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The A1 in London is an A road in North London. It runs from the London Wall to Bignall's Corner, where it crosses the M25 motorway and becomes the A1(M) motorway, continuing to Edinburgh. The London section passes through four London boroughs: the City of London, Islington, Haringey and Barnet. Whilst the route of the A1 outside London closely follows the historic route of the Great North Road, the London section for the most part does not.
The current route of the London section of the A1 road was mainly designated as such in 1927. It comprises a number of historic streets in central London and the former suburbs of Islington, Holloway and Highgate and long stretches of purpose-built new roads in the outer London borough of London Borough of Barnet, built to divert traffic away from the congested suburbs of Finchley and High Barnet.
The London section of the A1 is one of London's most important roads. It links North London to the M1 motorway and the A1(M) motorway, and consequently serves as Central London's primary road transport artery to the Midlands, Northern England and Scotland. It also connects a number of major areas within London, and sections of it serve as the High Street for many of the now-joined villages that make up north London. (Full article...)
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Selected biography
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James Whitaker Wright (9 February 1846 - 26 January 1904) was an exceptionally wealthy English mining company owner. He became infamous when he committed suicide at the Royal Courts of Justice in London immediately following his conviction for fraud. Born in Stafford, Wright emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1870, before moving to the United States. Wright began promoting silver-mining companies in Leadville, Colorado and Lake Valley, New Mexico. Although none of the companies made money for the shareholders, Wright made a fortune. After returning to Britain, he continued to promote mining companies in Australia and Canada on the London market and used his expanding fortune to develop a country estate at Witley Park in Surrey.
In the 1890s Wright established the London & Globe Finance Corporation (L&GFC) as a method of financing more mining issues. The L&GFC also took over the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway in 1897. In 1899, Wright manipulated the accounts of various L&GFC companies to conceal large losses by one of its mines. The fraud was discovered in December 1900 and the corporation collapsed. In 1904, Wright was sentence to seven years imprisonment at the Royal Courts of Justice, but committed suicide by swallowing cyanide immediately after the verdict was announced. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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- ...that the original carriages on the City and South London Railway were nicknamed "padded cells" due to their high backed cushioned seats and very small windows?
- ...that a stuffed puffer fish, a samurai sword, human skulls, breast implants and a lawnmower are amongst items handed into TfL's lost property office during its 75-year existence?
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Image 2London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 3Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 4Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 655 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 8Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 9Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 10A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 11Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 13The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 14The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 17Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 19TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 21Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 22London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 23Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 25Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 27Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 28Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 29View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 30Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 31London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 32Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 33The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 34Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 36The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 37Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 38Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 39Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 40Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 42"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 43The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 44Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 45The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 46The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 47Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 48Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 49Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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