The cast-iron lamppost near Albert Bridge features two climbing boys—one passing a burning torch to the other—wrapped around a shaft decorated with oak leaves, acorns, and overflowing cornucopias. It was sculpted by Timothy Butler in 1874. When the London Metropolitan Board of Works was choosing lighting for the new Thames Embankments, Butler's design was rejected for mass production because it was deemed too complex and expensive to replicate. The city chose the famous "Dolphin" (sturgeon) lamps instead, leaving only two of Butler's rare climbing boy lamps in existence—both on Chelsea Embankment (the other sits further west near Chelsea Old Church). The granite plinth features writing on its east face that marks the official opening of the Chelsea Embankment in May 1874. It credits the foundry, Coalbrookdale, and honors the key players behind London's revolutionary Victorian sewage system: Sir James Macnaghten Hogg (Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works) and Sir Joseph Bazalgette (the chief civil engineer).

The Museum 'Tom & Jerry' Mummies A bizarre relic recovered from the local vaults can be viewed at the London Museum Docklands. Affectionately nicknamed "Tom and Jerry," these are the mummified remains of a late-19th-century cat and rat. Cats were routinely kept in the Wapping and Docklands warehouses to control pests, and this particular pair became trapped and perfectly preserved between bottles of quicksilver (mercury) in the warehouse vaults.

The Odd Bollard located on Kings Cross Road is a fascinating piece of local history situated near the junction of Calthorpe Street. It is uniquely made from two 19th-century cast-iron bollards fused together side-by-side to create a single wide, flat barrier. It features two distinct shields. The left shield is inscribed StPPM for St Pancras Parish Middlesex, and the right shield is marked CV for the Clerkenwell Vestry. Dating back to 1886, a physical boundary line is carved right across its domed top and down the sides to represent the exact historical turning point between the two old parishes. The bollard sits directly on the borough line that still divides modern-day Camden and Islington. It is Grade II listed for preservation.

Troubadour, Old Brompton Road. A legendary coffee house and basement club operating since 1954. It served as a hub for Beat poets in the Jack Kerouac era, and its basement stage famously hosted early gigs for Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Charlie Watts, and Led Zeppelin.

"Atlantes Holding Up Fresh Air" (82 Mortimer Street): One of the most eccentric architectural details, designed by the highly individualistic Arts and Crafts architect Arthur Beresford Pite in 1896, the building's facade features a striking window treatment. Flanking a prominent upper-level window arch, you will find deeply expressive, Michelangelesque stone sculptures of an Atlante (male figure) and a Caryatid (female figure). Because of how the window frame is recessed, they humorously look as though they are straining to hold up nothing but empty air.

In the City of London on Idol Lane, there stands a hollow, heavily decorated cast-iron bollard dating back to 1886. While it looks like standard Victorian street furniture, it was actually designed by engineer William Haywood to serve an entirely different purpose: it is a disguised ventilation shaft for a former subterranean public urinal system.

The Haunted Cellars of Millbank Prison. Beneath the Morpeth Arms, Millbank, holds the original underground holding cells and part of a tunnel system from the old prison. This tunnel was used to march convicts directly from Millbank Prison to the river steps, where they were deported by ship to penal colonies in Australia. Many prisoners died of disease or malnutrition in these grim vaults before their ships even arrived. The hauntings are traditionally linked to two specific spirits: a prisoner who tragically hanged himself in the cells to avoid deportation, and another who was fatally shot down by guards during a desperate escape attempt. Staff and visitors have long reported sudden drops in temperature, intense feelings of panic, and objects moving on their own. Poltergeist activity is common; bottles have launched themselves from behind the bar, and drinks have been knocked clean off tables. The phenomenon became so frequent that the pub installed a closed-circuit "Ghost Cam". Customers can watch a live feed of the haunted subterranean tunnels directly from the comfort of the bar. I was given a private tour by bar staff a few years ago for the Knowledgeoflondon.com website. Very eerie experience!

The Mysterious Green "Mini" Stink Pipe, located at the eastern end of Shepherd's Bush Green near the Uxbridge Rd. The pipe is an anomaly among typical London sewer vents. Unlike standard 6-to-8-metre-tall columns, this specific cast-iron pipe is unusually short. It is dark green, features decorative ridges, and is uniquely topped with a distinctive circle of crenellations (a crown-like top). Because it is so low to the ground, local historians and urban explorers often debate its exact ventilation purpose. Its short height is highly unusual for venting foul odours directly into pedestrian paths. It is heavily speculated to have originally ventilated long-lost subterranean Victorian public toilets that once sat nearby

The distinctive horse-head bollards located on Gutter Lane in the City of London serve as a direct visual tribute to the Worshipful Company of Saddlers. When the modern office buildings and pavements along Gutter Lane were developed, these custom, black-painted cast iron bollards topped with horse heads were installed to delineate the pedestrian walkways. A nod to the area's deep equestrian and trade history of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers.

Charlie Brown's Roundabout in South Woodford, East London, is a major road junction connecting the M11 motorway, the A406 North Circular, and the A1400. The story actually begins a few miles south in the London Docklands. Charlie Brown Sr. (1859–1932) was a former boxer who took over the Railway Tavern in Limehouse in 1893. The pub became an internationally famous hotspot for sailors, who traded rare, global curiosities and treasures to Charlie Sr. in exchange for drinks. It became so iconic that sailors worldwide would simply say, "Meet you at Charlie Brown's." When Charlie Sr. passed away in 1932, his funeral was one of the largest the East End had ever seen, drawing 16,000 people. Following his death, a family dispute arose over his massive collection of eccentric treasures. The curiosities were split between his daughter (who took over the Railway Tavern) and his son, Charlie Brown Jr., who ran the Blue Posts pub directly across the street. Both pubs aggressively put up signs reading "Charlie Brown's", causing mass confusion for locals and visiting sailors. Moving to Woodford and 'The Roundabout' Pub Tired of competing with his sister, Charlie Brown Jr. left Limehouse in 1938 and moved out to the Essex border to take over a newly built pub in Woodford called The Roundabout. He brought a portion of his father’s famous eccentric treasures with him. The pub sat adjacent to a small, early version of the junction built in the 1920s. It quickly became a beloved community hub and landmark, with locals universally nicknaming the building (and the junction next to it) "Charlie Brown's". The pub was instantly recognizable by its unique pub sign: a tall pedestal topped with an ornate, moving fairground carousel complete with finely carved gilt horses. According to a local community group discussion on Facebook, this landmark pub, along with the adjacent Ted's Transport Cafe, served as the primary anchors for the area before major urban development changed the landscape. Demolition and the Modern Junction In 1972, major infrastructure plans completely altered the area. To accommodate the construction of the new M11 motorway terminus and expand the A406 North Circular, the original junction had to be drastically enlarged to build new slip roads and flyovers. Tragically, The Roundabout pub stood directly in the way of the expansion and was demolished. The community was effectively split in two by the massive new concrete roads, cutting residents off from local shops and schools. The remaining pub treasures were scattered or lost, and the iconic carousel pub sign reportedly disappeared "up north," despite later community efforts to track it down and reinstall it. Though the pub has been gone for over half a century, the name stuck so firmly in the local lexicon that transport authorities officially designated the concrete interchange as Charlie Brown's Roundabout, keeping the memory of the East End's most famous publicans alive.