Tunnels, Towers & Temples: London's 100 Strangest Places
David Long

A companion to Spectacular Vernacular, volume two takes another sideways look at London, examining the curious histories and sometimes comic assocations behind scores of places, some of which are familiar while others are largely unknown. Richly illustrated, the book reveals a strange side to the London most people never come to know, even though they walk its streets every day and take much of what they see for granted. Examples include extensive networks of tunnels running beneath high street pavements, secret transport and signalling networks criss-crossing the capital, scores of disused railway stations with a fascinating wartime past, and the tragic fate of London's last working tram. Also genuine oddities such as streetlamps powered by sewer gas, a street where you can legally drive on the right, a Russian Tsar working incognito in an English naval dockyard, even an authentic Nazi memorial which still stands among the heroes and adventurers of the British Empire.