{"id":165,"date":"2013-09-12T03:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-11-25T11:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/natgeokids.com?p=165"},"modified":"2020-12-30T16:39:54","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T16:39:54","slug":"ten-horrible-facts-about-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/ie\/discover\/history\/general-history\/ten-horrible-facts-about-london\/","title":{"rendered":"10 ‘Horrible’ Facts about London!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Westminster<\/a>
Westminster Bridge, London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, gang, we’re taking a trip back in time to find out some quirky – and slightly gruesome! – facts about this historic city…<\/p>\n

1)<\/strong> The Romans first built London nearly 2000 years ago \u2013 but Boudicca, the queen of a Celtic tribe, burnt it to the ground a few years later!<\/p>\n

\"Boudicca\"<\/a>
Boudicca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Boudicca primary resource<\/a>? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

2) King Richard the Lionheart<\/strong> needed money for his Crusade battles \u2013 he said he’d even sell<\/em> London if he could find someone to buy it!<\/p>\n

3)<\/strong> William Wallace<\/strong> was brought to London for a special reason – to be hung, drawn and quartered! Not a very nice way to go!<\/p>\n

4)<\/strong> People in London believed whipping yourself was a way to avoid getting the plague, which was one of London’s most common and deadly diseases in the 17th Century.<\/p>\n

5) Elizabeth I<\/strong> got rid of the job known as “Groom of the Stool<\/strong>” \u2013 which was the name for the person who looked after the monarch when they went to the toilet!<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/a>
Elizabeth I<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6)<\/strong> The inhabitants of medieval London (both human and animal) produced 50,000kg<\/strong> of poop a day – that”s more than six double decker buses!<\/p>\n

7) King Charles I<\/strong> was beheaded in Whitehall, near the houses of parliament. The people watching the ceremony were allowed to go up and dip handkerchiefs in his blood – it was believed the blood of a king would cure their illness.<\/p>\n

8)<\/strong> Until she became Queen, Queen Victoria<\/strong> had to hold someone’s hand whenever she walked down the stairs!<\/p>\n

\"Queen<\/a>
Queen Victoria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

9) Bran the Blessed<\/strong> (who was a very early English king) was beheaded and his head was buried under the White Mount (now the Tower of London) to keep England safe. But it was stolen \u2013 along with two other heads.<\/p>\n

10)<\/strong> In 1369<\/strong>, King Edward III<\/strong> demanded that butchers be banned from slaughtering animals within the City of London because of the stench from blood and offal (internal organs and waste parts). Rotting meat was commonly dumped in The River Thames. Yuk!<\/p>\n

For more Horrible<\/strong><\/em> facts – and to see Britain’s historical figures come to life! – be sure to catch Horrible Histories, Barmy Britain: Part Two!<\/a> <\/strong><\/em>at The Garrick Theatre<\/strong>, London.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, gang, we’re taking a trip back in time to find out some quirky – and slightly gruesome! – facts about this historic city… 1) The Romans first built London nearly 2000 years ago \u2013 but Boudicca, the queen of a Celtic tribe, burnt it to the ground a few years later! Did you know … Continue reading 10 ‘Horrible’ Facts about London!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[233,184,681,183],"christmas-category":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-history","tag-facts","tag-facts-about-london","tag-london","tag-london-facts","countries-australia","countries-ireland","countries-new-zealand","countries-south-africa","countries-united-kingdom"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 'Horrible' Facts about London! - National Geographic Kids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check out ten 'horrible' facts about London here at NG Kids and learn all the gruesome secrets of this historic city!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 'Horrible' Facts about London! 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