As part of the Cityread London campaign, historian Antony Clayton came to Kensington Central Library to give a talk on the Legends of Underground London.
London is a city which is riddled with tunnels and passageways of all kinds from the “official” tunnels belonging to Transport for London, the Royal Mail and other institutions to the many secret passages under pubs and other private buildings. Not to mention those belonging to the so-called “secret state”.
Nearly a hundred people came to the event last night and enjoyed Antony’s erudite talk. We can’t recreate that for you but here are some of the images Antony showed the audience.
Morpeth Arms, MillbankThe ‘so-called’ cells beneath the Morpeth ArmsCrystal Palace pneumatic railwayThe site of British Museum tube stationThe former entrance to Kingsway telephone exchange
Dave Walker
Local Studies Librarian
Further Information
Antony Clayton is the author of many books that can be found in our libraries:
Cityread London is a campaign to spread a love of books and reading to the widest possible audience throughout our capital. By choosing one book- A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks – for the whole city to read, discuss and debate, the aim of the campaign is bring Londoners together in a series of special events, across London and online. This year’s Cityread London campaign will launch in our libraries and across the capital on 2 April 2013.
Sebastian Faulks
As well as opportunities to borrow A Week in December (and other works by Sebastian Faulks) from our libraries, there will also be events for children, families, young people and adults in April 2013.
A Week In December by Sebastian Faulks
Cityread events for adults
Trains, Trams and Buses: Images from the History of Transport in Kensington and Chelsea – An Exhibition
Number 73 bus and some interesting pedestrians!
Come and see images from the Local Studies collection. This exhibition has been curated by Kensington and Chelsea Local Studies Library at the following libraries:
Tuesday 2 to Saturday 6 April, Kensington Central Library
Monday 8 to Saturday 13 April, Brompton Library,
Monday 15 to Sunday 21 April, Chelsea Library
Monday 22 to Saturday 27 April, North Kensington Library
Creative Writing Workshop with Tamara Pollock
Tamara Pollock
Wednesday 10 April, 2 to 4pm at Brompton Library
In this two-hour workshop led by writer and workshop director, Tamara Pollock, we will look at incorporating the theme of London in a short story. We will briefly examine the way in which Sebastian Faulks depicts London life in his novel, A Week in December. This workshop is designed to ease writers into the process of short story writing and to answer questions about character, structure and dialogue.
Places are strictly limited for this workshop, so please book your free place early at Brompton Library.
Legends of Underground London
Subterranean City by Antony Clayton
Thursday 11 April, 6.30 to 8pm at Kensington Central Library
Antony Clayton, author of Subterranean City: Beneath the Streets of London, presents an illustrated talk that will uncover some of the colourful folklore of underground London including legends of secret tunnels and passages, pigs in the sewers and buried trains. Please book your free place to this event at Kensington Central Library.
Inconvenient People – Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England
Sarah Wise
Thursday 18 April, 6.30 to 8pm at Kensington Central Library
Sarah Wise looks at 75 years of psychiatry in 19th Century England bringing to light new research and unseen stories of contested lunacy. Exploring Victorian social history, she provides a unique insight into the sexuality, fears and greed of the Victorian middle class. Sebastian Faulks chose this as one of his Books of the Year (2012). Sarah did some of the research for her book at Kensington and Chelsea Local Studies Library. Please book your free place to this event at Kensington Central Library.
Cityread events for children, families and young people
Drama Workshop with Chickenshed Kensington and Chelsea
Chickenshed Kensington and Chelsea in action!
Tuesday 9 April, 2 to 3pm at Kensington Central Library
Age: seven to 14
Join Chickenshed Kensington and Chelsea for a fun-filled, inclusive performance workshop. Inspired by the 150th birthday of the London Underground we’ll be heading off on an adventure exploring London through dance, drama and music. This is a great opportunity for young people to develop their performance skills using Chickenshed’s proven teaching methods and unique performance style. Places are limited so please book your free place in advance at Kensington Central Children’s Library.
Story and Craft Sessions – Kensington and Chelsea Libraries
Story and craft sessions
We’ll be having special Cityread story and craft sessions for children aged four to ten at the following libraries:
Tuesday 2 April, 2 to 3pm at Notting Hill Gate Library
Thursday 4 April and Thursday 11 April, 2 to 3pm at Kensington Central Library
Thursday 4 April and Thursday 11 April, 2.30 to 3.30pm at North Kensington Library
Saturday 6 April and Saturday 13 April, 11am to 12 noon at Brompton Library
Saturday 6 April and Saturday 13 April, 11am to 12 noon at Chelsea Library
Saturday 13 April, 3 to 4pm at Kensal Library
We hope that you will be inspired to join in with this campaign in order to make London’s second Cityread has successful as the first. More details about how to book are on our Cityread events page and for more events across London take a look at Cityread London’s website too.
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