Red is what tourists often associate with London. Names of tube stations are circled in a ruby red, the same shade that dresses the queen’s guards, as well as the phone booths, post boxes and the double-decker buses. They’re also probably the five most “instagrammed” elements to symbolise the British capital.
Why red? It is believed that in the early 1900s, when bus companies each ran allotted routes, their vehicles were painted different colours for easy identification. London General Omnibus Company owned most of the city’s buses and painted its entire fleet red to stand out from the competition. The post boxes adopted this colour so denizens can spot them easily from afar as London’s gloomy weather can often impair visibility with unpredictable rain and fog. Same goes for the phone booth, although its designer, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott simply wanted to follow the colours of the post box and bus that are instantly recognisable red symbols of London.
Balancing out this bright colour are the city’s iconic landmarks in subdued hues of sepia and cream. We often walk past them, briefly halting for a quick photo, and continuing onto the next sight. Not many of us are aware of their interesting facts, just like that of London’s blushing red. Here are five such venues that top the tourists’ lists.
Big Ben
Formerly known as Great Bell, Elizabeth Tower, its Great Clock and Great Bell together came to be known as Big Ben. Many propose the theory that Big Ben is named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a Welsh engineer and politician, who was fondly known as “Big Ben” amongst his loved ones. The main bell weighs 13.7 tonnes, has a diameter of 2.7 metres, and a height of 2.2 metres. It has four other bells for each quarter of the hour weighing 1.1, 1.3, 1.7 and 4 tonnes. The hammer that strikes them weighs 200kg, chiming the musical note E for Great Bell, and G sharp, F sharp, E and B on striking the first, second, third and fourth quarter bells respectively. This clock tower that is located at Palace of Westminster has been functional since May 1859 and the bells rang for the first time on July 11, 1859. Every year the minute hands of the four dials travel a distance of 190km each. And by this calculation, on May 2017 they complete 30,020km — that’s more than the distance between the north and south poles — 20,004km. parliament.uk/bigben
Trafalgar Square
Between the 14th and 17th centuries, this was the courtyard of the Great Mews stabling, which served The Palace of Whitehall, main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698. In 1812, it was developed as a cultural space open to the public. Today, Trafalgar Square is one of central London’s lifestyle venues, as it is surrounded by a number of museums, galleries and buildings of historic importance. Locals and tourists both find it enjoyable to spend an afternoon here. This is also the address for peaceful community gatherings, political demonstrations and campaigns for a cause. Trafalgar Square was named so to honour the victorious Battle of Trafalgar and to salute Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, a British flag officer in the Royal Navy, who lost his life in this battle. The 52-metre tall Corinthian column that we see towering over the square today, was designed by English architect William Railton and built between 1841 and 1843. The statue atop the column is that of Admiral Nelson. At its base, there are four huge bronze lions that guard the column. Sir Edwin Landseer, an artist known for his paintings of animals had designed these wild cats in 1867, thus their tag — Landseer’s Lions. The fountains were added in 1845. london.gov.uk
Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark is the world’s only surviving clipper and was one of the fastest in her heyday. Clippers are fast sailing cargo ships of the 19th century. Cutty Sark gets her name from what is a depiction of the fastest runner in Robert Burn’s poem, Tam O’Shanter. Cutty Sark owes her ability to reach speeds up to 17 knots, to her sleek, yet strong design and high quality materials used in constructing her. This ship was built in 1869 for Jock Willis Shipping Line for the purpose of transporting tea from China to Britain in the 1800’s. After the steamships became all the rage, cutting sailing time to China by weeks, Cutty Sark changed her course to bring wool from Australia, a dangerous route at the time. In the 1920s she was purchased by former clipper captain who was still in reverence of her glory. Post his death she was given to the navy Training College at Greenhithe where she served as a vital training resource for officers of the Royal and Merchant Navies. Post her serving years, in 1954 she found a place in the dry docks of Greenwich in London where major restoration and conservation work was carried out on her. Cutty Sark has been open for public viewing since 2011. rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark
London Eye
This giant Ferris wheel that is situated on South Bank, is an eight-minute walk from Big Ben. Being amongst the world’s ten tallest cantilevered observation wheels at a height of 135 metres, a ride in any one of its 32 capsules allows breathtaking views of the entire city. All capsules with a capacity to hold 25 people each, are attached to the external body of the wheel and are operated by electric motors. London Eye is a symbol to “represent the passage of time” with each turn of its wheel. Inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair on December 31, 1999, it was built to commemorate the new millennium and that is why it is also known as The Millennium Wheel. Originally, it was intended to be a temporary structure, but with its growing popularity, city officials decided to let this be a permanent structure of London’s skyline. The monument began welcoming the public from March 9, 2000 and today, millions from the world over board it each year. londoneye.com
Tower Bridge
The plans for Tower Bridge were formed in 1876 and it was finally completed in 1894. The 265-metre long suspension bridge helps commuters cross over River Thames on foot and car. The mechanism to control this overpass is situated in the 65-metre high towers at both its ends. These towers are also connected by a walkway with 11-metre long glass panels (installed in 2014) on the wooden floor for unusual views of the traffic passing by below. Visitors often mistake Tower Bridge for London Bridge or think both are the same. In actuality, they’re two completely different structures, at a distance of more than 1km from and parallel to each other. By the 19th century, to manage the increasing population in east London, another bridge, other than the London Bridge, needed to be built. It took over 50 redesigns before the current one — Victorian Gothic — was finalised for Tower Bridge. Thereafter, it took a total of eight years, five major contractors and 432 construction workers to complete the project. The 50 submitted designs are still available to view at Tower Bridge Exhibition. This is also where visitors can learn about the bridge’s history through photographs, films and literature. towerbridge.org.uk
Netra Venkateshwaran
