Lost Sherlock Holmes story discovered in man's attic

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Lost Sherlock Holmes story discovered in man's attic

Proof that there remains many unknown and long-lost treasures from the past [100 years] still to be found in attics, skips etc. comes this news of a newly-unearthed Sherlock Holmes story, written over 110 years ago and rediscovered more than 80 years since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle last put pen to paper on the subject of The Great Detective.

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As it turns out this is not quite the great literary discovery of the century that it sounds, although it is still quite remarkable and most interesting.  The "story" turns out to be of the short variety (1,300 words), written by Conan Doyle in 1904 in support of the fundraising for a new bridge in Selkirk, Scotland, to replace the previous one that was destroyed in 1902.  Thus it was penned very much as a 19th century "sponsored article", with Holmes using his famous powers of deduction to determine Watson's forthcoming trip to Scotland to - attend a new bridge-opening event.  Having read it, it could even be argued that the whole scene is an "imagining" of a Holmes-Watson discussion by the third party and the thing reads in such a slightly exaggerated way that I wouldn't be surprised if Doyle had his tongue firmly in his cheek at the time.

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Nevertheless it was obviously something of a coup to have such a well-known "literateur" endorse Selkirk's little bridge (still standing today!) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's name rightly stands proud in The Book o' the Brig. 

Whether there are any further, more substantial lost works from Doyle remains to be seen but as a Sherlockian and a vintage enthusiast I am delighted to see a prevously unknown Holmes story come to light in so interesting a manner.  Well done to Mr Elliot for finding it (eventually), hanging on to it and donating it to the local pop-up museum, who I'm sure will be proud and welcome custiodians.

Photographs of Tower Bridge being constructed are found in a skip

Images courtesy of Wikipædia

Photographs of Tower Bridge being constructed are found in a skip

A fantastic find here as previously unseen pictures of the iconic Tower Bridge in the very early stages of its construction are revealed, after laying undiscovered in a London flat for years - including at one point being consigned to a skip!

Some of these photos must date from close to the beginning of the bridge's creation in 1886, as quite apart from the basic amount of progress visible in some of them, according to the accompanying report the "most recent" ones date from 1892 - two years before completion!

It always amazes me how such historically important documents can be lost and even disposed of without a second thought, let alone dismissed - particularly by those who should know better.  More fool that Tower Bridge Museum worker who indifferently claimed "we've got enough of those photographs already"!  How many of us have come into possession of - have saved - really old items that people were going to throw out as rubbish?  I know I have!  Well done to this caretaker, whoever he is, and to City of Westminster tour guide Peter Berthoud, for saving a record of the construction of a beautiful landmark structure and a piece of British history.

Tower Bridge, with its 19th Century Gothic stonework and unique design, has long been one of my favourite London landmarks.  Crossing it is always a thrilling experience and to see it or approach it both up close and from a distance is one of the greatest delights of working in the City.  I'm overjoyed to see these new photos detailing its creation, which was in itself an engineering marvel, and I'm sure they will now take pride of place in a London museum.

'Switchover' bridge revealed

'Switchover' bridge revealed

Here is a remarkable and unusual design for a bridge connecting Hong Kong with the Chinese mainland, dreamed up (perhaps unsurprisingly) by a Dutch architectural company NL Architects. Unusual in that it takes a novel approach to dealing with an obvious difficulty - China drives on the right-hand side of the road whereas Hong Kong, being a one-time British colony still drives on the left. So at either end of any normal bridge or tunnel between them there would need to be a roadside change-over. The remarkable thing about this design is that the change is effected mid-way across by having one side of bridge directed underneath the other and so to the other side of the road before the mainland is reached, thus negating any confusion at the end(s) of the bridge. It is a truly original solution to the problem and as a design study is most interesting and elegant, but whether it would work in reality is open to question. Nevertheless I admire the Dutch architects for their approach to the commission and a lot of the philosophies outlined on their website appeal to my aesthetic nature. In my heart of hearts I doubt we will ever see such an unorthodox design made a reality but I would dearly love to see it and I congratulate the people involved on their vision.