Tunnels, Towers & Temples takes a sideways look at London, revealing the hidden stories, curious histories and sometimes comic assocations behind dozens of often quite familiar places. Through their stories, the author reveals a strange side of London most people never come to know, even though they walk its streets every day and take much of what they see entirely for granted. Typical examples include extensive networks of tunnels running beneath high street pavements, secret transport and signalling networks crisscrossing the capital, genuine oddities such as streetlamps powered by sewer gas, a street where you can legally drive on the right, a future Russian Tsar working incognito in a British naval dockyard, even a Nazi memorial sited among the real heroes and adventurers of the British Empire. This companion to Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings is the best possible start for anyone who wishes to get off the beaten track and under the skin of the hidden city that is modern-day London.

The streetscape of London's historic square mile has been evolving for centuries, but the City's busy commercial heart still boasts an extensive network of narrow passages and alleyways, secret squares and half-hidden courtyards. Using his wealth of local knowledge, historian David Long guides you through these ancient rights of passage – many dating back to medieval times or earlier – their evocative names recalling old taverns, notable individuals and City traditions. Hidden behind the glass, steel and stone of London's banks and big business, these survivors of modern development bear witness to nearly 2,000 years of British history.

This unique London guidebook opens the doors to sixty of the capital's most intriguing places, all visitable but not widely known. From museums of the unusual, places of worship, palaces of entertainment to some of the most historic and ornate shops, houses and hostelries in the city, take a trip through the capital's hidden treasure and discover a picture of a London which is strange, gaudy, grand and inventive. Describing the history and the character of each place, the book uncovers a wealth of stories about an endlessly fascinating world city with its own unique character. Introduction Cleopatra's Needle St Pancras Renaissance Hotel Isabella Plantation Historical Homes Syon House Charles Dickens Museum Apsley House, Number One London Eltham Palace Leighton House Museum Strawberry Hill House Two Temple Place Kew Palace and The Royal Botanical Gardens Food and Drink Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Bibendum L. Manze Berry Bros. & Rudd Pickering Place The Ivy Smithfield Meat Market The Black Friar Palaces of Entertainment The Rivoli Ballroom Wilton's Music Hall The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Regent's Street Cinema Gate Cinema Notting Hill The National Theatre Normansfield Theatre Wigmore Hall Gala Bingo Hall Tooting Places of Worship Westminster Cathedral Welsh Baptist Chapel Peace Pagoda Battersea Park Masonic Temple at Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel St Bartholomew the Great Bevis Marks Synagogue St Mary le Bow Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir, Wembley Remarkable Shops LassCo Salvage L. Cornelissen & Son Truefitt and Hill Steinway & Sons James Smith & Sons John Lobb Ltd The Roof Gardens in Kensington Science and Education Kempton Steam Museum Markfield Beam Engine Museum Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum Charterhouse Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret The Ragged School Museum London Museum of Water and Steam Royal Institution of Great Britain Inns of Court The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple The Temple Church Unusual Museums The Royal Airforce Museum Horniman Museum Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms Geffrye Museum of the Home HMS Belfast Massey Shaw The Monument Musical Museum The Wimbledon Windmill Praise for Peter Dazeley and Mark Daly's previous book Unseen London: 'A thrilling tour behind the closed doors of the capital city's buildings.' —Daily Telegraph 'Dazeley captures the atmosphere of each building to perfection.' —Daily Express 'Fascinating.' —Fabric magazine 'A joy.' —Evening Standard

A fascinating tour of London's strangest and most intriguing locations. Ranging from architectural evidence of past incidents and stories of life beneath the city, to anecdotes of magic, mystery and murder, this is a perfect companion for the curious Londoner. It includes: A Museum of Magical Curiosities; The City's Lost Tunnels and Citadels; The Ghost of a "She-Wolf; The Bawdy House Riots; The Story of 'Jack the Stripper'; The Atmospheric Railway; The Thames Ringway Bicycle Race; A Banker Hanged at Newgate; The Crossdressing Highwayman; Bluebottles, Rozzers and Woodentops; The Hidden Statue of a Beaver; The 'Belgravia of Death'; Whitehall's Licensed Brothel; Pin-Makers, Mole-Takers and Rat Catchers; Drinking in 'The Bucket of Blood'; London's Most Haunted House. All of London is here!

An off-the-beaten-path tour of the city’s hidden highlights, and the stories behind them. London is full of curiosities. Who knew that beneath the Albert Memorial lies a chamber resembling a church crypt? Or that there are catacombs under Camden? Who would expect to find a lighthouse in East London, sphinxes in South London, dummy houses in West London, or a huge bust of film director Alfred Hitchcock in North London? How many of those who walk past Cleopatra’s Needle pause to consider why a 3,000-year-old Egyptian monument stands beside the Thames? How many know that what was once London’s smallest police station can be seen in Trafalgar Square? Or that pineapples are used in the architectural design of so many buildings? Or why there are memorials to the Mayflower and Pilgrim Fathers in Rotherhithe? Learn more about the capital of curiosities in this delightful guide for lovers of history, trivia, and travel.