head around the park here. And look at Londoners all out enjoying
the beautiful day. Now I have no idea where this boy is here but he seems to be as enamored with the man known as Robert Burns who lived from 1759 to 1796. Now Robert Burns also known as Rabby Burns who's a famous Scottish poet and lyricist eh Wylie Regarded to be the national poet of Scotland. Now you will be most familiar with them for the words which he never claimed to actually. He never claimed
responsibility for it but we know that the words were of old which we all celebrate of course at the end of the new year after the countdown. Ehm it's also widely used in ehm funerals and anything to commemorate the ending of an occasion. Now this is quite interesting. The glorious a memorial here on board of camel to the glorious and immortal men of the officers NCOs and men of the Imperial Camel Corps British Australian New Zealand Indian who fell in action or died of wounds and disease in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine.
1916, 1917 and 1918. And this dedicated to the Camel Corps. What a rather unusual memorial folks. Isn't that beautiful? Right let's head out. We're going back out onto the Victorian Bangkok because I want to show you what I think is one of the most impressive memorials in the entire of London. And you can see it there in the background behind the tree. We're going to make our way out towards Keel
Patra's needle. Here is the stunning oblisque a gift from the Egyptians to commemorate the victory or one of the victories of Napoleon. Now look at the oblisques here. This is the oblisc. Look at the Sphinx. Now what's quite interesting about this and people don't realise this as well. This is probably one of the only places in London where you'll see pok damage from World War one. You'll also see that on the Sphinx. That's a terrific photo there for people. But here it
is. Three thousand, 5 00 years old and here's some of that damage again. Let's have a look at the paws of the springs here. And come up the steps. It's an amazing photograph to get. And you'll see some of the damage there on the Sphinx's arm. Or
paw as it were. And the history of this is quite complex and in fact quite tragic for a number of individuals. But let me just take you down here because I want to get you a better view of it so we can talk a little bit about the history of it. Look at this as you're coming down the steps you guys. You're right here by the River Thames. It's such a beautiful day in
London. I almost feel tempted to go for a little swim. Uh wouldn't that make for a good interesting YouTube viewing? Right so let me take you around here just to get a better view of it. This is what I wanted to show you. So Cleopatra's needless 60 feet high and a hundred and 186 tonne oblisque. It's the oldest outdoor monument in London. And exposed artifact in London. So it was cut from Granite Quarries in Oswan in Egypt about 147-5 BC. Carved with dedications to
various gods and rulers and erected in Alexandria. So the monument was presented to the British by Muhammad Ali. He was the Voice Roy of Egypt in eighteen nineteen and it was transported actually with very much difficulty in eighteen seventy-seven. Now bear in mind this is 186 tons. So transporting it was a monumental task. And what happened is they made a specially designed cigar shaped container ship called the Cleopatra and it was used to convey this crisis artifact. That Cleopatra was built by the
Dixon Brothers and was technically an iron cylinder when completed. However in October 14th, 1877 in treacherous waters off the west coast of the Bay of Biscay in France disaster struck and those treacherous waters the needle was in danger of actually so this a steam ship that had been carrying the needle well had been towing the needle the Cleopatra the steam ship's name was the Olga since six volunteers to the Cleopatra to rescue the crewmen however those six volunteers were swamped and the volunteers drowned so here you have a memorial dedicated to those men that lost their lives while attempting to rescue the crew from the Cleopatra so So the the crew actually eventually saved the the Cleopatra crew. Um they they all got drew alongside them and rescued five crewmen and their skipper. But
they then caught the tow rope leaving the vessel a drift in the bay of Biscay. So five days Cleopatra's needle was a drift on board the Cleopatra until finally a ship eh came across it floating peacefully and undamaged off the northern coast of Spain. So they sent another steam ship the Anglia to eventually tow it successfully up the embankment here to great cheers by the crowds who are awaiting its arrival. It came up the embankment finally in eighteen
seventy-eight. So a rather sad story for those crewmen. I mean that's what's incredible about this place. There is his at every turn. Now look here. Also they set about is said about even commemorating Cleopatra's needle on the benches here. On
the embankment ladies and gents. And look at these sphinxes on the handles of these benches. People don't even notice them being there but it's all part. Dedication to Cleopatra's needle. What took so long to actually arrive here. So we're going to head down now. I want to show you
another amazing place to get a drink in London. Matt at Tattersall's Castle. Now this is probably one of the more popular pubs and restaurants on the River Thames and actually they do private parties on here as well. But let me let me have a look here. So it's a floating pub and restaurant. Look at them all enjoying their few drinks out there. Look at your
view in the background. It originally served as a passenger ferry across the Humber Estuary actually from 1934 to 1970 three before it was finally towed here to London in nineteen seventy-six. So the steamer itself was built by William Graham Company in 1934 and it was originally opened as a floating art gallery until 1982 when it was opened up as a restaurant. Now I'd love to see if they'd allow me to film on there. But to be honest I think you'd get the idea you guys but a great place to have a drink here. Right.
Look at your view in the background. Open seven days a week. Now we're going to head down here then as well because one of the most important memorials in London is coming up here the Royal Air Force Memorial. Now this is grade 2 listed. You'll see the stunning Guild Gold Eagle on top. This
was designed by Sir Reginald Bloomfield. And it's actually dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the RAF and the Royal Air Force in World War one. Here we have it here. And we get a better look in just a moment. We've just a few people
here on the inbank but this is probably one of the busiest parts of London especially on a beautiful day like today. Now it was unveiled in 1923 ladies and gents. And the funds for this memorial were raised by the Royal Air Force Memorial Fund. And the 16th of July 19 twenty-3. It was unveiled by well the then Prince of whales who later became Edward the eighth. You're all familiar with it upscunded or absticated the throne in favour of his love of Wallace Simpson. So the
gilded eagle which I'm trying to get the best view I can for you was taken from the Oriath badge. It's got raised wings facing east towards the River Thames nominally towards France. The eagle itself was sculpted by William Reed Digg and the motto of the Royal Air Force is also right at the top and that reads per ardu at Astra. Per Ardu Adastra. Apologies. I'm hoping I got that right and that means through adversity to the stars. So very important memorial here on the embankment. This inscription is added in
remembrance of those men and women of the Air Forces of every part of the British Commonwealth and Empire gave their lives 1939 to 1945. Now our final stop is coming up in just a moment and this is for me personally the most requested memorial in London and a lot of my visitors whenever I take them on their private tours around the area. Always want to see this particular one. And it is quite impressive. It's coming up here very shortly. And it's a memorial to the Battle of Britain. The Mount brings us right down the back of the embarkment. They're all heading
on the Uber boats here ladies and gents. Don't forget we did an Uber boat cruise. I took the clipper. Cyclone Clipper. You'll see it there. Ooh I feel like some of them are getting on those high-speed boats as well. So this is one of the places you will like for the Uber boats or the Thames Clipper. It's a wonderful way to travel. Along the River Thames. Uh
So on the go I want to talk to you a little bit more about the Oral Air Force Monument the Battle of Britain to the Battle of Britain which took place on the 10th of July to the thirty1st of October 1940. Now the monument here commemorates the individuals who took part in the Battle of the Britain during the Second World War. It was unveiled on the eighteenth of September 200and 5 and the 65th anniversary of the battle. So the bronze plaques we're about to see here. They list
the 2, 936 pilots and air crew from 14 countries who took part in the battle on the allied side. The sculpture of the monument is Paldai. Look at this. Isn't it just spectacular? Probably the most requested one than I get. And
you'll see the airmen retreating to their airplanes. What did I say? The requested sculpture of the monument is Paldai and as I said was cast by Morris Singer who's also responsible for the lines and the fountains of Trafalgar Square. So also known as the monument to the few the centrepiece again is the scramble of the airmen running towards their planes. But of course this was the 2, 936
British European and Commonwealth airmen. Five hundred and forty4 that lost their lives during the battle. And a further 795 did not live to see the final victory in nineteen 4five. It was the Battle of Bitten of course that prompted Churchill to say never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. But an incredible dedication to those men and women who lost their lives in the Battle of Britain. Right ladies and gentlemen. I'm
going to make my way back in here towards Big Ben. And we're going to head into Parliament because I have another special tour I'm preparing at the moment. But more importantly again thank you as ever for your wonderful support ladies and gentlemen. I will continue to make the videos as long as you continue to want them. You're an amazing crew. Sinead signing out here here in London on the Victorian Bagment. Thanks for joining me. See you very soon.
2022-04-26 03:09
