London: The greatest city
Find out more
There is a huge amount of information on London available on the internet and in books. Here are some pointers that can take you further afield.
• Websites
• Books
Websites
Museum of London
www.museumoflondon.org.uk/
The Museum of London Group represents a quarter of a million years of history and over seven million modern Londoners. Its collections include over a million items. Discover many of them on this website – certainly the first place to look to find out about anything about London.
British History Online
www.british-history.ac.uk/
Despite its title, this site mainly has information on London, including resources from the Centre for Metropolitan History and Victoria County History.
Time Team: London's first bridge
www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/vauxhall.html
On the foreshore of the river Thames, some old timbers have been discovered
peeping out of the water at low tide. Two Bronze-Age spearheads, around 3,000
years old, have also been found thrust hard into the foreshore nearby. Could
these timbers be the remains of London's first bridge or the supports of a
platform where Bronze-Age people made offerings to the river gods?
Time Team: Londinium, edge of empire
www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/londinium.html
In the past decade, a huge amount of redevelopment has taken place in the City of London, providing an unparalleled opportunity for archaeologists to find out more about the old Roman city beneath the modern streets and buildings.
In Boudica's Footsteps
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/
a-b/boud.html
Follow the life of the British queen who revolted against the Romans and burned Londinium.
The Tower
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/
t-z/tower.html
Historical nuggets from some of the curators of the Tower of London.
The 'Invitation to the Funeral' Tour
www.okima.com/tour/index.html
Information on a wide variety of places in London in the latter part of the 17th century, as well as details of Restoration food (including recipes), fashion and personalities.
Plague
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/plague/
The story of the Great Plague of 1665, plus an explanation of the disease and its spread in London and the rest of England.
Epidemics and the built environment
www.ihrinfo.ac.uk/cmh/epichamp.html#22
Article by academic Justin Champion explaining how the social status of victims of the Great Plague can be gleaned from the parish accounts of Henry Dorsett, churchwarden of St Dunstan in the City of London.
Fire
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/fire/index.html
The story of the Great Fire of London – and its legacy – and how its devastation spread.
An interview with Lisa Jardine
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/
i-m/jardine.html
An interview with Simon Thurley
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/
t-z/thurley.html
Here you'll find interviews with historians Lisa Jardine and Simon Thurley about the Great Fire.
The London Gazette: The Great Fire of London
www.exmsft.com/~davidco/History/fire1.htm
Facsimile of the 3-10 September 1666 edition of the London Gazette, describing the Great Fire in true 17th-century detail.
Georgian Underworld
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/G/
georgian_underworld/
Looks at the great social upheavals of the age and examines why they came about and what they led to. The website contains a copy of Hogarth's Gin Lane, the artist's famous engraving of the slums of St Giles.
The Gay Subculture in Early 18th-century London
www.infopt.demon.co.uk/molly2.htm
Essays by Rictor Norton on gay history and literature.
Life inside Newgate Prison, London
www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A987861
Enthusiast's article on the prison, on the BBC h2g2 website.
Blitz: The diary of an air raid
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/a-b/blitz.html
29/30 December 1941: when German bombers launched on London their most devastating attack yet. Accompanied by computer reconstructions.
The Year London Blew Up
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/t-z/year.html
In 1974/5, London endured a 14-month bombing campaign by the Provisional IRA. This timeline exposes the fear and confusion of that time.
