Commissioned in 1852 and unveiled in 1854, the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are the world's first dinosaur sculptures.
They were designed and sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, under the scientific direction of Sir Richard Owen. Sir Richard Owen is best known for coining the term 'Dinosauria'.
The sculptures also include other extinct animals and the collection is known as the 'Geological Court' or 'Dinosaur Court'.
By today's standards many of these sculptures are anatomically inaccurate. Many were sculpted on incorrectly assembled skeletons, showing the limit of 19th century scientific understanding. But, being the world's first, they paved the way for many of the advances in fossil understanding and palaeontology.
In 1952 a full restoration of the sculptures began, with some of the dinosaurs being moved. The sculptures were Grade II listed, in 1973. Between 2001-02 the sculptures were extensively restored, with fibreglass models replacing the more severely damaged ones. Some previous restorations had used lead, for the legs, linking these appendages to the bodies with iron rods. The iron had then corroded, causing more damage, resulting in new pieces to be cast.
In 2007, the sculptures were Grade I listed.
Of the fifteen genera of extinct animals only three are true dinosaurs. The periods that are covered by the sculptures include the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
In May of this year, Crystal Palace Park, the dinosaurs, playground, cafe and more began undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment, which is due to be completed by summer 2026. The park is remaining open, but restrictions to certain areas may be in place.
Keilyn and I decided that we should head to London to see the 'Nao Santa Maria', which was berthed at St Katharine Docks, as today was its last day, in London. So, we headed off.
A taxi to the station and we were soon London-bound. We changed to an Aldgate train, at Finchley Road, and alighted at Euston Square, which is a fair distance from St Katharine Docks, but there is nothing like a good wander.
We headed along Gower Street, passing the Grant Museum of Zoology and the impressive University of London buildings, before reaching Bedford Square and the throngs of people heading into the British Museum. A little further and Bloomsbury Street brought us out onto New Oxford Street, which we headed along until we reached our first stop of the day... the Post Building.
We entered the building, signed in and passed through the security arch. Keilyn then placed her rucksack in one of the lettered lockers, choosing 'K' to match her name. We then entered the lift and made our way up to the ninth floor and the roof garden.
On my previous visits the flowers and shrubs had not fully bloomed, but today everything was flowering and the trees had full canopies. Although cloudy it was a pleasant day and the views were clear all the way to the horizon. The Centre Point building, the BT Tower, the British Museum and around to the Renaissance Hotel at King's Cross. Then the unique skyscrapers of the City of London, with Canary Wharf in the distance. Tower Bridge, the Shard and 22 Bishopsgate and around to the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and Cathedral to Battersea Power Station and beyond. The BBC Transmitter, at Crystal Palace, was clearly visible, too, as was the Wembley Stadium Arch.
Once we had seen everything, and Keilyn had used her 'Seek' app to discover the names of the various plants, we headed back down to ground level, retrieved her rucksack, and headed east along New Oxford Street.
New Oxford Street brought us onto High Holborn, then Holborn and Holborn Viaduct. Nearing St Paul's Cathedral, with its crowds of visitors, we headed along Cheapside, passing possibly the oldest tree in the City of London, before we joined Poultry and then Cornhill.
Always up for an adventure Keilyn kept peering down the countless passages and alleyways that were dotted along our route, deciding that Ball Court looked like a great alleyway to explore. So down it we went and arrived in a small courtyard with a tavern. Simpson's Tavern dates back to 1757 and is a wonderful looking building, that is, unfortunately, temporarily closed.
We continued out of the courtyard and found ourselves on Castle Court, with more old style buildings and the famous Jamaica Wine House, which stands on the site of London's first coffee house.
From here we headed along St Michael's Alley, which brought us to Bell Inn Yard and out onto Gracechurch Street. Since Keilyn had never seen Leadenhall Market we headed inside, dodging the photographers, who were snapping the parts used in the Harry Potter films, and the diners and other visitors.
We then crossed Lime Street and walked along Cullum Street, where Keilyn sat down and I took some photos of the amazing Bolton House, before we continued our walk to Fenchurch Street, which we followed towards Aldgate.
Various sculptures were dotted around, that we both took photos of, before we found ourselves on Mitre Square, former site of the Priory of the Holy Trinity and also the place where Catherine Eddowes was murdered by Jack the Ripper, in 1888.
We left Mitre Square via St James's Passage which brought us to Duke's Place and St Botolph Street. It was here that I lifted Keilyn up, so that she could see over the wall and look down at the platforms of Aldgate station.
We then headed south, along Mansell Street, turned west along Shorter Street and arrived at Tower Hill Garden. Snacks, drinks and sandwiches were all pretty much devoured, before we used the underpass to reach the south side of Tower Hill. Here we got to see the meadow that has been created in the old moat. We then followed the path onto St Katharine's Way, which brought us nicely to St Katharine Docks and Marina.
It is always important to look up, as well as down, when walking along London's streets, in case you miss something. This is how I discovered these signs, beneath various windows across older parts of the city.
Because I had never seen them before I now keep a look out for them, and other old signs.
But what does the term 'Ancient Lights' mean?
To discover the answer we must travel back to the 12th century, and the beginnings of English Common Law.
'Alunatime', by Laura Williams, was launched on the Full Moon of October 22, 2010, and is the first, live 'real time' graphical notation of light and time.
It shows the lunar phases (wax and wane), the lunar day (rise and set) and tide cycles (ebb and flow). Governed by the relative position of the Earth, Moon and Sun, these fundamental rhythms have shaped our past and will continue to determine our future.
The Moon creates our tides and, with 70% of the Earth's surface covered in water, understanding the rising tides brought on by climate change, is becoming more important than ever.
Walking along Black Prince Road towards the River Thames you will pass beneath the main railway line out of Waterloo. Much like the tunnel, on Centaur Street, where the William Blake mosaics can be found, this tunnel has mosaics of the Black Prince, from throughout the ages.
The south wall is home to six mosaics, five of which represent The Black Prince, while the sixth has an image of Muhammad Ali and represents the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
The tunnel also has ceramic tiles showcasing the area's history with Lambeth wares of Doulton.
Following yesterday's walk with Keilyn, today was Erin's day. Not usually one for walking, Erin had set her heart on visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum, so off we set.
A taxi dropped us at Watford Metropolitan station, where, while we waited for our train we spotted a fox and a cub on the banks besides the tracks. Then a Robin flitted by us, carrying food for its babies, high up in the rafters of the station. Our train soon arrived and off we went, exiting at Baker Street, from where we caught we caught the Number 74 bus, towards Putney, alighting outside the Victoria & Albert Museum.
This was our first visit to this museum, so we wasted no time crossing the road and headed inside.
Entering through the Cromwell Road entrance we were both amazed at the domed reception area and, feeling a bit intimidated by the scale of the building, turned right, heading into the Medieval and Renaissance Gallery.
After this we headed to the Cast Courts, which were amazing.
From here we travelled through the Korea, Buddhism, Japan, China, Islamic Middle East and South Asia Rooms. Then we were off through South East Asia and the Raphael Cartoons and Porter Gallery.
Then it was upstairs to the Europe (1600-1815) Rooms, before meandering our way back down to the Sculpture Rooms and some of the smaller rooms. Unfortunately, the Fashion Gallery is closed, until Summer 2027, which was one of the rooms that Erin especially wanted to see.
Because of the size of the museum, I think we only got to see about two-thirds of it, before we had to leave, via the shop, as we were both in need of some food, promising to return to see the rest of this amazing place, some time soon.
There is a public house, on Bishopsgate, with a rather curious name: 'Dirty Dicks'.
With such an odd name I knew that there had to be an interesting story behind it... and there is.
The pub is named after Nathaniel Bentley, who lived a curious life.
Born in, or around, 1735, into the family of a wealthy hardware merchant, Nathaniel was afforded an education that befitted his status.
Dubbed 'the beau of Leadenhall', because of his clothing and impeccable manners, Nathaniel was quite the ladies man and could be seen at many functions in and around the City.
Following his father's death, in 1760, Nathaniel inherited his father's business, which consisted of a successful hardware business, a shop and a fully stocked warehouse in Leadenhall Street. Plus, around 15 properties, some of which were leased out.
In 1764 Nathaniel visited Paris and attended the coronation of Louis XVI, where he was introduced to the king and was lauded as the 'best dressed and mannered English gentleman' at the French Court. His education had resulted in Nathaniel being able to speak French and Italian fluently, allowing him to associate with people of the highest respectability.
He was also a patron of Vauxhall and Ranelagh Pleasure Gardens, up until the early 19th century.
Now, things get curious and it becomes hard to sort fact from fiction. Following his father's death Nathaniel had moved into the warehouse, which hadn't been cleaned since 1760, and began to let his appearance decline.
Rumours persist that a lady, whom Nathaniel was to marry, died on the eve of their wedding, while others suggest that the lady in question died on their wedding day.
Some rumours persist that the lady died before a lavish gathering that Nathaniel had planned, for her and her family, and that the lavish meal was left on the table, behind the lock door of the dining room, gradually deteriorating much like Nathaniel's appearance.
This rumour appears to have inspired Charles Dickens to write the character of 'Mrs Haversham'.
Either way, Nathaniel stopped washing. He repaired his clothes, until they were no longer fit for purpose, and gave himself just 18p to live on, per day.
If he did go out he still wore fine clothes and was always polite and well mannered, just not very clean.
He became miserly and let all of his staff go, except for one who did his shopping for him. His diet consisted of vegetables and, occasionally, bacon, although that had to be lean as the fat was a waste.
He was also partial to drinking beer, demolishing a gallon of the stuff every three days.
He was no longer known as 'the beau of Leadenhall', but rather as 'Dirty Dick', the dirty hardware merchant of Leadenhall Street.
When asked why he didn't wash his hands, anymore, he replied,
"It is of no use, Sir. If I wash my hands today they will be dirty again tomorrow."
Over time the warehouse became even dirtier, with grime caking the windows, while dust covered his wares, inside the property.
Refusing to light a fire to fight off the cold, as the warehouse became more dilapidated and windows cracked, he would stand in a box of straw to keep his feet warm.
He refused the help of his neighbours who offered to help in repairing and maintaining the building.
One afternoon he damaged his leg, while moving around the warehouse, and employed a lady to supply him with bandages and medicines. However, his leg refused to heal so he was forced to pay to have it treated, otherwise he could have lost it, or worse, died.
People still flocked to his warehouse, especially the ladies, who were fascinated by his unkempt appearance but still polite nature.
Nathaniel continued to occupy the 46 Leadenhall Street warehouse, until his lease expired in 1802. Mr Gosling took over the lease and leased the building to Nathaniel for another year.
In 1804 the lease expired and Nathaniel vacated the premises, leaving it to his successor, Mr Gosling.
