Kristine Hughes – Page 55 – Number One London

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TOUR: SLOANE SQUARE

During our upcoming sojourn in England, one of the neighborhoods Victoria and I will be staying near is Sloane Square, in Kensington. It’s not an area I’ve stayed in before, so I’m looking forward to exploring the area more fully this time over. While I’ll be arriving in London at 6 a.m., Victoria won’t be landing at Heathrow until 6 p.m., so I’ll be on my own for the better part of the day.

I think I’ll first stroll down the King’s Road and browse the shops on my way to Caffe Nero for that cup of coffee I’ve been anticipating for so long. Perhaps I’ll stop into the nearby Waterstone’s Books for a browse before retracing my steps to Royal Avenue, with it’s 19th century terraced houses, one of which was home to Bond, James Bond. This Avenue will bring me directly into Burton Court, a 14 acre green space that holds ancient trees and the Brigade of Guards cricket ground and backs directly onto Chelsea’s Royal Hospital.

The Royal Hospital is yet another of those places I’ve always meant to visit, but have never gotten around to seeing. And it’s yet another place with connections to the Duke of Wellington – will Victoria and I ever run out of people, places and things connected to the Duke of Wellington? More on that soon . . . . but for now we begin the Wellington connections to the Royal Hospital with his commission of that famous painting, The Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Despatch, by artist David Wilke. You can read a prior post about the painting here.

A second Wellington connection is the Hospital’s Great Hall, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, where Wellington’s body lay in State in 1852. In addition, there’s a Museum that features military artifacts, including items associated with the Duke, as well as other uniforms, weapons, models, etc.

After the Royal Hospital Museum, I may just mosey down to nearby Ranelagh Gardens, another site I’ve been meaning to visit. It’s the site of the present day Chelsea Garden Shows and has been incorporated onto the Hospital’s estate.

Of course, the Ranelagh Gardens of the 18th and 19th century is long gone and the Rotunda, Chinese Pavillion and lantern lit lanes are no more, but how glorious would it be to tread on the same ground where dandies, powdered ladies and the haute ton once paraded on summer evenings?

Remember, by this time of day I’ll still have about six hours to fill before Victoria arrives at our hotel, so I may just head up to Piccadilly and take a London Walk. The Old Palace Quarter walk sounds like fun. Strange, is it not, that someone who leads tours and walks themselves should want to take someone else’s tour? I suppose we all like to be led round London and entertained with historic tales.

Afterwards, I plan to visit Hatchard’s bookshop. I reckon it will be about 4 p.m. by now and I’ll have a couple of hours to browse the books before returning to our hotel in order to meet Victoria. A quick wash and brush up for her before we toddle out for out first of many dinners together in England. And where, you ask, will we be dining? At the Duke of Wellington pub, of course. Or, as it’s more cheekily referred to – The Duke of Boots.

AND FROM ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB . . . . . .

Spitalfields Life – Beekeeping on the Isle of Dogs
Historical Hussies – Childbirth in Regency England
Grace Elliot – Henry VIII’s Bedtime Habits
Downton Abbey Cooks – Mrs. Patmore’s Apple Charlotte
Carolyn Harris: Royal Historian – A review of Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts
Two Nerdy History Girls – The truth about big hair of the 1770’s: How they did it.
The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide – Tart of the Week: Eglantine, Lady Wallace

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TOUR: LONDON FOOD

I am gasping for a cuppa. A cuppa coffee at Caffe Nero, that is. I can’t get enough of it and now that London is once again in my sights, I’m lusting for one. Turns out that Denise Costello, who is coming along on The Duke of Wellington Tour with us in September, is also a devotee. We’ve struck a bargain to see who will be the first to reach the eleventh free coffee Caffe Nero awards on their loyalty card.

I have a sneaking idea we’ll be reaching the target together.

Dreaming of my next cup of coffee in London got me thinking about the other London foods I usually indulge in – old favourites that never disappoint. Like bangers and mash.

As Victoria well knows, bangers and mash are my “go to” food, my comfort food and what I can be counted upon to order, at least once a day. Add grilled onions and a side of green peas and it’s heaven. Of course, one can’t eat bangers and mash without washing it down with a pint and, oddly enough, my brew of choice in England is Kronenbourg 1664, which sounds German, but is brewed in France. And since I drink it in England, that’s most of the Waterloo nations covered.

I always try to visit London’s Chinatown when I’m in London, specifically for the roasted Peking duck that hangs tantalizingly in most windows there.

I was introduced to Chinatown many years ago by Dr. David Parker, who was then the curator of the Dickens House Museum. I’ve been returning ever since and will no doubt be popping in again in September. You can read about the history of the area here.

No trip to London would be complete without indulging in afternoon tea and my place of choice are the Richoux Tea Rooms on Piccadilly. There are fancier places, and trendier places, for tea, but Richoux is the grand old lady of tea shop chains, dependably good, always cozy. Rather like a visit to granny’s.

Regency author Diane Gaston, who also blogs at Risky Regencies, has signed up for the Tour and, along with Victoria, we’re looking forward to returning to Richoux during our Sunday walking tour of the St. James’s area of London.

Finally, because I’m such a cheese lover, I’m going to make a point of stopping in to Paxton and Whitfield in Jermyn Street.

It’s one of those places I’ve always meant to spend time in and that I never seem to get around to visiting. You can read about the history of the shop – since 1797 – here.

Honourable mention goes out to the American Steak House, the Angus Steak House and the Aberdeen Steak House, three chains with outlets throughout London. They’re literally everywhere.

Priced right, these places are nothing fancy, but the steaks can be depended upon and they’re convenient.

Honourable mention also to Burger and Lobster, which I discovered on my last trip to London – you can read about it here.

Burger and Lobster has a rather limited menu – lobster, burger or lobster roll. Twenty pounds each. The lobsters are cooked perfectly, the drinks ditto, so be prepared to wait for a table. They don’t take reservations, but definitely worth the visit.

Do you have a favourite “foodie” destination in London? If so, please leave a comment and let us know about it!

AND FROM ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB . . . . . .

Lucy Worsley – Britain’s funniest, cleverest and fattest queen ever – Queen Caroline
Discover Medical London – The Handsome Hoaxer of Harley Street
Sir John Soane’s Museum – Adam’s London: Then and Now – 33 St. James’s Square
British Newspaper Archives – Top 5 April Fools Day jokes in history, found in British newspapers dating back to the 1700s
Gizmodo – The Fascinating Untold History of War and Prosthetics
Londontopia – What Heathrow looked like before it became an airport

THE WELLINGTON CONNECTION: STRAWBERRY HILL

From the Journal of Mrs. Arbuthnot, July 8, 1822

Went to see Strawberry Hill with the Duke of Wellington, Lady G. Fane, my two girls and some men; it is a curious place, very much in the state in which it was left by Horace Walpole, very dull and shews a good deal of bad taste; but still I should have liked to have had more time to examine it. There are some curious pictures and statues in the house, the grounds are not particularly pretty and not well kept. We returned to Richmond to dinner and came back, as we went, by water. The day was beautiful and the banks of the river between Richmond and Twickenham are like fairy land.

Vicky has also visited and there are several posts on Strawberry Hill from the past; you can find them using the Search This Blog box located in the left hand sidebar.