About Me and this Blog

29/08/2022 donbrown 0

Welcome, thanks for discovering this blog and taking the time to find out more. It is a pretty random collection of posts of curiosities, museum […]

warehouse number one, the home of the london Museum Docklands

The missing statue of Robert Milligan

03/10/2025 donbrown 0

To the London Museum in Docklands for a bit of research on the history of the docks for my forthcoming online talk. The museum’s building […]

Gerry Judah’s Great War Sculptures in St Paul’s

22/09/2025 donbrown 0

The 2014 sculptures commemorating WW1 by the artist Gerry Judah are powerful works that tell a story of continuing war and suffering.

the churchill memorial screen in st paul's cathedral

The Churchill Screen in St Paul’s Cathedral

21/09/2025 donbrown 0

All about James Horrobin’s sculptural ironwork that commemorates the 1965 funeral of Churchill in the cathedral.

New Online Talk – a history of London in five buildings + places

20/09/2025 donbrown 0

Join me on November 4 for an online talk in aid of Prostate Cancer UK and Brain Tumour UK. This winter I will be doing […]

Join me for some online talks this winter

08/09/2025 donbrown 0

As the summer slowly decays and the autumn evenings start to settle in, it’s time to think of gathering round the glowing embers of your […]

a view of westminster's jewel tower from college green

Westminster’s Medieval Jewel Tower

02/09/2025 donbrown 0

Well, I’m pleased that I finally got around to visiting the 14th century Jewel Tower, one of the last remnants of the old Palace of […]

guards memorial statues of soldiers

The Bomb-Scarred Guards Memorial

28/08/2025 donbrown 2

Walk across Horseguards Parade towards St James’s Park and directly in front of you is the Guards Memorial, a portland stone monument with five bronze […]

great fire of london image

The Great Fire of London – Online Talk

27/08/2025 donbrown 0

Earlier this year I revived the idea of the online talk that we all grew to love/hate during lockdown. Much to my surprise there still […]

double headed serpent from the British Museum

The Mexica Double-Headed Serpent in the British Museum

27/08/2025 donbrown 0

In 1521, less than 30 years after Columbus first landed in the Americas a Spanish force of invaders/adventurers/colonists had sacked the Mexica (Aztec) capital of […]

The Brewery Workers’ Attack on the ‘Hyena of Brescia’

01/08/2025 donbrown 0

Close to where The Anchor pub stands on Bankside there used to be a huge brewery (known as ‘The Anchor Brewery’) operated by the firm […]