Westminster Abbey was built by Edward the Confessor and completed just before his death in 1065. Since William the Conqueror all the kings & queens of England have been crowned here.
‘Soho’ is thought to come from the hunting and battle cry of the Duke of Monmouth, a local landlord. He used it at the Battle of Sedgemoor where he was defeated in 1685, and later executed.
Hyde Park was a favourite venue for duellists in the 18th and 19th century, including the brutal 1712 duel between the Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun in which they hacked each other to death.
Oxford Street’s biggest department store was opened by the American businessman Gordon J Selfridge in 1909, whose motto was ‘The customer is always right’.
