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Cannon Street train bombing

1970s crimes in London1976 in LondonAttacks on buildings and structures in EnglandAttacks on railway stations in EuropeExplosions in 1976
History of the City of LondonMarch 1976 crimesMarch 1976 events in EuropeProvisional IRA bombings in LondonTerrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1976Terrorist incidents on railway systems in the United KingdomTrain bombings in Europe

The Cannon Street train bombing was a bomb attack against commuter rail at Cannon Street station in the City of London, United Kingdom. A 10 lb (4.5 kg) bomb was detonated in an empty train at the terminus in the morning of Thursday 4 March 1976. The bomb wounded eight commuters in another passing train. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was responsible for the blast.Minutes earlier, the train had been full of rush-hour commuters from Sevenoaks, and had the bomb exploded earlier it would have caused many more casualties and likely fatalities.At the time, the IRA was targeting trains in London. On 13 February 1976, a 20 lb (9.1 kg) bomb at Oxford Circus tube station was safely defused. Eleven days after Cannon Street, a 5 lb (2.3 kg) bomb prematurely detonated in a train at West Ham station. The next day, one man was injured in a tube train blast at Wood Green tube station.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cannon Street train bombing (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Cannon Street train bombing
Upper Thames Street, City of London

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N 51.5104 ° E -0.0907 °
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Upper Thames Street

Upper Thames Street
EC4R 3UL City of London
England, United Kingdom
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Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station

Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is one of two London termini of the South Eastern Main Line, the other being Charing Cross, while the Underground station is on the Circle and District lines, between Monument and Mansion House. The station runs services by Southeastern, mostly catering for commuters in southeast London and Kent, with occasional services further into the latter. The station was built on a site of the medieval steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League. It was built by the South Eastern Railway in order to have a railway terminal in the City and compete with the rival London, Chatham and Dover Railway. This required a new bridge across the River Thames, which was constructed between 1863 and 1866. The station was initially a stop for continental services from Charing Cross, and that route was convenient for travel between the City and the West End, until the construction of the District Railway. It remained popular with commuters, though its off-peak services were discontinued in the early 20th century, leading to it being closed on Sundays for almost 100 years. The original hotel on the station was unsuccessful, and eventually closed. The station was controversially renovated in the late 1950s by John Poulson, while further construction on top of the station building occurred during the City's 1980s property boom. The Poulson building was replaced in 2007 as part of a general renovation of the station to make it more accessible. As part of the Thameslink Programme development in the 2010s, it was re-opened on Sundays and began to offer more long-distance services in place of Charing Cross.

Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London from Sunday, 2 September to Thursday, 6 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall. The death toll is generally thought to have been relatively small, although some historians have challenged this belief.The fire started in a bakery shortly after midnight on Sunday, 2 September, and spread rapidly. The use of the major firefighting technique of the time, the creation of firebreaks by means of demolition, was critically delayed due to the indecisiveness of the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Bloodworth. By the time large-scale demolitions were ordered on Sunday night, the wind had already fanned the bakery fire into a firestorm which defeated such measures. The fire pushed north on Monday into the heart of the City. Order in the streets broke down as rumours arose of suspicious foreigners setting fires. The fears of the homeless focused on the French and Dutch, England's enemies in the ongoing Second Anglo-Dutch War; these substantial immigrant groups became victims of street violence. On Tuesday, the fire spread over nearly the whole City, destroying St Paul's Cathedral and leaping the River Fleet to threaten Charles II's court at Whitehall. Coordinated firefighting efforts were simultaneously getting underway. The battle to put out the fire is considered to have been won by two key factors: the strong east wind dropped, and the Tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create effective firebreaks, halting further spread eastward. The social and economic problems created by the disaster were overwhelming. Flight from London and settlement elsewhere were strongly encouraged by Charles II, who feared a London rebellion amongst the dispossessed refugees. Various schemes for rebuilding the city were proposed, some of them very radical. After the fire, London was reconstructed on essentially the same medieval street plan which still exists today.