London History, Up Close
Blogs inspired by Cobble's audio walks
Bloomsbury’s Suffragette Street: Lady Constance Lytton and the Community of Duke’s Road
Lytton, who went under cover to show the women's suffrage debate was about class as well as gender, lived in Bloomsbury amongst sisters in the struggle.
Standing on Duke’s Road in Bloomsbury today, you’ll see St Pancras New Church and its caryatids on one side, and a pale-blue Premier Inn on the other. With apologies to the building’s architect and those running the day-to-day hotel operations, the Premier Inn appears functional and unremarkable. Nothing about it suggests that this site was once a terrace of modest flats where some of Britain’s most radical women planned their campaigns for the vote. Between 1910 and 1912,...
moreThe Bloomsbury Barrister Who Defended the Indefensible: Charles Phillips and the Ethics of Advocacy
Gordon Square was home to Charles Phillips, a firebrand barrister and anti-death penalty campaigner, who was defined by a controversial case and notorious execution.
Gordon Square sits at the heart of Bloomsbury, one of those elegant Georgian enclaves where the houses seem to breathe history. Number 39, with its pale brick façade and black number plate beneath the balcony, looks out over the central gardens. Its quiet, dignified, and, amidst many other beautiful Cubitt-style Bloomsbury dwellings, unremarkable at first glance. But Charles Phillips lived here from 1847 until his death in 1859, and by the time he arrived, he was already famous. Phillips...
moreSenate House and the Ministry of Truth: How Bloomsbury Inspired Orwell’s 1984
In George Orwell's defining novel, this towering university building - home to the Ministry of Information in World War 2 - was transformed into a centre of autocracy.
On Malet Street in Bloomsbury, the Art Deco tower of Senate House dominates this part of London. It rises high into the air, nineteen floors of Portland stone that seem to dwarf everything around it. The building looks like it belongs in a different city, something from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis or a fascist architect’s fever dream. George Orwell knew this building well. During World War II, it housed the Ministry of Information, where his wife Eileen worked and where the...
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A Different Way To Explore London: Discover the City’s Hidden History Through Audio
Why Cobble is the best app for tourists in London who want expert-led storytelling, immersive sound, and total freedom to explore at their own pace.
Looking for a way to explore London that goes beyond the guidebooks and crowded tours? Meet Cobble – a mobile app that brings the city’s rich, dramatic history to life through immersive, GPS-triggered audio stories. Unlike traditional walking tours, Cobble puts you in control. You decide where to go, when to pause, and which parts of the city to explore. Whether you’re strolling through Soho and spot a record shop you want to check out, or wandering around Bloomsbury when a...
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