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History  of London and Environs Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
History  of London and Environs Quizzes, Trivia

History of London and Environs Trivia

History of London and Environs Trivia Quizzes

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13 quizzes and 135 trivia questions.
1.
Amazing History of the Tower of London
  Amazing History of the Tower of London   top quiz  
Photo Quiz
 10 Qns
Starting in the 1070s William the Conqueror built a huge stone tower now forming the centrepiece of The Tower of London, which still stands and boasts an impressive and enthralling history. Come learn about it!
Easier, 10 Qns, stephgm67, Apr 23 17
Easier
stephgm67 gold member
673 plays
2.
  Origins of London Streets and Suburbs   great trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Can you match the correct names for some of London's unusually named streets or suburbs? Have fun.
Average, 10 Qns, Creedy, Mar 30 17
Average
Creedy gold member
610 plays
3.
  Greenwich: A Time and a Place   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Greenwich in South East London has a long and colourful history that has taken it from being an obscure point on the River Thames, east of London, to being a world heritage site and the centre of the world's time.
Average, 10 Qns, Snowman, Mar 10 17
Average
Snowman gold member
956 plays
4.
  London in the 14th Century   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In the 14th century London and its adjacent town, Westminster, was the largest, the richest, the most powerful, the most polluted, and the most violent city in England. What sights might a visitor of that time have seen?
Average, 10 Qns, Calpurnia09, Mar 10 17
Average
Calpurnia09
1840 plays
5.
  Forgotten Years   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz features the origins of ten areas in the great city of London, England, before they evolved into the famous sites they are today. Have fun.
Average, 10 Qns, Creedy, Apr 14 17
Average
Creedy gold member
464 plays
6.
  The Villages that Turned into London   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Originally founded by the Romans, London acquired its first city wall in the 2nd century. As population and disease grew, people of means began to move to areas outside the walls, gradually incorporating many once rural areas into Greater London.
Average, 10 Qns, Englizzie, Mar 10 17
Average
Englizzie
779 plays
7.
  Battersea   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A potpourri on the part of London where I spent the first twenty years of my life. In those days Battersea was not the trendy place that it has become - quite the contrary. :) Enjoy!
Difficult, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Mar 10 17
Difficult
bloomsby gold member
503 plays
8.
  The Great Plague of 1665   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
In 1665, one of the most devastating epidemics in English history hit the capital, leading to death and suffering on an epic scale. How much do you know about this tragic event?
Difficult, 15 Qns, Red_John, Apr 04 18
Difficult
Red_John
Apr 04 18
253 plays
9.
  London Goes West: Villages II   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
18th century London expanded westwards, utilizing the much improved Great West (Bath) Road. As travel improved, Bath became an easy coaching run for high society seeking cures and possibly a spouse.
Average, 10 Qns, Englizzie, Mar 10 17
Average
Englizzie
363 plays
10.
  A Little Look at London History    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
London is one of the oldest and most historic cities in the world. This quiz only scrapes at the surface of its history. Hope you enjoy playing it.
Difficult, 10 Qns, kittyconner, Mar 10 17
Difficult
kittyconner
1780 plays
11.
  Historic London Houses   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
London's history is long, and many wonderful palaces and houses have been created for the privileged and wealthy. This quiz looks at just ten of these properties in and around London.
Average, 10 Qns, topblue, Mar 10 17
Average
topblue
628 plays
12.
  The boroughs of Greater London    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Match the historical council areas of London and the new boroughs that they moved into as part of the creation of Greater London in the 1960s.
Average, 10 Qns, KentQuizzer, Apr 12 18
Average
KentQuizzer gold member
Apr 12 18
162 plays
13.
  Richmond-upon-Thames    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The questions will cover the whole Borough of Richmond (near London) including the various districts e.g. Barnes, Mortlake, Twickenham, etc. not just Richmond town itself.
Average, 10 Qns, nytoffee, Mar 10 17
Average
nytoffee
273 plays
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History of London and Environs Trivia Questions

1. In which London parish was the first recorded plague death of the 1665 outbreak?

From Quiz
The Great Plague of 1665

Answer: St Giles-in-the-Fields

The first person recorded as having fallen victim to this epidemic died in January. This death was followed by another the following month, although there was little alarm at this stage.

2. How did London's Piccadilly Circus get its fashionable name?

From Quiz Forgotten Years

Answer: The sale of collars called piccadillies

Piccadilly Circus is a major road junction in London, England. It connects to the equally famous Regent Street. Many famous buildings can be seen in this part of London. The name was first given to this area in 1626, and was called after a business belonging to a tailor named Robert Baker. Mr Baker sold a range of fashionable collars at that time. These were all known under the general term of piccadills or piccadillies.

3. Apsley House on the south-east corner of Hyde Park was the London home of the Duke of Wellington. How was this house also once known?

From Quiz Historic London Houses

Answer: No 1 London

Wellington lived at No 1 London for 35 years. It was called No 1 London as it was the first house that travellers past as they entered London from the west through the toll gate.

4. Name the two English monarchs who died at Richmond Palace.

From Quiz Richmond-upon-Thames

Answer: Henry VII & Elizabeth I

Henry VII built Richmond Palace on the site of the former Palace of Shene, which had been damaged by fire in 1497.

5. Greenwich is a centre of science, culture, royalty, history and the maritime world, but its worldwide recognition nowadays is due to GMT and its synonymity with time. What does GMT stand for?

From Quiz Greenwich: A Time and a Place

Answer: Greenwich Mean Time

Initially GMT was used for maritime purposes. The problem of longitude, vital for navigation across the world's oceans, was dependent on a fixed reference point by which navigators could calculate their east-west position on the waves. GMT was originally measured by calculations of the position of certain bright stars in the night sky (known as the clock stars) from the Greenwich Observatory. This was the means to measure time until well into the twentieth century when atomic clocks took over. Before the adoption of GMT, there was no standard for time across the UK, let alone the world. For example, if you were at the top of Ben Nevis in Scotland at one o'clock London time, it would be twenty minutes to one where you stood. This hadn't been a problem until the industrial age came along and a national transport network and telegraph system was built. The need for standardised time for the creation of train timetables became pressing. In the early days of the trains, the passenger would need to change their watch upon arrival at their destination in the same way that plane passengers have to when flying between countries. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the railway companies adopted Greenwich time as the only time on which their trains ran. Whilst this was initially regarded with suspicion and sometimes hostility outside of London, by 1855 ninety-eight per cent of public clocks were displaying GMT. This became possible with the invention of telegraph wires which could transmit the correct Greenwich time from an electronic master clock in the Royal Observatory. Prior to this time, the Observatory provided a service whereby a time courier would visit all the clockmakers in London each day so that they could synchronise their clocks. GMT was officially made UK time by an act of Parliament in 1880. Whilst GMT is still referred to in times throughout the world, since 1972 time had been measured not in Greenwich but in Paris at the BIH (Bureau International de l'Heure). There measurements are taken from 38 atomic clocks around the world to establish a mean time known as UTC (Universal Time Co-ordinated) which is a more accurate measurement of the same time as GMT.

6. Where in London will you find the only statue of King Henry VIII?

From Quiz A Little Look at London History

Answer: St Bartholomew's Hospital

St Bart's began in 1123 as a priory church hospital for the poor. It came under threat of closure during the reign of Henry VIII. However, due to petitioning by the London citizens, Henry relented. In 1546 he granted St Bart's to the City of London. Henry's statue is above the main gate which was built in 1702 by the stonemasons working on St Paul's cathedral.

7. How long had it been since the previous outbreak of plague in London?

From Quiz The Great Plague of 1665

Answer: Twenty-nine years

Bubonic plague had last visited the capital in 1636, although the toll of 10,000 recorded deaths was the lowest of England's epidemic outbreaks in the seventeenth century up to that point. In addition, several years up to 1665 saw more localised outbreaks of plague occur in parishes of London.

8. Vauxhall's origin has a roundabout and very distant royal connection. What is this?

From Quiz Forgotten Years

Answer: Named after a leading mercenary of King John

Vauxhall is an area in southwest London that is a combination of commercial enterprises, residential sites, leisure centres and gracious parks. Its long history until the late century, when it had a facelift, was more or less centred around a working class background. It seems fitting then that it was named after the head mercenary of the famous Magna Carta King John (1666-1216). That mercenary was one Falkes de Breaute. He owned a large residence in the area which was known as Falkes' Hall. The region around the original home eventually became known as Foxhall, before changing once more into Vauxhall.

9. Which house in Pall Mall was completed in 1711 for Sarah Jennings, favourite lady-in-waiting of Queen Anne? It was later home to Edward Prince of Wales from 1863 until his coronation in 1901.

From Quiz Historic London Houses

Answer: Marlborough House

Built by Christopher Wren, this house served as the London residence for the Dukes of Marlborough for over a century. The house was taken up by the royal family in 1817 and became the family home to the future Edward VII.

10. One of the most beautiful buildings in the city was Bishop of London's church. It was the predecessor of the one that Christopher Wren designed. What was its name?

From Quiz London in the 14th Century

Answer: St Paul's Cathedral

Construction of (fourth) St Paul's Cathedral was started in the 12th century and was finished in 1314. It was the most impressive cathedral in the country and at 585 feet long was the third longest in Christendom. It had a towering spire 489 feet tall, taller than that of Salisbury Cathedral and surpassed only by that of the Lincoln Cathedral. Its most notable features, however, were the magnificent rose window at the eastern end and its beautiful chapter house, the meeting room for the bishop and priests.

11. When was St Paul's school (situated since 1968 in Barnes) first established by John Colet?

From Quiz Richmond-upon-Thames

Answer: 1509

The school was originally in St Paul's Churchyard, but after the Great Fire (1666) new school buildings were erected in Cheapside, in the City of London. The school moved to Hammersmith in 1884 and to Barnes in 1968. Samuel Pepys (an Old Pauline) is said to have played truant from school to witness the execution of Charles I.

12. Buckingham Palace was first built by the Duke of Buckingham. What were his given names?

From Quiz A Little Look at London History

Answer: John Sheffield

It was built in 1703 as the Duke's London home. On his death it passed to his son, who sold it to King George III in 1761. It was then the home of Queen Charlotte. It passed on to King George IV in 1820, and its progression from home to palace began. John Nash was commisioned to do the reconstruction.

13. When someone fell ill with plague, for how many days was their property to be quarantined?

From Quiz The Great Plague of 1665

Answer: Forty days

The quarantine period of forty days was stipulated by the Lord Mayor of London and followed guidelines set by the Royal College of Physicians, which was consulted for help in managing the outbreak.

14. What is the name of this palace on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament? It has been the London residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th century.

From Quiz Historic London Houses

Answer: Lambeth Palace

The land on which Lambeth Palace stands was purchased by the archbishopric of Canterbury in about 1200, and it has been the London residence of the Archbishops ever since.

15. Which famous English poet married his bride in St Mary's Church, Battersea?

From Quiz Battersea

Answer: William Blake

The marriage took place in 1782. Blake's wife, Catherine Boucher, the daughter of a local farmer, marked the register with an X as she was illiterate at the time. Other famous people associated with the old parish church include Benedict Arnold (buried in the crypt), J. M. W. Turner and the eighteenth-century botanist, William Curtis. They are commemorated in modern stained glass windows in the church.

16. The late Queen Mother lived in Clarence house, which was built in 1825 for the then Duke of Clarence, who later became which king?

From Quiz A Little Look at London History

Answer: William lV

Clarence House was once part of St James's palace. The Duke of Clarence, who was to become King William IV, lived there from 1791. During its history he has been home to many royals. In 1952 on the death of her husband King George VI it became the home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother until her death in 2002.

17. Which famous road in England features Harrods of London?

From Quiz Forgotten Years

Answer: Brompton Road

Travelling through Knightsbridge, Kensington, Westminster and Chelsea in London, Brompton Road passes through some of the more posh areas of this world capital city. Top restaurants, five star hotels, and famous stores such as Harrods can all be found along this road. The name Brompton is believed to derive from the Old English words "brom", which meant "broom", and "tun" which meant a farm or settlement. It was known originally as Old Brompton Road, but as the city grew around it and more streets connected to it, the "Old" was eventually dropped altogether from the newer sections of London, with Old Brompton Road still to be found west of the city in Kensington.

18. This famous London landmark was designed by George Dance the Elder and completed 1753. This Palladian style house is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. By which name is it generally known?

From Quiz Historic London Houses

Answer: Mansion House

Built on the site of St Mary Woolchurch Haw, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, the Palladian style facade with its portico of six Corinthian columns is one of the most famous within the square mile of the City of London.

19. In the 14th century London was a walled city. Who built the original walls in about the 2nd century?

From Quiz London in the 14th Century

Answer: The Romans

The original walls were built by the Romans to protect their city, Londinium. In the 14th century they were an amazing sight, being eighteen feet high and six to nine feet thick. There were seven great gatehouses: Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Bishopsgate, Aldgate and Bridgegate, which led on to London Bridge. Each gate had massive oak doors which were secured at night by heavy drawbars. In times of war the whole city could be defended as if it were a huge castle.

20. Which district of Richmond Borough contains the National Physical Laboratory ?

From Quiz Richmond-upon-Thames

Answer: Teddington

The National Physical Laboratory was built in 1902. Important scientific work by was carried out here in World War II by Barnes Wallis, famous for the bouncing bomb used in the 'dambuster' raids.

21. In 1838 the London and South Western Railway opened its London terminus at Nine Elms and moved the terminus to Waterloo Station ten years later. In 1863 a major interchange station was established in Battersea. What is it called?

From Quiz Battersea

Answer: Clapham Junction

Most lines from Waterloo and about half from Victoria pass through Clapham Junction. With over 2,000 trains passing through on an ordinary weekday, it is the busiest surface station in the United Kingdom and possibly in Europe. (King's Cross Underground Station is a close rival). It is said that the station was named after Clapham, not Battersea, as the the latter had already acquired a reputation for seediness by the early 1860s. The 15-track line to the east of Clapham Junction divides Battersea into two distinct areas.

22. In St James' Square there is a statue of William III How did he die - which caused Jacobites to raise a toast to "the little gentleman in black velvet"?

From Quiz A Little Look at London History

Answer: his horse tripped over a molehill

The Jacobites were Scottish Highlanders who were supporters of King James II, who was succeeded by William III in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Scots had to swear allegiance to him but the head of the MacDonald clan refused, and William ordered nearly forty of his clan to be killed. It became known as the Glencoe Massacre. If you ever visit London then look carefully at the statue, and you will see a little molehill under the horse's rear left leg.

23. What was the common term given to buboes in the seventeenth century?

From Quiz The Great Plague of 1665

Answer: Tokens

Most common in the armpit as well as the groin, "tokens" were generally black spots caused by a build up of blood in the area. Removal of these was attempted on occasion but the consequences were usually found to be counterproductive as the procedure could lead to septicaemic plague taking hold.

24. The Beatles walked across this famous road in 1969. Can you name it?

From Quiz Forgotten Years

Answer: Abbey Road

The lovely tree-lined Abbey Road runs through the borough of Camden and the City of Westminster in London, passing by Lord's Cricket Ground along the way. This is the road over which the English rock band, The Beatles, walked, as portrayed on the front cover of their 1969 album of the same name. It was once just a 19th century path which led its travellers to Kilburn Priory and its surrounding Abbey farm. In 1874, the Saint John's Wood Permanent Benefit Building Society was founded in a church there, by which time that small track had become known as Abbey Road.

25. Just outside the city walls, but still considered part of the city, was the area of Smithfield. What knightly contests might a 14th century visitor have seen there?

From Quiz London in the 14th Century

Answer: Jousts and tournaments

Jousts and tournaments were popular entertainments as well as providing military training for those taking part. Smithfield was also the site of the main meat market for London. A popular gathering place, it was the site of the three day fair which was held to celebrate St Bartholomew's Day (24th August).

26. With industrialization and a relatively high proportion of skilled workers, Battersea acquired a reputation for political radicalism. In 1892 it was one of the first constituencies to elect a Labour MP. Who was it?

From Quiz Battersea

Answer: John Burns

John Burns (1858-1943) stood and won with the support of the local Liberals. This is one of the reasons why Keir Hardie is usually said to have been the 'first Labour MP'. John Burns moved increasingly close to the Liberal Party and became President of the Board of Local Government in 1906. He was one of the very few MPs who objected to Britain's entry into World War I, and resigned from Asquith's government in August 1914. (He also objected to the Boer War, remarking, 'We are khaki clad, khaki mad and khaki bad'). There is a good, though not particularly flattering biography: William Kent, "John Burns: Labour's Lost Leader ...", Williams and Norgate, London 1950.

27. Who founded the London zoo in Regent's Park?

From Quiz A Little Look at London History

Answer: Sir Stamford Raffles

Sir Stamford Raffles is perhaps better known as the founder of Singapore. However in 1826 he became the first President of the Zoological Society of London. He envisaged the zoo not as a place of entertainment, but a place for the teaching of zoology. Sir Stamford Raffles died before he saw his plans come to fruition.

28. Which British King, whose father lost his head, had a private thoroughfare, called Portugal Road today, which was used to travel to Kew from one of his residences?

From Quiz Forgotten Years

Answer: King Charles II

Charles II (1630-1685) was King of England and Scotland - nominally from 1649 on, and after Cromwell's Commonwealth went pear-shaped, de facto 1660 until his death in 1685. He had a private road known as King's Road along which he travelled from one of his residences to Kew. King Charles always had a bit of an eye for the lasses, so it possibly could have even been from the home of one of his mistresses. It remained a private road until 1830 when people higher up on the social ladder were graciously given permission to travel along it - and then finally the general public. By then it was known as Portugal Road. Nowadays, however, Portugal Road is found near Holborn in the City of Westminster, not too far from famous London sites such as Covent Garden, the Royal Opera House and the Royal Courts of Justice.

29. Which South London palace was given to Edward II in 1305 by the Bishop of Durham? It remained a royal palace for some centuries until Greenwich Palace grew in importance. In the 1930s it was restored by Sir Stephen and Virginia Courtauld.

From Quiz Historic London Houses

Answer: Eltham Palace

Eltham Palace was the childhood home of Henry VIII, and was used for Christmas celebrations throughout the Tudor Period. During the English Civil War the surrounding hunting park was cleared of trees and deer. Charles II gave the estate to John Shaw, a supporter of his father and Commissioner of Customs. It stayed in the Shaw family until the late 19th century. In the 1930s Sir Stephen Courthauld acquired the lease, restored the Great Hall whilst rebuilding much of the palace in a sumptuous art deco style. It is said to be the only deco house open to the public in England.

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