伦敦是英语学习的圣地，交融着文化、艺术、历史、经济、政治、人文的精华。触摸英语文化的核心London是每个英语学习者的梦想。
History of the Office of Ordnance
The Ordnance was founded by Henry VIII in 1544. It was charged with storing and supplying arms and equipment to English (later British) military force. Its roots date back to the 14th century, when a branch of the Privy Wardrobe emerged to provide bows and early gunpowder weapons for English armies.
Mid 15th century - Thomas Vaughan, the first recorded Master of the Ordnance, was appointed
1544 - The Office of the Ordnance (later called the Board of Ordnance) was officially created by Henry VIII
1855 - The Board of Ordnance was abolished and its functions taken over by the War Office
The Ordnance has always been resident at the Tower of London, using the site as both a headquarters and a major arsenal for artillery, powder and shot. Although The Board of Ordnance was abolished in the mid 19th century, military provision organised by the Royal Logistic Corps, remained a function of the Tower until 1994.
Storehouse was the largest building ever constructed on the Tower site. Completed in 1692, it housed some of the many spectacular objects and displays showcased by the Ordnance at the Tower.
Monument to the Great Fire of London
On the evening of 30 October 1841, a fire started in the upper floor of the Bowyer Tower. From there it spread to the roof of the Grand Storehouse. The Storehouse could not be saved and the building itself, along with over 60,000 objects, was destroyed.
The fire was so intense that lead piping on the White Tower some distance away was said to have melted. Despite the scale and ferocity of the blaze only one person, a fireman, was killed. The only other recorded fatality was a cat belonging to Charlotte Harper, the young daughter of an Ordnance labourer.
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London built in 1886–1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. It is the only one of the Trust's bridges not to connect the City of London directly to the Southwark bank, as its northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets.
The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.
The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge's twin towers, high-level walkways and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, for which an admission charge is made.
London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It was built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. It was dismantled in 1967 and relocated to Arizona. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, which was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The bridge was completed in 1971 (along with a canal), and links an island in the Colorado River with the main part of Lake Havasu City. The song London Bridge is Falling Down is a nursery rhyme that predates the bridge's original 19th century construction.
The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. Also known as the Millennium Wheel, it has also been called by its owners the British Airways London Eye, the Merlin Entertainments London Eye, and the EDF Energy London Eye. As of mid-January 2015, it has been known as the Coca-Cola London Eye, following an agreement signed in September 2014.[8]
The structure is 443 feet (135 m) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 feet (120 m). When erected in 1999 it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel. Its height was surpassed by the 520 feet (158 m) tall Star of Nanchang in 2006, the 541 feet (165 m) tall Singapore Flyer in 2008, and the 550 feet (168 m) High Roller (Las Vegas) in 2014. Supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the taller Nanchang and Singapore wheels, the Eye is described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel".[9]
It is Europe's tallest Ferris wheel,[10] and offered the highest public viewing point in London[11] until it was superseded by the 804 feet (245 m) [12] observation deck on the 72nd floor of The Shard, which opened to the public on 1 February 2013.[13] It is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually,[14] and has made many appearances in popular culture.
The London Eye adjoins the western end of Jubilee Gardens (previously the site of the former Dome of Discovery), on the South Bank of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth.
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is usually extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower. The tower is officially known as Elizabeth Tower, renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012; previously it was known simply as the Clock Tower. When completed in 1859, it was, says clockmaker Ian Westworth, “the prince of timekeepers: the biggest, most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world. The tower had its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place.
Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds. The palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, and on some days in winter and spring.
The name Chinatown has been used at different times to describe different places in London. The present Chinatown is part of the City of Westminster, occupying the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets, souvenir shops, and other Chinese-run businesses.
Some other places
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