1858 was the year of the Great Stink. A smell of old father Thames was so bad that MPs moved parliament out of London. For centuries, untreated human waste was pumped directly into the Thames … Bazalgette built 1,100 miles of sewers. ibid.
Euston Station in Central London: one of the capital’s biggest train terminals. Tucked alongside it is St James Gardens. On the face of it, an ordinary park. But look closer and you’ll find clues that there’s a hidden history here. An incredible window into London’s past. Because beneath these seemingly unremarkable gardens lies a vast ceremony, and now part of Britain’s biggest ever archaeological dig. Britain’s Biggest Dig, BBC 2020
The huge excavations here at St James’s: it’s part of major investigations along the 150-mile route of HS2, the new high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham and beyond. But before a track is laid, archaeologists will investigate every hill and valley along the route. The law requires them to excavate and rebury any human remains. ibid.
The cheapest plots were in the east, and the highest status burials were in the west: closer to the chapel, closer to God. ibid.
We move up the line to another gigantic excavation to uncover how Victorian Birmingham grew into a boom town of the industrial revolution. Britain’s Biggest Dig II
London, Spring 2019: next to Euston Station the excavation of the 230-year-old St James’s burial ground is reaching its peak. Hundreds of archaeologists are unearthing the largest cemetery ever dug up in Britain. ibid.
During the Second World War this part of London was targeted by the Luftwaffe, and many bombs detonated in and around the cemetery. ibid.
Digs have already started along the route of HS2. Surveys indicate an important site awaits to be unearthed on average every mile along the route. ibid.
Summer of 2018: Next to the City’s famous Bullring, the Fox & Grapes pub, once part of a vibrant working-class community, is being demolished after it is being surveyed by archaeologists. Across the road lies the giant Park Street burial ground, where archaeologists face another huge task … excavations will range over five hectares … making way for the next 7-platform terminus of HS2. ibid.
At the start of the eighteenth century Birmingham was a market town of just 15,000 people. ibid.
The River Thames, January 1806: All of London has turned out to witness the most elaborate funeral procession in living memory. A broken body is being escorted home with the pomp and ceremony usually reserved for royalty. The man who three months ago gave his life in his hour of triumph at the Battle of Trafalgar is laid to rest with a state funeral at St Paul’s cathedral. And in this moment, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson becomes a cult figure, representing for many victory and glory. Nelson: Britain’s Great Naval Hero, Channel 5 2020
The River Fleet: Fleet Street runs directly over the ancient watercourse. Within 20 years the Romans had built a small town roughly half a square mile in size with a fortified garrison. Londinium rapidly began a thriving hub, providing road links across Britain and to the larger empire across the channel. Dan Jones I, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads, Channel 5 2020
Ermine Street: the Romans’ straightest road which runs north from their capital in London to what became their second city in Britain – York, founded in around 100 A.D. Most of Ermine Street is still in use today, through we know it better as the A1. This is Bishopsgate right in the heart of the city of London and it’s the start of Ermine Street proper. Dan Jones, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads II: Ermine Street
The [London] Mithraeum was built around 1,700 years ago. It fell into ruin and was buried when the Romans left our land in the 5th century. It was uncovered in 1954 when an office block was built near Cannon Street, though it’s been moved to a new site in recent years. ibid.
Stane Street which runs from London all the way down to the south coast. Walking Britain’s Roman Roads VI: Stane Street
By the 4th century they [Romans’] had mounting problems. They had occupied our land for more than 300 years but they were being increasingly attacked by the forces within Britain. ibid.
Stane Street runs 67 miles from London to Chichester. The route is closely followed by our modern roads. ibid.
By the second century A.D. Londinium was a thriving city with a population of around 60,000. ibid.
During the Second World War a vast complex of secret bunkers was constructed under the streets of London. This world now lost to time was once an important refuge from the nightly onslaught of German air raids. This subterranean labyrinth kept the British government led by Winston Churchill safe through the darkest days of the War. Lost Worlds: Churchill’s Secret Bunkers, History 2006
Although it never fully served its purpose, Paddock was important: it helped engineers understand how to build bomb shelters, and it served as a prototype for many of Churchill’s bunkers. ibid.
Under this building in central London ... with over 200 rooms it was the hub of Winston Churchill’s wartime world ... a refuge for Churchill and his cabinet even in the most desperate of times. ibid.
‘We’ve got more villains in our game than you’ve got in yours, you know.’ Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty I: Firm in a Firm, tape of bent copper to villain, BBC 2021
At the dawn of the 1970s London was a city under threat. Drugs, pornography and violent robbery were front page news. But behind the headlines lay a sinister hidden truth. Amongst honest officers a secret network of bent coppers operated across London. It’s the story of corruption that went to the very top. And a band of honest coppers who took on the fight to stop the rot. ibid.
‘Black people and the working classes were easy pickings, and you could almost guarantee that any bust was successful.’ ibid. ex-rozzer
Three weeks into The Times’ investigation, and still unaware he is being recorded, John Simmonds continues to take money off Michael Parry. ibid.
‘The Sunday People was about to blow Scotland Yard wide open with another story. This time it really was the big time.’ ibid. ex-rozzer
‘That was all for show. They raid us once a month for appearances sake.’ Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty II: Goodbye Rotten Geezer, Soho sex shop worker
At this time, Soho at least in term of pornography, was a huge corruption machine in which hundreds of pounds was being paid every year to crooked cops. ibid. Martin Short, journalist
Demand for pornography in the late 1960s was at an all-time high. Magazines are cheap to produce, and hardcore material is easily smuggled in from the more liberal Europe. With vast profits to be made, pornographers continually pushed the boundaries of acceptability. The job of policing this lucrative trade is down to the Obscene Publications Squad. In charge of the Obscene Publications Squad is none other than Detective Chief Superintendent Bill Moody … He was making vast sums of cash doing deals with pornographers. ibid.
Police Chief And The Porn King. ibid. Sunday People front page
Seven days after taking charge, Robert Mark rewrites the rulebook and announces the Metropolitan Police’s first ever dedicated anti-corruption branch: A10. ibid.
A10 swoop on ten officers accused of corruption. ibid.
‘During the 1970s the crime of armed robbery had been brought to the state of almost perfection: it was the glamour crime. It was about villains carrying guns always afraid they would be ambushed by police and shot dead themselves.’ Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty III: Taking a Drink, ex-rozzer
‘Rumours began to circulate that deals of some sort were being done. The attention switched from Scotland Yard over to the City of London CID and that the Firm Within a Firm had not been put out of business, and bent cops were still rampant.’ ibid.
Eight men had been arrested in connection with the three armed robberies. All charges [armed robbery & murder] against them are dropped. ibid.
Codenamed Operation Countryman, 27 officers from Dorset begin their investigation into the allegations of corruption in the City of London police … Operation Countryman triples in size with more than 80 officers drafted in from 10 regional forces … After 4 years and after a cost of £4 million, Operation Countryman is being wound down. Out of the 200 allegations of corruption investigated, no Metropolitan police officers were convicted of any offences. ibid.
One London shopping street is out of this world. It has more luxury brands than any other half-mile on Earth. Bond Street’s a hot-spot of celebrity. Worth billions, the most expensive retail street in Europe with dazzling diamonds, fabulous fashion and millionaire motors. Billion Pound Bond Street, ITV 2021
The city overwhelmed our expectations. The Kiplingesque grandeur of Waterloo Station, the Eliotic despondency of the brick row in Chelsea, the Dickensian nightmare of fog and sweating pavement and besmirched cornices. John Updike, New Yorker December 1962