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London Leasing

Did You Know?

London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, is a 21st-century city with history stretching back to Roman times. At its centre stand the imposing Houses of Parliament, the iconic ‘Big Ben’ clock tower and Westminster Abbey, site of British monarch coronations.

London is the cultural diversity. As one of the most diverse cities in the world, London houses over 8 million residents, who collectively speak over 300 languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien and of course English.

The identity of Jack the Ripper, London’s most notorious serial killer, has never been discovered. Authorities at the time and ‘mystery solvers’ since the killings have suspected a number of different people, however, including Prince Albert, Lewis Carroll and Queen Victoria’s doctor; Sir William Gull.

Charles II’s ordered for six ravens to be placed in the Tower of London to protect it. Apparently, six ravens are still kept in the tower today and they must remain there at all times due to superstitious reasons. For extra measures, each raven has a wing clipped, they even have a spare raven handy in case one flies away.

In 1251, Henry III was given a polar bear by the King of Norway. Henry III kept the bear in the Tower of London, it had a long chain so that he could swim in the River Thames.

The Tower of London and Westminster Abbey are among the city's oldest landmarks. The Tower was founded towards the end of 1066, while Westminster Abbey was consecrated in 1065.

The British Museum in London is one of the oldest and most renowned museums in the world. It was established in 1753 and houses a vast collection of world art and artefacts, including the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles.

The London Underground, also known as "The Tube," is the world's oldest underground railway system. It opened in 1863 and now serves millions of passengers each day across 11 lines.

1.265 billion people use the London Underground every year. That’s slightly more than the population of India! No wonder it’s so hard to get a seat. According to TFL, the most popular station is Waterloo, which sees 100.3 million passengers every year.

London Zoo was the home to one of the most famous animals in the world: Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie was given to the zoo by a Canadian regiment who were called up to fight in France during the First World War. Winnie lived at ZSL Zoo from 1914 until 1934 during which author AA Milne brought his son, Christopher Robin Milne, to see Winnie. She quickly became Christopher Robin’s favourite animal at the zoo.