London is a city where every address holds a clue, fragments of longer stories hidden beneath its age-old street signs and layers of history. Author Daniel Pembury turns sleuth to unpack the origins of the capital’s most famous names and neighbourhoods.
- Holland Park isn’t named after the country
This fabled area honours courtier Sir Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, and was named after the parts of Lincolnshire he owned – though they were just as flat as the country across the North Sea. He was a fine horseman and took pride in being perfectly groomed. For one royal masque, he wore an outfit covered in real gemstones. Perhaps some of his sense of peacockery remains in the air – and not just because of the peacocks in the park, beloved for their crowing calls and fantail displays. The Beckhams, Elton John and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page have all called this fabulous neighbourhood home.
