Liverpool Street Station Stands Where The Original “Bedlam” Hospital Was
As you may or may not know, all players start the Race Across The World Experience in London from near Liverpool Street Station. From here, you send “Start” to your welcome message and receive directions for your first checkpoint where you pick up your race packs.
We understand you’re eager to get started, so you probably won’t notice the tiny blue plaque on the wall commemorating the place of the first Bethlehem Hospital (1246-1676).
It’s believed that Bethlehem Hospital operated as an institution for the mentally unwell from the early 15th century.
People Were Once Sentenced to Death at The Guildhall
Now known to us as an art gallery, the Guildhall has been a witness to plenty of London’s less artistic aspects of history…including trials for treason.
The most famous person to be sentenced to death within its walls is probably Lady Jane Grey, or “The Nine Day Queen”, as she is now known.
Jane was beheaded at the Tower of London upon orders from Mary I, who succeeded her younger brother, Edward VI, to the throne after his death in 1553.
A 38 Year Old Goose Once Lay in State at Leadenhall Market
For hundreds of years, Leadenhall Market’s primary purpose was being a poultry market.
Sources state that over the course of two days, around 34,000 geese were slaughtered, but one of them survived to tell his tale (and get a nickname).
Beloved by locals, Old Tom (a gander originally from Ostend) caused a bit of a racket by being drunk and disorderly on occasion, but his death in 1835 was genuinely mourned by the local community.
In fact, according to one newspaper report, the Court of Aldermen even attended his funeral, and local poulterers declared that his spirit haunted the market which, apparently, “nightly takes in his favourite stuffing of sage and onions”.
A Block in The Barbican is Named After Shakespeare’s “Hairy” Landlord
Participants on Race Across The World: The Experience might find themselves rushing around the Barbican in hot pursuit of a clue, so we’ll forgive you for not being meticulously observant of all the building’s names.
However, if, for some reason, you spot Mountjoy House during the race, it might interest you to learn that this refers to Shakespeare’s landlord, Christopher Mountjoy. He was a Huguenot wig-maker who rented a room to Shakespeare on Silver Street, the only place we know for sure that Shakespeare lived in London.
Why do we know this? Mountjoy was sued by his son-in-law for not paying the dowry he owed, and Shakespeare was called as a witness. The documents still exist in the archive.
There Are More Tudor Tragedies at The Tower of London Than You Think
Arguably the most famous person to meet their end at the Tower of London was Anne Boleyn, who, as most people know, was sentenced to death for adultery and treason at the request of her husband, Henry VIII.
What a lot of people don’t know is that Henry VIII’s mother, Elizabeth of York, also died at the Tower of London, but not at the hands of a swordsman.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth died shortly after giving birth at the Tower. Her husband, Henry VII, was so devastated by her passing that he spent £2,800 (around £1.8 million in today’s money) on her funeral.
Ready to Race?
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