Londoners found wanting in quiz on city's landmarks

The typical Londoner knows little about the city's landmarks, a survey has found. The poll of 500 people by ICM found 63 per cent did not know that Big Ben was a bell rather than a clock tower and that 78 per cent wrongly believed St Paul's Cathedral was a world heritage site.

About a quarter believed that, according to legend, if the ravens left the Tower England would be invaded. The myth is that the monarchy and the Tower will collapse. More than half believed that Sir Norman Foster designed the London Eye and the new British Library, rather than the Great Court at the British Museum. A further 37 per cent believed that the Trooping of the Colour ceremony was held to mark either St George's Day or the anniversary of the Queen's coronation rather than her official birthday.

On average, Londoners could answer only one out of 10 questions about the capital. A spokeswoman for Visit London, which commissioned the ICM study, said: "It seems that there are some gaping holes in people's knowledge about London, both historical and contemporary."