Locations

London Map
Thanks to Rachel Ellen for making our beautiful map!

Kensington
If you think of a London landmark, it is likely in the area of the city that our Kensington covers. This is, in part, due to it being the centre of wealth and politics for the entirety of Great Britain and Ireland. From Buckingham Palace to Westminster, you can find it all within the same few square miles. In a game such as this, focused on the upper class in Victorian Society, the estates of the wealthy and the venues that accommodate their lavish lifestyles have shifted the orbit of our game to this small chunk of clay.

It is here that most of our NPCs live and for those who have some form of employment, work. In-between the townhouses and museums lay the various apparatuses of the British State. While the most notable of these is the Palace of Westminster housing Parliament, a five-minute walk will get you to the HQ of the Metropolitan Police, still based in the original Scotland Yard.

Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of Queen Victoria, the first monarch to make it her home. Unfortunately, it was not “home” for long. After Prince Albert’s death in 1861, the Queen left Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle and several other locations. Though she was eventually persuaded to return to London, court functions were still held at Windsor and Buckingham Palace remained shuttered for most of the year.

Crystal Palace
Re-opening in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1880, the Crystal Palace has drawn much speculation as artefacts and marvels begin to arrive. An enormous cast iron and plate glass structure, the interior is filled with stalls, greenery and statues, proclaiming man's mastery over nature and the wonders humanity is capable of when knowledge is shared. Numerous dinosaur statues have also begun to be moved to the grounds, in one case allowing you to dine within the confines of an oversized Iguanadon.

Estates
The Victorian estates of the upper classes were large houses, several stories high. Each estate was complete with several rooms, flushing toilets, servants to cook and clean, and nannies to look after the children. Nearly all of these were located in Kensington and boasted some of the best views and access to gorgeous gardens and greenspaces. Only the richest citizens of London could afford to live here.

Houses of Parliament
St. Stephen's Hall and Central Hall open to the public and therefore players. In Parliament there are seats in each lobby for the Members of Parliament (MPs) to sit on. You do not ever sit on the seats if you are not an MP or Lord (in the House of Lords).

This neo-Gothic building is full of details: portcullis-patterned wallpaper, carpets with intricate designs, hundreds of years worth of paintings, nooks and crannies just barely hidden out of sight, there is always something new to look at at every step.

The walls are made out of limestone which by now is visibly a lot worse for wear as the pollution from coal burning in London has really done a number on the building in the last fifty years. The stones are kept in shape and it's not going to have to be dealt with for another forty years but it is another symbol of the pollution of London eating into everything.

Hyde Park
The largest of the four Royal Parks, Hyde Park has served as a hunting ground, dueling ground, and site of the Great Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851, as well as a small pet cemetery. Speaker's Corner was established in 1872 as a point of free speech and debate, while the main expanse has been used to hold fairs, fetes, hot-air balloon rides and fireworks displays. This has left the park a popular site for courtship.

Hyperion Club House
The Hyperion club is one of the most prestigious social clubs in London, the building itself is rather humble for its reputation, no unnecessary flairs or lavish decorations, likely due to its ties with the Temperance Movement. The club prides itself for being a bastion of decency, decorum and polite discussion about important matters of society. Membership has its perks- easy access to important members in Parliament or other institutions and a certain weight to one's arguments. Entry to the club is not easy, one must be an upstanding member of the community, with demonstrated service in some form. A sponsor from an existing member is also required. While it is rare for lower to middle classes to gain entrance, it is possible if one is an exceptional candidate and has something of value to offer.

The Langham Hotel
The fanciest hotel in London now and for the next nine years until the Savoy opens. Italian mosaic tiles, all the window curtains your heart might desire, this is the place where the Americans go to stay when they visit Britain. While there might not yet be en-suite bathrooms, that feat going to the Savoy, this is still peak luxury.

National Gallery
The National Gallery was founded in a different manner to other galleries in Europe. Rather than nationalising the sovereign's personal collection, the government purchased a collection of paintings and housed them in this gallery as an ennobling enjoyment for all people. Since its founding the gallery has purchased other works of value and has also been bequeathed works by wealthy benefactors. Despite being open to all members of society, it is often the more wealthy classes who have the time to stand around looking at paintings.

Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House was burnt down several times and rebuilt, most recently in 1858. It is an elegant building, both inside and out. Outside, it boasts a magnificent columned edifice, decorated with the statues of the muses. Inside is a grand ampitheater with a capacity of nearly 2,000, filled with both box seats for the upper classes and auditorium seats on the floor. The ceiling includes intricately carved designs in Greco-Roman style, in addition to an impressively large chandelier. Primarily used housing operas, especially Italian, though some French and German works as well, it is occasionally used in the opera’s off season for ballet, recitals, and political meetings.

Trafalgar Square
Formerly the site of the monarchy's stables and carriage house, Trafalgar Square is both an open space for the public, entry-point to the National Gallery and monument to the Battle of Trafalgar. Alongside the fountains and statues towers Nelson's column, with the Landseer Lions resting at its base, cast in bronze made from the cannons of the French and Spanish ships defeated by the British Navy. Perhaps inevitably, it has long served as a venue for political demonstrations.

Scotland Yard
The origins of Scotland Yard were its location in a private house, 4 Whitehall Place, getting its name from the street it was backed onto- Great Scotland Yard. It wasn’t long, however, before the Metropolitan Police headquarters had expanded into several neighbouring addresses as well. Its several thousand police officers will outgrow their original site and be moved to a several-building complex on the Thames, but for now remain stuffed in the original set of private homes.

U.S. Embassy
A firm building in the heart of Kensington, several floors and a couple address numbers represents the heart of the United States' influence in the United Kingdom. It is from here during the day that Theodore Cornell puts his country's case forward. In the evening, he retires to the top floors where the Ambassador's residence is located while he and his daughter look for something more official.

Whitechapel
A place known by one figure alone, Whitechapel, is made infamous in less than a decade's time by Jack the Ripper. It is, for the most part, that classic image you have of the Victorian poor. Overcrowded, dirty, and with a population that at its best is classed as impoverished, Whitechapel is as close to a slum as you can get without calling it that.

It is in this district that crime flourishes. The Metropolitan Police are only able to put in a token effort for anything but the most serious of crimes, as they are undermanned and underfunded. Those who have influence at the Yard don't care overly much about what happens in the area, as long as it doesn't make the papers. It's not that there isn't light in the dark heart of Whitechapel, but it's led by noble souls with good intentions and little else.

London Docks
London is the capital of the world right now. All routes lead to it, and most of these routes are by sea. The loading and unloading of ships as well as their repairs are all very labour intensive activities. The Docks are a hive of activity with almost everyone carrying a piece of cargo in their arms, in a wheelbarrow, or simply on their back.

The land is bad though: the whole area is by necessity at water level, and standing water at that. It's damp, and the sheer number of bodies of water insulate the area from the rest of London proper. As such it's a city within a city. Contrary to what you might think, this is not the place to find anything your heart might desire: while all the goods of the world go through here you'll be hard pressed to find which ship specifically will have what you would like. Stick to the usual suppliers in London instead. With that said, if you knew what a particular ship is carrying and wanted to pilfer, this would be your best bet...

The Royal London Hospital
A proud tradition of not turning down any patients, the overcrowding here has started to lessen lately thanks to other hospitals popping up in London. Most famous for their part in the cholera pandemic fifty years ago, the London hospital has over 300 inpatient beds and is surprisingly well able to keep the transmittable diseases from spreading from patients to staff.

One of the more important products of this hospital is the doctors it produces and Wren is well known to be a good teacher.

The King Richard
The King Richard is a pub which has seen better days...and more reputable customers. Nowadays, its many dark nooks are frequented by those who value their privacy. The furniture--broken, reformed, and broken again in countless bar fights--is the metaphorical Ship of Theseus, as is much of the structure of the bar. The bar has earned the nickname "Dirty Dick's" due less to the hygiene of the clients (which is abysmal) than to the sharp business practices of the tavernowner, who has been known to cut many corners with his liquor and take advantage of many an inebriated fool in his cups. Visit at your own risk!

Southwark
On the opposite side of the River Thames is Southwark. It and the various boroughs that border it make up the industrial heart of the city in our London, though you will find factories and workshops in nearly every corner. Still, the poor need somewhere to live and the rich need a place where they don’t have to see the factories of the poor. This is Southwark. In our time (2021) this industrial legacy can be found in two landmarks of their own, both Battersea Power Station and the current Tate Modern (the former Bankside Power Station) are located within Southwark, even if the former won’t be built for another fifty years.

The majority of those who reside here fit into the lower middle-class, with demographics not much different from Whitechapel. The only thing stopping it from turning into the dirty and dangerous streets of its neighbour district is the constant flow of industry and investment throughout the area.

Adalbert & Son's
Once one of the largest factories in the country, the several blocks taken up by the Adalbart & Son's factory is a triumph of the industrial revolution- at least the industrial revolution thirty years back. Since then, more recent additions have begun to overshadow it and the business acumen of the late Adalbart seems to be missing in his heir.

Bell & Anchor Pub
Sailors don't have very much time on shore leave. As soon as they taste freedom there's a few things to get: a drink, a fight, and a girl, ideally in that order. This pub provides the drink and a place to find a job for the day after.

The beer itself is surprisingly decent, at least by London standards, and the choice wide enough to provide for the whole international audience. The chairs are cheap but the tables are screwed down tight so that you can really bash someone's face on the table edge if you so desired. All languages of the world can be heard here. At night the nearest equivalent to modern day society would be a constant stag do (aka bachelor party). Not a place the Temperance Movement is likely to ever get near, but also not so rough as the King Richard.

How it differs from the King Richard is that the Bell & Anchor is more of an actual public house. People looking for work turn up here in the morning, business owners looking for labourers pick and choose who they like. It's certainly more tamed than the other pub: pub fights are ubiquitous but the fisticuffers have the manners to take it outside and rarely use a knife.

Robert Stephenson & Company
The bulk of their operations still remain far to the north, in the city of Newcastle. However, the planned expansion of the underground rail system in London and the need for more specialised locomotives, has resulted in a new factory being built, expanding out on one of the small semi-used railyards. While the first machine has not yet steamed out of the factory gates, rumours about delays are being met with rumours of a brand new steam engine that will cause a second industrial revolution. Either way, the owner has started to spend more and more time here than his offices further north.

Green Mechanics & Engineering Co.
With the invention of precision engineering, strong, powerful machines harnessing the power of steam can be manufactured. Through the application of genius- and cheap, exploited labour- modern miracles in shipping, railway and munitions are forged here in London. Lady Guinevere Green's factory is but one part of this, but her keen economic mind has bolstered the business to profitable heights, and there is open talk of expansion.

Surrey Docks
One of the smaller Docks, the Surrey Docks bases it's existence on the factories of Southwark to it's west, from here boats of all shapes and sizes move goods made in factories to the rest of the world, while others unload their cargo, raw resources ready to be turned into commercial products.

TUC Headquarters
A squat building, even if it is a half-dozen stories tall, the Trades Union Congress is the heart of union activity in the United Kingdom and represents dozens of unions and thousands of members across the country. It is from here that Edith Keyes and her supporters are rallying the troops in the defence of the working man, inside matching this spirit as everywhere you turn, there is something in motion.

Islington
The north of Islington and its surrounding boroughs were once some of the more fashionable places to live in London. However, as more of the urban sprawl is pushed further outward, even these places have fallen out of favour. Currently, Islington is known for where the Bohemians of London flock. Nice enough to live comfortable lives, but poor enough that rent isn’t going to force you back to the bank of mummy and daddy. With the British Library sitting next to the largest two train stations in the City, for most, this is their first glimpse at the city.

A.B.C. Tearoom
A proudly middle-class establishment, the A.B.C Teamroom is a self-service experience open to all. With a range of options on the menu, it is up to you to collect what you like from the ever-busy counter. While this may be normal to us, it is radical to the Victorians.

British Library
Until 1973, the British Library remains a part of the British Museum. The Library holds several hundred thousand books, journals, and pamphlets covering all areas of the museum’s collection, including the general museum’s archives. A door, enchanted so that normal mortals will walk past it without noticing it, leads to a small library room where Tiresias can be found. Though smaller, their room in the library is also well-stocked with books and other items of interest.

Cafe Ruskin
Inspired by its European counterparts, the Cafe Ruskin is home to the various sets of struggling artists that live and work in Islington. At any one point, you will find the tables abuzz with creative ideas and thoughts. They are broken by the occassional poetry reading or artistic exhibition that covers the Arts & Crafts movement-inspired decor.

Clearwater Druggist
This small store is nestled into a corner and can be a little hard to find if you don't know what you are looking for. Inside, the cramped store is lined by oak shelves, stocked with all manner of medicinal herbs and plants within dull glass jars. A cabinent behind the counter lined with various tinctures, cordials and other assorted medicines and local cures. Mabel can be found here most of the time, working away on her creations and taking inventory of her supplies.

King's Cross & St. Pancras Stations
The two largest stations in the country, though which actually claims that title will depend on who you ask. Regardless, each represents a gateway to London for those of the North. It is King's Cross that hosts the offices of the GNR & George Stephenson, which puts points in favour of it being the larger of the two.

Society of the Muses Club House
The society of Muses is an exclusive club for the artistically inclined in London. Members must be sponsored by a current member and then a vote is undertaken. The proposed new member may submit up to two works to support their admission to the club. The club itself has a small courtyard, and the hall features large windows that allow plenty of natural light in. Members are permitted to use club grounds for pieces they are working on. The club meets regularly to discuss art, techniques and to view each others work before public releases.

City of London
The City within a City, within a Country within a Country, the City of London is older than the country it is a part of. with this comes strange privileges and ownership of nearly every Landmark not built by the Government. It is here that most Landmarks not found in Kensington are located, St. Paul’s Cathedral being the best known. The City of London also houses the main campuses of the University of London, most notably it’s two rival Universities, King’s College & University College.

It is in this 3 square kilometre section of London that you will find a crossroads between the societies of London, though this is more the middle class competing with the dominance of the upper. It is in these streets that the tailors, several Society Clubs and most of all the best restaurants not in Kensington can be found, helped by a Council that treats businesses as its constituents.

Bank of England
The central bank of the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in the central financial district of the City of London. It gradually assumed the responsibilities of a central bank, including printing legal tender and guarding the nation’s gold reserves. However, in 1880, one can still do their personal banking here.

Culpepper's Clothier
Culpepper's Clothier is the chic-est clothesmaker this side of Milan. Celina Culpepper runs a tight ship and particularly dislikes window shoppers and nosy competitors poking around her shop. The shop has a limited selection that rotates seasonally, or whenever Celina feels the winds of fashion shifting.

Cyrenaic Club House
The Cyrenaic is a private members' only social club. The admission price is a manageable (for the lower upper and middle classes) £3 a year. Admission is granted by a vote of the Members (one no in ten excludes) following a personal recommendation by an existing member. The furnishings are tasteful, bookcases line up against all the walls, collections of books adorn the bookshelves. The bookshelves themselves have glass doors and are 15 feet tall. Given the large number of collected works and their pristine condition, it appears that the books are more for looking at than actually reading.

There is a chef and a bar assigned to the club so you could, if you really wanted, spend days at a time here. Importantly, it's not too luxurious. A proper aristocrat would not want to be seen here, as the club is a place more of the petit bourgeois and new money.

L'oeuf Murmurant
L'œuf Murmurant is a culinary port-of-call, boasting the freshest, most unique ingredients in London. When he isn't rubbing elbows with his distinguished clientele, Hector Van der Vorm is storming through the kitchen, making sure his recipes are "just so" and his presentation is second-to-none. It is truly a world-class establishment where the most adventurous of gourmands go to satiate their sophisticated palates.

Lotus Club House
The Lotus Club House resides in the ossuary beneath a church for the deaf. The upstairs neighbors don't make much noise, and don't mind the downstairs noise. Based on the varying symbols and languages on the walls, this ossuary has seen multiple tenants over the years.

Osier Tearoom
Sitting on Piccadilly, a couple of blocks from Green Park, the Osier Tearoom is as opulent as the dishes it serves. With black and white marble flooring and the finest upholstered seats spread around a centerpiece of a chandelier, the Osier is attended to by the great and the good of London. While tables are booked months in advance, there always seems to be one free if you are willing to wait a few minutes. For a bite of their cakes, omlettes, or afternoon tea special, the wait is more than worth it.

University of London
The two universities in London at the time, certainly the only ones that matter. UCL is the radical, egalitarian, secular institution on Gower Street. King's College is much more Anglican and old money. Quite naturally there is a rivalry between the two. This is best evidenced by the time Strand Poly (ie King's College) stole Jeremy Bentham's head, so UCL stole the bollocks off the lion statue at King's in return. It's a good natured rivalry but it can get nasty.

There is always a place to get involved in the rivalry, like helping someone from King's steal Jeremy Bentham's head or helping UCL recover it.