Independently London
Our blog on London, its curiosities and its history, for independently-minded Londoners, and anyone else who might be independently interested in London.
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Great Cockney traditions
Posted on 18 March, 2021
From Bow bells to jellied eels, you can’t beat a good old bit of Cockney tradition, the heart and soul of London’s culture and identity.
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Stoke Newington
Posted on 14 March, 2021
In population terms, Stoke Newington (“Stokey” to its friends) was London’s smallest metropolitan borough.
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Stepney
Posted on 10 March, 2021
Though the area we call Stepney nowadays is quite small, it was once a manor that covered most of what’s now the East End.
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Indian London (part two)
Posted on 06 March, 2021
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Indian London (part one)
Posted on 02 March, 2021
There’s been an Indian community in London for centuries. While nowadays strongest in West London, it was at one time based firmly in the East End.
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Southwark
Posted on 26 February, 2021
Southwark isn’t just any old borough, if you please; Southwark is the Borough.
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Shoreditch
Posted on 22 February, 2021
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London Stone
Posted on 18 February, 2021
Unlike Arsenal and Borough, London Stone does not correctly have a “the” in front of it, but no-one seems to know what it is or where it comes from.
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St Pancras
Posted on 14 February, 2021
St Pancras is a church rather than a neighbourhood, but it gave its name to a metropolitan borough that included Camden Town, Kentish Town, Somers Town, and half of Bloomsbury.
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Poplar
Posted on 10 February, 2021
Tucked into the corner where the River Lea meets the Thames, Poplar is named after the poplar trees which once flourished in that well-watered nook.