London History

"If you were to touch the plinth upon which the equestrian statue of King Charles I is placed, at Charing Cross, your fingers might rest upon the projecting fossils of sea lilies, starfish or sea urchins. There is a photograph of that statue taken in 1839; with its images of hackney cabs and small boys in stove-pipe hats the scene already seems remote, and yet how unimaginably distant lies the life of those tiny marine creatures. In the beginning was the sea. There was once a music-hall song entitled 'Why Can't We Have the Sea in London?', but the question is redundant; the site of the capital, fifty million years before, was covered by great waters." - Peter Ackroyd

The history of London is a long and colourful one. From its ancient roots, its kings and its conquests, its rapid growth and splendour during its zenith as capital of the British Empire, and its modern day status as one of the world's leading financial and cultural capitals, London is a city of character, of courage and above all of perpetual change.

Please choose one of the sections below:

London's Place in English History
London in Roman and Saxon times
London in Norman and Plantagenet times
London in Tudor Times
London in Stuart Times
18th Century London
Processions, Frost Fairs and Fires on the Thames
London's Poets
London 100 years ago
A snapshot of 500 of the capital's famous places in 1900

A new London History website is also being set up. More details to follow shortly.

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