Fieldgate Street
WORDS: Bobby Seal IMAGES: David Hoffman [© David Hoffman] Introduction: When I was a student in London in the 1970s I lived in a tenement block called Fieldgate Mansions in Whitechapel. The area was pretty run-down but had a fascinating history and
Uncanny Waters: Life and Death by Coasts and Canals
LOCATION 1: London, The Social, 28th February – tickets here LOCATION 2: Hastings, Electric Palace Cinema, 2nd March 2018 – tickets here This February and March, Unofficial Britain is proud to take part in two evenings of film, stories and
Welcome to the Molly House
WORDS: Alex Cochrane In the 18th century the secret world of the molly house was a place for gay men to socialise, cross-dress and role-play. But it was also a place of danger and treachery. It must have taken some
A Prospect of Loughton Brook
MUSIC & WORDS: Spaceship (Mark Williamson) LOCATION: Epping Forest A Prospect of Loughton Brook was recorded using binaural and hydrophone recordings, augmented with piano, synthesizer and strings. It traces the journey of Loughton Brook, a stream in Epping Forest as
London’s Marshland: An Electronic Exploration by Andrew Weatherall
MUSIC: Andrew Weatherall. This atmospheric mix by Andrew Weatherall first appeared on the Rotters Golf Club website. It was inspired by the book ‘Marshland: Dreams & Nightmares on the Edge of London‘ by Gareth E. Rees (Influx Press, 2013). “Cocker
The North London Museum of Native American Culture: A Southeastern Rail Shaggy Dog Story
LOCATION: Southeastern Rail, London, Hastings WORDS: Ben Thompson The first time I saw Tex (and although at that point I didn’t know his name, it would probably have been one of my first guesses) was at about eleven o’clock on
Enon Chapel: death, horror and dancing in Victorian London
LOCATION: London WORDS: Alex Cochrane Victorian London was a charnel house of the dead; a city oozing horror and nowhere more so than a small chapel where they danced on the dead. By 1842 London was the modern mega city
An Unreliable Guide to London
LOCATION: Erm…. WORDS: Gareth E Rees If you’re a regular reader of Unofficial Britain, you’ll know that I like to walk around chain store car parks, writing things down. It’s something of an obsession. On this website I’ve described my
Streatham Common Boundary Ditch
LOCATION: London WORDS: Ben Austwick Streatham Common Boundary Ditch Rivers of the southern Thames basin, the Wandle and the Graveney The Effra and the Ravensbourne, running through the Great North Wood Between the hills of Streatham, Sydenham and Honor Oak
The Überpanopticon
WORDS: Michael Hampton LOCATION: London Terry Farrell’s MI6 building, aka 85 Vauxhall Cross, occupies a major traffic intersection beside the arterial A202 road over Vauxhall Bridge. Such crossroads have long been renowned as places of decision-making and thus fatefulness. Speaking
