Welcome to my website. I have recently retired and can now concentrate on my main interest - all things London. I have finally published my first book 'Square London' which has been a long time coming. It deals with the social history of the iconic London square from 1633 up to modern times; covering 114 of London's squares.

I have taken what I have learnt into a practical arena with some guided London walks, details of these walks can be found on this site. 

I have recently gained qualification as a St Paul's Cathedral guide.

I have a profound love for this great city and I hope that transfers to you, the reader, and encourages you to explore; whether you are a Londoner or not.

Gary Powell

Two aristocratic brothers executed for forgery in 1776; a young woman who spurned the advances of a one-legged admirer, battered to death in her Camden Town home in 1926; a pornographer shot dead by the Krays in 1966 for having ‘too much lip’ … Take a terrifying day-by-day journey and experience hundreds of shocking real-life crimes – poisoning, throat slashing, stabbing and shooting all demonstrating the evil that men (and women) do. This volume features many infamous cases while also exposing some of London’s most violent crimes for the first time, and the punishments meted out to those responsible. Death Diary examines the most interesting, bizarre and audacious crimes to blight England’s first city.

My upcoming book events.

If you would like to arrange for me to do a talk on the Death Diary please contact me.

Victorian Chelsea was a thriving commercial and residential development, known for its grand houses and pleasant garden squares. Violent crime was unheard of in this leafy suburb. The double murder of an elderly man of God and his faithful housekeeper in two ferocious, bloody attacks in May of 1870 therefore shook the residents of Chelsea to the core. This volume examines this extraordinary case, one which could have leapt straight from the pen of Agatha Christie herself: the solving of the case relied on the discovery of a packing box dripping with blood, and the capture of a mysterious French nephew. Compiled by a former detective, it looks at the facts: no direct evidence to place the suspect at either of the crime scenes; no weapon recovered; no motive substantiated. It lets you, the reader, decide: would you, on the evidence presented, have sent the same man to the gallows?

My upcoming book events.

If you would like to arrange for me to do a talk on the Death in Disguise please contact me.

Square London investigates the history of the London square. The focus is on the life of the square, its occupants past and present, significant events of national importance and the secrets of individual buildings and their tenants.

Each square featured in this book has its own unique story. What becomes apparant is the role the London square has played in the history of this great nation; the squares of London mirror the capital's highs and lows.

My upcoming book events.

Please read an excerpt from my book.

If you would like to arrange for me to do a talk on the squares of London please contact me.