Mapping Fallen London - Spoilers of a Sort

Fallen London
61

I just came across an event which lists a couple of new locations!

"Sign on for the voyage

Drudgewick, Shrub, Mutton Island. Once part of the surface city: now these specks in the Unterzee make zailors curse and cross themselves."

Also the resolution for the event listed Marlowe Bog as another location.

62

Also this similar snippet:

“The suburbs of Winewound, Drudgewick, Shrub, Hunter’s Keep and Mutton became Unterzee islands after the Fall.”

Could Hunter’s Keep be Herne Hill? Herne was an ancient god of the hunt.

63

I really like the map that projects Fallen London onto the historical Victorian equivalent, but I was surprised to find Concord Square mapped onto Victoria Street. The Metropolitan Police didn’t move to its current headquarters on Broadway until the 1960s, and before that occupied New Scotland Yard on Victoria Embankment, buildings now used as parliamentary offices. The original headquarters (until 1890) backed onto Great Scotland Yard, a side-street of Whitehall opposite the Old Admiralty; you can actually read the names on the map with a little effort.

As to the name… I originally thought the change of &quotYard&quot to &quotSquare&quot referred to nearby Trafalgar Square, but the match of the latter with Hastings Place makes too much sense for that to be true. (I like that Admiral Nelson was replaced by another famous, supposedly one-eyed historical figure.) Another unsatisfactory idea was a connection with the Place de la Concorde in Paris, which is marked by an obelisk not unlike Cleopatra’s Needle, if only that one were closer to Scotland Yard. And then there is the actual real-world Concord Square in Athens (mostly known by its Greek name, Omonoia Square), which is old, central and rather famous, and from which distances from the city are measured, but there is no connection with Fallen London that I can see.

My favourite insight involves the mystery novel The Last Policeman, which is set in Concord, New Hampshire (note to self: read the sequels already). The parallels with the Last Constable are clear, but if Concord Square was named before 2012 then it’s just a remarkable coincidence.

64

Would’ve assumed that the Old Empress is the Old Vic?

65

Anyone found an equivalent for Takepenny Street? It seems to be in Spite, with a nameless church and a nameless brothel. Maybe they’re one and the same, and that’s where Scarlet Saints are made. :P

66

Commercial Street is a major thoroughfare that passes right through Spitalfields; Christ Church and Old Spitalfields Market (already identified as Spite Market) are notable landmarks on that road in close proximity to each other. It seems to fit.

67

She signed a certain letter “Eternally, Victoria R.”
She’s also ruling during the correct years.
She also appears to have the correct consort and children.

68

She signed a certain letter &quotEternally, Victoria R.&quot
She’s also ruling during the correct years.
She also appears to have the correct consort and children.[/quote]

I believe they mean that the Old Empress Theatre, mentioned in the game, is in fact the Royal Victoria Theatre. Which, well, makes sense!

69

Hm. There seems to be a minor oversight here: if she was an empress, wouldn’t she have to sign as one? Queen Victoria received her imperial title when Parliament made her Empress of India in 1876, after which she changed her signature from Victoria R (where R stands for Regina, &quotQueen&quot) to Victoria RI (Regina Imperatrix, &quotQueen Empress&quot). Without that one vertical line at the end she’s just a Traitor Queen, really.

Or maybe it’s an older letter? I confess I don’t know what is being referred to here.

70

The letter in question is the one one receives from her on the occasion of one’s marriage, provided that it is a suitably momentous occasion. It’s definitely post-fall.

71

Thank you.

…and thanks to a certain festival, I’ve just been to Mutton Island, which probably refers to Lambeth. I’d like to know about Shrub, though; it sounds ridiculous as a name, completely out of place (though, in fairness, so does Mutton).

72

[quote=The Duke of Waltham]

…and thanks to a certain festival, I’ve just been to Mutton Island, which probably refers to Lambeth. I’d like to know about Shrub, though; it sounds ridiculous as a name, completely out of place (though, in fairness, so does Mutton).[/quote]

Shrub may well be Bushey
edited by RandomWalker on 8/22/2015

73

I was excited about this possible connection, but Gmaps tells me that Bushey is some 20 miles from London. Since, as the saying goes, 100 miles is a long way in England, I think it’s too far to have been caught up in the Fall.

74

[quote=Gemma Hawley][quote=RandomWalker]

Shrub may well be Bushey
[/quote]

I was excited about this possible connection, but Gmaps tells me that Bushey is some 20 miles from London. Since, as the saying goes, 100 miles is a long way in England, I think it’s too far to have been caught up in the Fall.[/quote]

Fair point. It’s more of a dormitory town than a suburb.

75

[quote=RandomWalker][quote=Gemma Hawley][quote=RandomWalker]

Shrub may well be Bushey
[/quote]

I was excited about this possible connection, but Gmaps tells me that Bushey is some 20 miles from London. Since, as the saying goes, 100 miles is a long way in England, I think it’s too far to have been caught up in the Fall.[/quote]

Fair point. It’s more of a dormitory town than a suburb.[/quote]
And it’s north; these islands are supposed to be south, right?

76

I just found “the Long Spoon” mentioned in a retired event on the wiki. It appears to be another devilish restaurant or tavern.
http://fallenlondon.wikia.com/wiki/Put_the_clues_together

77

Shrub = Shepherd’s Bush?

The Parthenaeum = The Athenaeum

Doubt Street = Grub Street?

Flute Street = Fleet Street?

78

[quote=Lord Hoot]Shrub = Shepherd’s Bush?

The Parthenaeum = The Athenaeum

Doubt Street = Grub Street?

Flute Street = Fleet Street?[/quote]

Very interesting! The only one I can comment on is Fleet Street, which I think is known as Blackfinger Street down here. It’s still the centre for journalism.

79

I saw a snippet about rumours of intelligent rodents living beneath Winewound Heath. I think most Brits would get the reference and deduce that it must be Wimbledon Common.

For those who don’t know: - YouTube

80

I’ve found a clue about Hookman House: &quotYou speak to journalists, under the Hookman House rule, naturally.&quot This is a reference to the Chatham House rule, though I cannot tell whether the name has anything to do with Chatham House itself (on St James’s Square), or whether &quotHookman&quot is somehow supposed to represent William Pitt.
edited by The Duke of Waltham on 1/28/2016