London’s history

Between 1613 and 1754, a legal loophole meant that on-the-spot marriages could be carried out in an area surrounding the Fleet Debtors’ Prison known as the ‘Liberties of the Fleet’. (Photo by Getty Images)

General History

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the history of London

In c1500, the young Thomas Cromwell travelled from his humble Putney home to the great cities of Italy, as shown in our illustration. The connections he established on the Italian peninsula would prove key to his meteoric rise to power back in England. (Illustration by Sarah Young for BBC History Magazine)

Thomas Cromwell: the best Italian in all England

The opening ceremony of London’s Tower Bridge on 30 June 1894. The bridge became a symbol of London’s importance as a global maritime hub (Photo by Francis Frith/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Britain’s imperial landmarks: The empire on our doorsteps

Ross Poldark in London in the BBC's drama. The capital city was described in contemporary magazines and newspapers as the

From politics to pleasure gardens: the real history behind Poldark’s 18th-century London

A 19th-century cricket match at the Kennington Oval. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

10 things you didn’t know about London’s sporting history

A crowd admiring the artworks at an exhibition by the Royal Academy of Arts in Burlington House, London. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of London tourism since 1800

An illustration of a public execution at Newgate, London, late 18th century. (Photo by Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The Library A deadly obsession in Victorian London

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Tower Bridge: Uncovering the history of a London landmark

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Jane Austen and Tudor London . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The Six-Day War and the Great Fire of London . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A London slum family stood in a street with all their possessions following eviction, c1901. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Life in 19th-century slums: Victorian London’s homes from hell

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Shakespeare’s Globe. (Loop Images/UIG via Getty Images)

Touring London with Shakespeare, Dickens and Oscar Wilde: 7 must-see literary landmarks . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Accidental explosions: gunpowder in Tudor and Stuart London

An engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar depicting Old St Paul's on fire during the Great Fire of London, 1666. Frantic efforts to fight the flames quickly turned into an equally fevered search for a scapegoat. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

The Library 1666: when London burned with rage

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London’s 7 most memorable lord mayors