The Big London History Quiz 2025
50 questions from the recent London Historians annual quiz. Can you beat the winners?
Welcome to Londonist: Time Machine, the newsletter of London history.
Every year, it is my great joy to set and host the London Historians’ annual quiz. Now in its eighth year, the event saw dozens of Londonophiles pit their wits over 50 fiendish questions. The winning team gets their name engraved on this almost-prestigious trophy. (They are also asked to decorate it with a small trinket, so that over the years it will become ever more encrusted with London-themed paraphernalia.)
The 2025 quiz ran on 21 May at the Christopher Hatton pub. The winning team achieved a score of 37 out of 50. Could you have done better? Or would you have won the best team name prize, beating the Quizambard Kingdom Brunels?
The full quiz follows, after the History Radar… and I’ve left the paywall off again, because this is one you might want to share with other history-loving friends.
History Radar
Upcoming events for fans of London history.
⚓️ COLUMBUS FLAGSHIP: Not exactly _London_ history, but irresistible nontheles. The tallship Nao Santa Maria, a replica of Christopher Columbus’s flagship, moors up at St Katharine Docks near Tower Bridge from 28 May to 8 June, and is open to the public (booking required). The 93-ft, full-scale replica of the ship on which the famous explorer voyaged to the Americas in 1492 was built in 2018, and is used as a floating museum.
🎭 SHAKESPEARE ON A SHIP: More classic ship action on 28 May, when chamber musicians The Lovekyn Consort are on board the Golden Hinde for a concert of songs and instrumental pieces from the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Hear music drawn from Shakespeare’s plays, including The Tempest, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Othello, interwoven with actors performing spoken excerpts from Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays. 7pm-10pm
🎸 BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN: Catch a screening of Becoming Led Zeppelin, a film which explores the London band's origins and how they rose to fame in just a year, on 28 May. It includes new interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, as well as rare archival interviews with the band’s late drummer John Bonham. Director Bernard MacMahon and producer Allison McGourty are special guests at the screening.
🕯️ EDWARDIAN DINING: Tying in with the current exhibition, The Edwardians: Age of Elegance, The King's Gallery hosts food historian Marc Meltonville for a talk about how people of different social classes dined in Edwardian England. Find out what a typical family would have eaten, and how that compared to what was served to the Royal Family. Your ticket also includes a private view of the exhibition. That’s on 29 May
🏠 CROYDON IN STOKEY: Londonist editor Will Noble is at Abney Books in Stoke Newington on 29 May, talking about his book Croydonopolis: A Journey to the Greatest City That Never Was, and is joined by Croydon's Colossive Press (discussing Croydon Spaceport), Martin Saps (Stamford Hill's Hasidic community) and intriguingly named Ghosts of 213 Stoke Newington High Street.
🧥 V&A EAST STOREHOUSE: The latest outpost of the V&A Museum, V&A East Storehouse opens on the eastern side of the Olympic Park in Hakney Wick from 31 May. It's a cavernous warehouse stacked with seemingly endless crates and pallets, taking the public behind the scenes of some of the museum's many objects and collections, an eclectic mix including huge architectural structures, vintage football shirts, a Glastonbury Festival Archive, a chunk of Elton John's wardrobe, Roman frescoes and so, so much more. Not to be confused with the V&A East Museum, which is now expected to open in Spring 2026.
🕍 PALMERS GREEN: Not a part of town that sees many guided walks, but on 31 May you can enjoy a free tour of this charming Edwardian suburb with the knowledgeable guide (and Londonist: Time Machine reader) Adrian Day. The walk is part of a wider initiative, which aims to improve Broomfield Park by exploring its history and offering fun activities for everyone. FREE, 10.30am-12.30pm
🏛️ SPENCER HOUSE: 1 June and subsequent Sundays bring with them the opportunity to go on a guided tour of Spencer House, built in 1756-66 for the First Lord and Lady Spencer, and reopened by Princess Di in 1991. See the eight State Rooms, which feature some jaw-dropping ceilings.
💦 LOOKING AHEAD: Coombe Conduit, part of the Tudor water supply network for Hampton Court, and looked after by English Heritage, has just announced some rare opening dates. Head along on any of the following dates, and you should be able to pop inside the structure thanks to a volunteer group:
28-29 June 11am -2pm
26-27 July 11am -2pm
23-24 August 11am -2pm
27-28 September 11am -2pm
25-26 October 11am -2pm
London Historians’ Big History Quiz 2025
Round 1: Picture round: Name that Monogram
Round 2: Newsy history
1. Which London museum will celebrate its 100th birthday on 9 June this year?
2. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is also celebrating an anniversary this year – a much older one. Was it founded 250, 300 or 350 years ago?
3. Sir Sadiq Khan recently announced his desire to see the Olympic Games return to London in 2040. This would be the fourth time London has played host. In what year was the first occasion?
4. At the end of this month (May 2025), St Katharine Docks will play host to a replica of which famous explorer’s flagship?
5. Greater London and the 32 London Boroughs are 60 years old this year. Ahead of their creation in 1965, there was much argument over what to call each borough. Which one was almost given the name Churchill?
Round 3: Famous introductions
1. What gentlemanly accessory is Jonas Hanway credited with introducing to society in the early 18th century?
2. Which architect whose most famous work was in London, also introduced the Cavendish banana – which is the type most commonly eaten in Britain and other western countries?
3. Which very famous fictional character first introduced themselves in a Shoreditch junk yard, with the words “What are you doing here?”
4. Which popular song, composed during a bout of word association in St John’s Wood, features the word ‘Hello’ around 40 times?
5. In which area did the Artful Dodger first introduce himself to Oliver Twist in the Dickens novel of the same name?
Round 4: A Quiz from 1951
The following questions are all taken from a quiz about London, printed in the Daily Herald in 1951, to coincide with the Festival of Britain:
1. Where is Shakespeare's youngest brother buried?
2. Where is the skeleton of Napoleon's famous charger, Marengo? (I will accept either the location in 1951, or the current location, both times on public display in a museum.)
3. Where can you see the official imperial measures from an inch to 100 feet?
4. Who carved the statue of Nelson on his column?
5. Where was the Zoo before it moved to Regent's Park?
Round 5: Historic traffic islands
Just because I thought I’d try and quiz around the most obscure subject possible.
1. Which famous West End street is usually credited with the first traffic island?
2. An early form of music video was shot on a Park Lane traffic island in 1970. The single it was promoting would go on to be the biggest-selling single of all time by a British band. What was the song and who were the band? (Half a point for each)
3. In 1968, The Beatles went on a multi-location photo shoot around London, known as the Mad Day Out. One location was on a concrete block in the middle of a roundabout above which tube station?
4. During the 1980s, a series of traffic-island police checkpoints was set up in the Square Mile to deter IRA attacks. Some of these checkpoints survive, though are rarely used. What was the popular collective name given to these measures?
5. Whose statue is set to be rescued from an inaccessible traffic island after a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund announced in 2025?
Round 6: Picture Round. Doors of Note
Round 7: A Question of Port
Questions about ships and shipping in London.
1. Which English king is rumoured to have taken a trip in a submarine in the Thames, courtesy of a Dutch inventor?
2. What was the name of the vessel that sank near Cannon Street rail bridge in 1989, resulting in the deaths of 51 people?
3. The boat Havengore can still be found at St Katharine Docks or Hermitage Moorings. For what is it chiefly famous?
4. Where is London’s longest pier, measuring 360 metres?
5. A clown called Usher made headlines in 1818 when he sailed along the Thames from Southwark to Vauxhall in a bathtub. What unlikely means of propulsion did he use?
Round 8: Have I Got Mews for You
1. Wimpole Mews in Marylebone is chiefly known as being a key location for what notorious event of the 1960s?
2. Which A-list celebrity died in Cadogan Lane – a mews in Belgravia – in 1969?
3. Which cultural institution was opened on the site of the old Royal Mews in 1838?
4. Which famous author lived for a time in a house at 22 Cresswell Place in Chelsea, which is thought to be the inspiration behind the novella Murder in the Mews?
5. Charles Mewes and Arthur Davis designed which famous London hotel, opened in 1906?
Round 9: Odds and ends
1. Which medieval London building had the name ‘Moran’ added to its official name in 2021?
2. One of the closest Underground stations to here, Farringdon once had a longer name. Above and to the left of the main entrance, it still displays this previous name, which it held between 1922 and 1936. It takes the form Farringdon & Blank Blank. What are those two blank words?
3. Glam rock group Slade, under their earlier name of Ambrose Slade, filmed their first music video at which London terminus, which had recently been rebuilt?
4. Which is the only Tube station whose name begins with an I
5. Which part of north London takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon phrase for a nose-shaped hill?
6. Which film, whose title includes a London place name, features early cameos from Robert Shaw and Audrey Hepburn?
7. What pub name can be found on Newman Street, Berwick Street, Kingly Street, Rupert Street *and* Bennett Street?
8. Five English or British monarchs have been born in St James’s Palace. Name any three for the point.
9. William Lyttle rose to fame in the Noughties for digging extensive tunnels underneath his property. He was dubbed “the Mole Man” of which borough?
10. A somewhat unusual banquet took place in London on 23 October 1843, when 14 people dined in what unlikely locations?
Answers
Scroll down for the answers. Remember, the winning team in the live event got 37/50.
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Round 1: Picture round: Name that Monogram
1. Metropolitan Board of Works
2. General Post Office
3. Art Workers’ Guild (in Queen Square)
4. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
5. BBC or British Broadcasting Corporation (at Broadcasting House)
Round 2: Newsy history
1. Charles Dickens Museum
2. 350 years
3. 1908
4. Christopher Columbus (you might have seen this listed in the History Radar)
5. Redbridge (Churchill had been the MP for many years. More on alternative borough names here)
Round 3: Famous introductions
1. The umbrella (women had used them earlier, hence my ‘gentlemanly’ adjective)
2. Joseph Paxton of Crystal Palace fame, while working at Chatsworth House.
3. Doctor Who
4. Hello Goodbye, by the Beatles
5. Barnet
Round 4: A Quiz from 1951
1. Southwark Cathedral (also known as St Saviours or St Mary Overy)
2. Royal United Service Museum (1951), or National Army Museum (2025)
3. Trafalgar Square (you could also have answered ‘in the Guildhall’, though that wasn’t an answer in the 1951 quiz).
4. Edward Hodges Baily (little-known today, considering how important the statue is)
5. The Tower of London, known as the Tower Menagerie
Round 5: Historic traffic islands
1. St James’s Street (1864)
2. In the Summertime, by Mungo Jerry (half point for each)
3. Old Street
4. The Ring of Steel
5. Lord Byron
Round 6: Picture Round. Doors of Note
1. Lock & Co (Hatmakers of St James’s)
2. Holborn tube station
3. Charles Dickens Museum
4. Natural History Museum
5. The Kirkaldy Testing Museum (Southwark Street)
Round 7: A Question of Port
1. James I (and VI)
2. The Marchioness
3. Carrying the body of Winston Churchill
4. Erith
5. Geese
Round 8: Have I Got Mews for You
1. The Profumo Affair
2. Judy Garland
3. The National Gallery
4. Agatha Christie
5. The Ritz
Round 9: Odds and ends
1. Crosby Hall in Chelsea (now Crosby-Moran Hall). This medieval hall once stood on Bishopsgate, but was moved brick-by-brick to Chelsea in the early 20th century. Its current owner Christopher Moran appended his own name to the building.
2. High Holborn
3. Euston. Full story here.
4. Ickenham (Ilford and Iver do not count, as the Elizabeth line is not considered part of the Tube.)
5. Neasden
6. The Lavender Hill Mob. Incidentally, Hepburn’s Mayfair home will receive a Blue Plaque later this year
7. The Blue Posts
8. Charles II, James II, Mary II, Anne and George IV (full point for any three; no half points)
9. Hackney
10. On top of Nelson’s Column, newly completed. They were going to serve rump beef, but the steaks would have been too high. Full story here.
How did you get on? Could you have challenged the winners with 37 points? If so, keep an eye out for the return of the event next May. And if you enjoy this newsletter, take a look at London Historians, a club which puts on talks, tours, meet-ups and quizzes for anyone interested in our city’s history.
Thanks for reading. As ever, feel free to leave a comment below, or email me any time on matt@londonist.com. And I’d love it if you shared the quiz with history-loving friends.
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