Tuesday January 30th at 19.30

A talk that guarantees you will never look at London in the same way

By Matt Brown

Imagine the Vatican relocating to London, or a model Mars colony on the Jubilee line, or a fungus farm under Tottenham Court Road. Joke? Not really. These are all ideas for London that have been considered over the years.

In a talk that guarantees you will never look at London in the same way, author and journalist Matt Brown will illuminate some of the extraordinary schemes that didn’t make it past the planners. These include several ideas about the Thames – one of which involved moving the river a mile to the south…

Matt has been writing professionally about the capital since 2005. He’s served as first editor, then editor-at-large of Londonist, a web site dedicated to the history and culture of London. His recent books include London Night and Day and Everything You Know About London Is Wrong. Matt likes to dip into the hidden histories of London, unearthing long-lost stories from newspaper archives, or exploring the parts of the capital not normally accessible, such as sewers, rooftops and basements.

The Unbuilt London idea originated from an article in the Londonist where the tube map of London was rejigged to show some of the wackier schemes that had been considered for the capital. It became one of the most popular articles ever posted on the site, and is now a regular feature.
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