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The
Romans founded London about 50 AD.
Its name is derived from the Celtic
word Londinios, which means the
place of the bold one. After they
invaded Britain in 43 AD the Romans
built a bridge across the Thames.
They later decided it was an excellent
place to build a port.
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The water was deep enough for ocean going
ships but it was far enough inland to
be safe from Germanic raiders.
Around
50 AD Roman merchants built a town by
the bridge. So London was born. The early
settlement did not have stone walls but
there may have been a ditch and an earth
rampart with a wooden palisade on top.
Then
in 61 AD Queen Boudicca led a rebellion
against the Romans. Her army marched
on London. No attempt was made to defend
London. Boudicca burned London but after
her rebellion was crushed it was rebuilt.
Rich people built houses of stone or
brick with tiled roofs but most people
lived in wooden houses.
By
the end of the 2nd century stonewall
was erected around London. The wall
was 20 feet high. Outside the wall was
a ditch. In the middle of the 3rd century
20 bastions were added to the walls
(a bastion was a semi-circular tower
projecting from the wall).
The
population of Roman London rose to perhaps
45,000, which seems small to us but
it was the largest town in Britain.
In
the centre of the town was the forum.
This was a square with shops and public
buildings arranged around it. The most
important building in the forum was
the basilica or 'town hall’, which was
500 feet long and 70 feet high. In London
there were brickworks, potteries and
glassworks. There were also donkey powered
mills for grinding grain to flour and
bakeries.
London
was also an important port with wooden
wharves and jetties. Grain and metal
were exported and luxury goods were
imported. (Things like wine, olive oil,
glass, fine pottery, silk and ivory).
Rich
citizens had baths in their homes but
there were several public baths near
the city gates. (Romans went to the
baths to socialise not just to keep
clean). Most people in the town got
their water from wells and used cess
pools but there were underground drains
to remove rainwater.
London
also had an amphitheatre, which could
hold 8,000 people. Here gladiators fought
to the death. Cockfighting was also
a popular sport.
SAXON
LONDON
The
last Roman soldier left Britain in 407
AD. London was probably abandoned. There
may have been a few people living inside
the walls by fishing or farming but
London ceased to be a town. But soon
it rose again. A new town appeared outside
the walls on the site of Covent Garden.
It was much smaller than Roman London
with perhaps 10,000 inhabitants.
In
597 monks from Rome began the task of
converting the Saxons to Christianity.
In 604 a bishop was appointed for London.
By
the 640's there was a mint in London
making silver coins. In the 670's a
Royal document called London 'the place
where the ships land'. Early in the
8th century a writer called London '
a trading centre for many nations who
visit by land and sea'.
Saxon
London consisted of many wooden huts
with thatched roofs. Slag from metal
forges have been found proving there
were many blacksmiths at work in the
town. Archaeologists have also found
large numbers of loom weights (used
in weaving wool) Saxon craftsmen also
worked with animal bones making things
like combs. The main export from Saxon
London was wool, either raw of woven.
Imports included wine and luxury foods
like grapes and figs. Pottery and millstones
were also imported. Slaves were also
bought and sold in London.
Disaster
struck London in 842 when the Danes
looted London. They returned in 851
and this time they burned a large part
of the town (an easy task when all buildings
were of wood). Then the Danes gave up
just raiding and turned to conquest.
They conquered northern and Eastern
England including London.
King
Alfred the Great totally defeated the
Danes in 878 and they split the country
between them. The Danes took eastern
England including London while Alfred
took the South and West. Despite the
peace treaty Alfred's men took London
in 886. Alfred repaired the walls of
the old Roman town. Until then Londoners
lived outside the Roman walls but during
Alfred's reign they moved inside the
walls for protection. Soon foreign merchants
came to live in London. By the 10th
century there were wine merchants from
France at Vintners Place and German
merchants at Dowgate.
The
Danes returned in 994 but this time
the Londoners fought them off. A writer
said ' they proceeded to attack the
city stoutly and wished to set it on
fire but here they suffered more harm
and injury than they ever thought any
citizen could do them'.
'London
Bridge is falling down'...so says the
nursery rhyme. This is believed to be
derived from an event that took place
in the early 11th century. King Olaf
of Norway attacked England but he was
unable to sails up the Thames past London
Bridge. So he ordered his men to erect
wood and wicker canopies over their
boats. They then approached London Bridge.
Londoners on the bridge threw down missiles
but they were unable to stop the Vikings.
At that time London Bridge was made
of wood. Olaf and his men tied ropes
to the wooden struts supporting it.
They then rowed away and London Bridge
collapsed. Some historians question
whether this event really happened or
whether it was just a legend that grew
up around King (later Saint) Olaf.
Edward
the Confessor (1042-1066) built a wooden
palace at Westminster. Later Parliament
met here. Because of this Westminster
became the seat of government not the
city of London itself. Edward also built
Westminster Abbey, which was consecrated
a few weeks before his death.
LONDON
IN THE MIDDLE AGES
After
the battle of Hastings an advance guard
of Normans approached London Bridge
from the South but were beaten off.
The Norman army then marched in a loop
to the west of London to cut it off
from the rest of the country. William
occupied the royal palace at Westminster
and the won over the Londoners by making
various promises. William was crowned
king of England at Westminster on 25
December 1066. William gave London a
charter, a document confirming certain
rights. Nevertheless he built a wooden
tower on the east side of London. It
was replaced with a white stone tower
in 1080.
The
population of London at this time was
perhaps 18,000, which seems very small
to us but was very large by the standards
of the time. London grew in size through
the 12th century and some people began
to build housed outside the walls. In
1176 the wooden bridge across the Thames
was replaced with a stone one.
A
writer described London about the year
1180:
'London
is happy in its clean air, in the Christian
religion, in the strength of its fortifications,
in its natural situation, in the honor
of its citizens. The Cathedral is St
Pauls but there is also in London and
its suburbs 13 large monasteries, beside
126 parish churches. On the east side
lies the tower, very large and strong
with 4 gates and turrets at intervals
and runs around the northern side of
the city. To the north lie fields and
meadows with small rivers flowing through
them, by these water mills are driven
with a pleasant murmur. To this city
come merchants from every nation under
heaven rejoicing to bring merchandise
in their ships'.
Someone
else wrote:
'Amongst
the noble and celebrated cities of the
world, that of London, the Capital of
the Kingdom of England is one of the
most renowned, possessing above others,
abundant wealth, extensive commerce,
great grandeur and significance".
London
was a lively place. There was a horse
market at Smithfield (originally smooth
field) where horse racing took place.
Smithfield was also the site of public
executions, which always attracted large
crowds. Londoners also loved dancing
on the open spaces that surrounded the
town. They liked archery and wrestling
and men fought mock battles with wooden
swords and shields. In Winter people
went ice skating on frozen marshes at
Moorfield using skates made of animal
bones.
In
the 12th or 13th century London was
often spelt Lunden or Lundon. By the
time of Chaucer in the late 14th century
it was spelt London.
In
the 13th century the friars came to
London. Friars were like monks but instead
of living lives separate from the world
they went out to preach. There were
different orders of friars each with
a different colour of costume. Dominican
friars were called black friars because
of their black costumes and the place
where they lived is still called Blackfriars.
There were also grey friars (Franciscans),
white friars and crutched friars. (A
corruption of cruxed. Crux is Latin
for cross and the cruxed friars had
a cross stitched onto their cloaks).
The
Jews suffered from persecution during
the Middle Ages. The first Jews came
to London in 1096 as refugees from Rouen
after a massacre occurred there. Jews
in London lived in a ghetto in old Jewry.
They were some of the first people since
Roman times to live in stone houses.
They had to as wooden houses were not
safe enough! In 1189 a wave of persecution
resulted in the deaths of about 30 Jews.
In 1264 rioters killed about 500 Jews.
In 1290 all Jews were expelled from
England.
In
1381 the peasant revolt broke out. On
13 July the rebels marched on London
and sympathizers opened the gates to
them. The king and his ministers took
refuge in the tower of London while
the rebels opened the prisons and looted
the house of John of Gaunt, an unpopular
noble. On 14 July the king met the rebels
at Moorfield and made them various promises,
none of which he kept.
The
next day the king went to mass at Westminster
and while he was away the rebels broke
into the tower of London and killed
the Archbishop of Canterbury and several
royal officials who had taken refuge
there. They confronted the king on his
way back from mass. The mayor of London
stabbed the leader of the rebels, fearing
he was going to attack the king. Afterwards
the king managed to calm the rebels
and persuaded them to go home.
The
population of London may have reached
50,000 by the middle of the 14th century.
At least a third of the population died
when the Black Death struck in 1348-49
but London soon recovered. Its population
may have reached 70,000 by the end of
the Middle Ages.
LONDON
IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES
The
population of London may have reached
120,000 by the middle of the 16th century
and about 250,000 by 1600. In the Middle
Ages the church owned about 1/4 of the
land in London. When Henry VIII dissolved
the monasteries it released a great
deal of land for new buildings.
Nevertheless
the suburbs outside the town continued
to grow. In 1550 Southwark became part
of the city of London for the first
time. In the late 16th century rich
men began to build houses along the
Strand and by 1600 London was linked
to Westminster by a strip of houses.
Banqueting
House was built in 1622. In 1635 the
king opened Hyde Park to the public.
In 1637 Charles I created Richmond Park
for hunting. Also in 1637 Queens House
was completed.
Wool
was still the main export from London
but there were also exports of 'Excellent
saffron in small quantities, a great
quantity of lead and tin, sheep and
rabbit skins without number, with various
other sorts of fine peltry (skins) and
leather, beer, cheese and other sorts
of provisions'. The Royal Exchange where
merchants could buy and sell goods opened
in 1571.
In
the early 17th century rich men continued
to build houses west of the city. The
Earl of Bedford built houses at Covent
Garden, on the Strand and at Long Acre.
He also obtained permission to hold
a fruit and vegetable market at Covent
Garden. Other rich people build houses
at Lincoln Inn Fields and at St Martins
in the Fields.
On
the other side of London hovels were
built. The village of Whitechapel was
'swallowed up' by the expanding city.
The village of Clerkenwell also became
a suburb of London. Southwark also continued
to grow rapidly.
All
this happened despite outbreaks of bubonic
plague. It broke out in 1603, 1633 and
1665 but each time the population of
London quickly recovered.
In
1642 civil war began between king and
parliament. The royalists made one attempt
to capture London in 1643 but their
army was met 6 miles west of St Pauls
by a much larger parliamentary army.
The royalists withdrew. However the
Puritan government of 1646-1660 was
hated by many ordinary people and when
Charles II came to London from France
in 1660 an estimated 20,000 people gathered
in the streets to meet him. All the
churches in London rang their bells.
The
last outbreak of plague in London was
in 1665. But this was the last outbreak.
In 1666 came the great fire of London.
It began on 2 September in a baker's
house in Pudding Lane. At first it did
not cause undue alarm. The Lord Mayor
was awoken and said "Pish! A woman
might piss it out!". But the wind
caused the flames to spread rapidly.
People formed chains with leather buckets
and worked hand operated pumps all to
no avail. The mayor was advised to use
gunpowder to create fire breaks but
he was reluctant, fearing the owners
of destroyed buildings would sue for
compensation. The fire continued to
spread until the king took charge. He
ordered sailors to make fire breaks.
At the same time the wind dropped.
About
13,2000 houses had been destroyed and
70-80,000 people had been made homeless.
The king ordered the navy to make tents
and canvas available from their stores
to help the homeless who camped on open
spaces around the city. Temporary markets
were set up so the homeless could buy
food. but the crowds of homeless soon
dispersed. Most of the houses in London
were still standing and many of the
homeless found accommodation in them
or in nearby villages. Others built
wooden huts on the charred ruins.
To
prevent such a disaster happening again
the king commanded that all new houses
in London should be of stone and brick
not wood. Citizens were responsible
for rebuilding their own houses but
a tax was charged on coal brought by
ship into London to finance the rebuilding
of churches and other public buildings.
Work began on rebuilding St Pauls in
1675 but it was not finished till 1711.
In
the late 17th century fashionable houses
were built at Bloomsbury and on the
road to the village of Knightsbridge.
Elegant houses in squares and broad
straight streets were also built north
of St James palace. Soho also became
built up. As well as building attractive
suburbs the rich began to live in attractive
villages near London such as Hackney,
Clapham, Camberwell and Streatham. In
the east the poor continued to build
houses and Bethnal Green was 'swallowed
up' by the growing city.
French
Protestants fleeing religious persecution
arrived in London. Many of them were
silk weavers who lived in Spitalfields
which also became a suburb of London.
In
the 17th century wealthy Londoners obtained
piped water for the first time. It was
brought by canal from the countryside
then was carried by hollow tree trunks
under the streets. You had to pay to
have your house connected. After 1685
oil lamps lighted the streets. Hackney
carriages became common in the streets
of London.
In
1694 the Bank of England was formed.
It moved to Threadneedle Street in 1734.
Billingsgate
was a general market until 1699 when
an Act of Parliament made it a fish
market.
LONDON
IN THE 18th CENTURY
The
population of London rose from about
600,000 in 1700 to 950,000 in 1800.
The fashionable suburbs spread north
along Tottenham Court Road and north
west to the village of Paddington. By
1800 growth had spread to Islington
and Chelsea. In the east growth spread
to Stepney, Ratcliffe, Limehouse and
Wapping. In the south the city spread
to Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Walworth
and Kennington.
Several
hospitals were founded in this century
including Westminster (1720), Guys (1724),
St Georges (1733), London (1740) and
Middlesex (1745).
Early
in the 18th century London was severely
affected by gin drinking. Gin was cheap
and for the poor it offered a chance
to forget their poverty. In the 1740's
it was estimated that 1 house in 8 sold
gin over the counter. In 1751 gin drinking
was curtailed when duty was charged
on the drink.
Many
new buildings were erected in London
in the 18th century. Buckingham Palace
was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham.
It was altered in the 19th century by
John Nash (1752-1835) and the first
monarch to live there was Queen Victoria
in 1837. Marlborough House was built
in 1711. The British Museum was founded
in 1753. Also in 1753 Mansion House
was built as a residence for the Lord
Mayor of London. In 1757 the houses
on London Bridge were demolished.
In
1761 an Act of Parliament set up a body
of men called Board of Commissioners
power to pave and clean the street.
The walls of the city were demolished
between 1760 and 1766 and new bridges
were built Westminster in 1749 and Blackfriars
in 1770.
Somerset
House was built between 1776 and 1786
by Sir William Chambers (1724-1796).
On
the South Bank were industries like
leather tanning (in Bermondsey) and
timber yards (in Lambeth). There were
also many craftsmen in London who made
luxury goods. Silk weavers in Spitalfields,
watchmakers in Clerkenwell, coach makers
and furniture makers in Long Acre. There
were also makers of surgical and navigational
instruments and jewellers. London was
also the largest port in the country.
By 1700 she was handling 80% of England’s
imports and 69% of her exports. There
was also a large shipbuilding industry.
London
was also a huge market for the rest
of the country's produce. In 1720 someone
wrote that people all over England were
employed to 'furnish something and I
may add the best of everything to supply
the city of London with provisions.
I mean by provisions, grain, meat, fish,
butter, cheese, salt , fuel, timber
and cloth, also everything necessary
for building'.
LONDON
IN THE 19th CENTURY
London
grew from 950,000 in 1800 to 6 million
in 1900. At the beginning of the century
rich men built estates at Somerstown,
Camden Town, Walworth, Agar Town, Bromley
and Pentonville. Growth also spread
to Battersea, Clapham, Camberwell, Brixton,
Bayswater and Peckham. By 1850 Deptford
was part of London. Growth also spread
to Fulham and Kensington. As late as
1839 Shepherds Bush was called a 'pleasant
village' but it was soon swallowed up.
In the east Hackney, Poplar and Cubbitts
Town were built up by 1850. Later in
the century growth spread to East and
West Ham.
After
1850 growth spread to Acton, Chiswick,
Brentford, Richmond, Twickenham and
Ealing. In the North it reached Willesden
and Hampstead. Growth also spread to
Hornsey and Tottenham. In the South
it spread to Putney, Wimbledon, Streatham,
Dulwich, Catford, Lewisham and to Greenwich
and Charlton. After 1850 Chinese immigrants
started settling in Limehouse. There
were also many Irish immigrants in the
Docklands. By 1850 London had 20,000
Jews. Their numbers doubled in the 1880's
when many refugees arrived from Russia
and Eastern Europe.
Part
of the reason for London’s growth was
the railway, which made it possible
for people to live away from the city
centre and travel to work each day.
Euston Station was built in 1837 by
Philip Hardwick (1792-1870). Kings Cross
Station was built in 1852 by Lewis Cubitt
(1799-1883). St Pancras was built in
1868 by Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878).
There
were outbreaks of cholera in 1831, 1848-49
and finally in 1866. In 1859 work began
on building a system of sewers for the
whole city but it was not complete till
1875. After that deaths from disease
fell drastically.
In
1807 gas light was used for the first
time at Pall Mall and by the 1840's
was being used all over London. Electric
light was first used in Holborn in 1883.
By the 1840's there were horse drawn
buses and from the 1870's horse drawn
trams. The first underground railway
opened in 1863. At first carriages were
pulled by steam trains. The system was
electrified in 1890-1905.
In
1834 Parliament was destroyed by fire.
It was rebuilt to a design by Charles
Barry. The new parliament included a
great clock, which is now known as Big
Ben. Originally only the bell which
struck the hour was called Big Ben (It
was probably named after Sir Benjamin
Hall, the Commissioner of Works) but
in time people began to call the whole
clock tower Big Ben.
John
Nash created Trafalgar Square in 1839.
Nelsons column was erected in 1842.
Many parks were created in the 19th
century. Regents Park opened to the
public in 1838. Victoria Park opened
in 1845. Battersea Park opened in 1858.
Another great London landmark the Albert
Hall was built in 1871 by Francis Fowke
(1823-1865).
In
the 19th century new museums were created
in London. The Victoria and Albert Museum
opened in 1852. The Science Museum opened
in 1857 and the Natural History Museum
opened in 1881. New Scotland Yard was
built in 1891. The statue of Eros in
Picadilly Square was erected in 1892.
London
continued to be a great port. In the
18th century ships tied up at wharves
on the Thames but the river became overcrowded
so docks were built. West India dock
(1802), London dock (1805), East India
Dock (1806) St Katherines dock (1828),
Victoria dock (1855), Milwall dock (1868)
South West India dock (1870), Albert
dock (1880) and Tilbury docks (1886).
London
was also a great manufacturing centre.
Food and drink were important industries.
There were flourmills and sauce factories
in Lambeth and sugar refineries in Whitehall
and St Georges in the East. The first
tinned foods were made in Bermondsey.
There were also breweries all over London.
Bermondsey and Southwark were famous
for their leather industry and for hat
making. Bethnal Green was noted for
boot and shoe making. The clothing trade
was also important. Chemicals were made
in Silvertown and West Ham. Clocks and
watches and jewellery were made in Clerkenwell.
There were shipyards in Poplar, Deptford,
Milwall and Blackwall. Other industries
in London included furniture making,
machine and tool making and the manufacture
of horse drawn carriages.
LONDON
IN THE 20th CENTURY
In
the early 20th century Hendon and Finchley
became built up. Growth also spread
to Harrow and Wealdstone, Twickenham,
Teddington and Kingston Upon Thames.
Wimbledon and Surbiton also became suburbs
of London.
Furthermore
in the early 20th century London County
Council began to build estates of council
houses on the edge of the city. In 1903
the first ones were built at Tooting.
Later estates were built at Norbury,
Tottenham, Roehampton, at Downham near
Catford and at Becontree. Other estates
were built at Watling and Morden. Despite
these new council house estates 75%
of houses built in London between 1919
and 1939 were private. The population
of London rose from 6 million in 1900
to 8.7 million in 1939.
Westminster
Cathedral was built in 1903. The Victoria
and Albert Museum moved to its present
home in 1909. The Geological Museum
opened in 1935. White City Stadium was
built in 1908. Wembley Stadium was built
in 1923 and Gunnersbury Park opened
in 1925. Chiswick Bridge was built in
1933.
In
the early 20th century the old industries
(brewing, Sugar refining, flour milling,
engineering) continued by new industries
grew in the suburbs such as aircraft
building, vehicle manufacturing and
making electrical goods.
When
the blitz began in September 1940 Londoners
started sleeping in the underground
stations and soon 150,000 people were
sleeping there overnight. In the blitz
about 20,000 people were killed and
25,000 were injured. The first blitz
ended in May 1941 but in 1944 Germany
began firing missiles at London and
killed about 3,000 people.
In
1944 a plan for post war London was
published. The authorities felt the
city was overcrowded and they planned
to create a ring of satellite towns
20-30 miles from London. But the new
towns attracted the skilled workers
away from London. The new towns had
modern industries who wanted skilled
workers. The unskilled and the old were
left behind.
As
well as building new towns the council
began building flats. The first were
built in 1948. At first they were low
rise but from 1964 high rise flats,
up to 24 storeys high, were built to
replace slums. Unfortunately rehousing
slum tenants in high rise flats broke
up communities. Then in 1968 came the
Ronan Point disaster when a gas explosion
partly destroyed a block of flats killing
4 people. After that the policy of demolishing
slums changed and owners were given
grants to modernize their houses.
Waterloo
Bridge was built in 1945. The Royal
Festival Hall was built in 1951. Pollocks
Toy Museum opened in 1956. The Shell
Centre was built in 1962. Millbank Tower
was built in 1963. One of London’s famous
landmarks the Post Office Tower opened
to the public in 1966. Haywards Gallery
opened in 1968. The Museum of London
opened in 1976. A Museum of Garden History
opened in 1979. The London Transport
Museum opened in 1980. The Museum of
the Moving Image opened in 1988. Somerset
House opened to the public in 2000.
It includes the Courtauld Gallery and
the Gilbert Collection.
In
the 1950's London boomed. Car factories
were very busy. So were the aircraft
factories in north London. The docks
were also very busy, employing 30,000
men. But in the 1960's the docks began
to suffer from the break up of the British
Empire. The newly independent countries
began to trade with countries other
than Britain and London docks suffered
as a result. Worse in 1973 Britain joined
the EEC. Imports from commonwealth countries
were limited by quotas or had to pay
tariffs. This hurt London docks as most
of their trade came from the Commonwealth.
Imports from the EEC tended to go to
ports like Felixstowe and Dover. The
London Docks Authority tried to cut
costs by shifting to a containerized
dock at Tilbury but many of the old
docks were forced to close. The old
industries associated with them such
as sugar refining and food processing
suffered as well.
In
the early 1970's when London was still
prospering the government tried to reduce
congestion by encouraging companies
to move out to the provinces. Then in
the mid 70s came a recession and companies
looked for ways to cut costs. One way
was to leave London with its high rents
and high labour costs. Engineering and
electrical companies now left the capital
in droves and unemployment soared.
After
1976 the GLC vigorously opposed the
policy of encouraging industry to leave
London. Central government did a u turn.
In 1981 the Greater London Enterprise
Council was set up to encourage investment
in London. But unemployment remained
high in the 1980s and 1990s. One industry
did boom however - tourism, with several
million foreign visitors arriving each
year.
In
the 1950's West Indian immigrants started
to arrive in London and by 1955 20,000
were arriving each year. They met with
prejudice and hostility which culminated
in the race riots at Notting Hill in
1958. In the early 1960s Asians arrived
as well. Many of them took over corner
shops. Both Chinese and Indians opened
restaurants. Central London Mosque was
built in 1977.
Despite
immigration the population of London
fell after 1945. However in the last
years of the 20th century the population
began to grow rapidly again.
LONDON
IN THE 21st CENTURY
The
2012 Olympics will be held in London,
confirming its status as one of the
world's greatest cities.
Today
the population of London is 7.2 million.
The
Queen Elizabeth II
The
Buckingham Palace
The Big Ben
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