Facts and Intrigue

With a city the size of London - one whose history extends for hundreds of years, a city whose population is as vibrant and varying as an artist's paint palette - the amount of quirks and charm related to its architecture and culture is huge. Here's our quick list of twenty interesting and otherwise unexpected London facts. 

  • The population of London is 7.5million.

 

  • There are more than 250 languages spoken in London.

 

 

  • London has several subterranean rivers flowing under its streets. Examples include The River Fleet, Tyburn River and The Walbrooke Stream.

 

  • 1 Hyde Park, Knightsbridge is London’s most expensive house at £136million.

 

  • Baker Street is London’s oldest underground Tube stop. It first opened in 1863.

 

  • In 2006, a bottlenose whale found itself swimming up the River Thames.

 

  • In London’s 395 public libraries there are around 17 million books.

 

  • The new Wembley Stadium is the world’s largest football stadium, while Twickenham Stadium is rugby’s largest.

 

  • The crown jewels in the Tower of London are said to be worth hundreds of billions of pounds, if not priceless.

 

  • Now a national icon, London’s first petrol-powered black cab was introduced in 1903.

 

  • Within the boundaries of London, 33 bridges span the River Thames.

 

  • The oldest structure in London is the Tower of London, built in 1078.

 

  • 50 Berkeley Square is London’s most haunted house.

 

  • The first escalator was introduced to the London Underground at Earls Court in 1911.

 

  • There are two fake houses in London: 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens, Paddington. Their windows are painted on and, from behind, they’re flat structures held up by scaffolding like on a movie set. Their purpose? To hide the entrance, sight and smell of a section of Metropolitan tube track that then runs underground. Effectively it’s a big hole where trains ‘vent off’ i.e. blow steam and cause an unpleasant stench.

 

  • Over half the London Underground is actually exposed – 55% to be exact.

 

  • Crystal Palace Park is home to the world’s first life-size dinosaur collection. It was unveiled in 1854.

 

  • The clock tower next to the Houses of Parliament is always referred to as ‘Big Ben’ when, in fact, it’s the bell inside the tower that’s called Big Ben. The clock tower is called St. Stephen’s Tower.

 

  • Whereas New York has around 500 bookshops, London has about double that amount.