Thorney: London's Forgotten Island

Thorney is a forgotten island in central London, formed by the (now underground) River Tyburn, which rolls down from the Hampstead hills to converge with the Thames.

Most of today's Parliament Square plus where the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey stand today makes up Thorney Island,

It contains the densest concentration of 'history" in Britain and probably Europe as well, including the Abbey, the two Houses of Parliament, Westminster Hall, all of the law courts (until 1834) and for 500 years until 1518, the Royal Palace (predecessor to Buckingham Palace).

It housed the palace of King Canute, whose father Sven Forkbeard, ruled England for less than five weeks (shorter even than Liz Truss). It was the scene of the biggest robbery in British history - in 1303 - for which all the monks of Westminster Abbey were arrested. It had an actual school for pickpockets, the source for Fagin's Den in Oliver Twist.

Want to find out more? Read on!

Thorney: London's Forgotten Island is the third book in the Lost London Series by Vic Keegan.