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London
please note:
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{{short description|Capital and largest city of the United Kingdom}}{{about|the capital city of the United Kingdom}}{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}{{good article}}{{EngvarB|date=June 2022}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}{{Use British English|date=September 2023}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
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|title = 22 areas
|{{postcode|E{edih}, {{postcode|EC}}, {{postcode|N}}, {{postcode|NW}}, {{postcode|SE}}, {{postcode|SW}}, {{postcode|W}}, {{postcode|WC}}, {{postcode|BR}},
{{postcode|CM}},{{postcode|CR}}, {{postcode|DA}}, {{postcode|EN}}, {{postcode|HA}}, {{postcode|IG}}, {{postcode|KT}}, {{postcode|RM}}, {{postcode|SM}},{{postcode|UB}}, {{postcode|WD}},{{postcode|TN}}, {{postcode|TW}}
|title = 22 areas
|{{postcode|E{edih}, {{postcode|EC}}, {{postcode|N}}, {{postcode|NW}}, {{postcode|SE}}, {{postcode|SW}}, {{postcode|W}}, {{postcode|WC}}, {{postcode|BR}},
}}| leader_title = London Assembly
Toponymy
London is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD, usually in the Latinised form .BOOK, Mills, Anthony David, A Dictionary of London Place Names, Oxford University Press, 2001, 9780192801067, 139, 45406491, Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms found in early sources: Latin (usually ), Old English (usually ), and Welsh (usually ), with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It is agreed that the name came into these languages from Common Brythonic; recent work tends to reconstruct the lost Celtic form of the name as or something similar. This was adapted into Latin as and borrowed into Old English.JOURNAL, Bynon, Theodora, 2016, London’s Name, Transactions of the Philological Society, 114, 3, 281–97, 10.1111/1467-968X.12064, Until 1889, the name “London” applied officially only to the City of London, but since then it has also referred to the County of London and to Greater London.BOOK, Mills, David, A Dictionary of London Place Names, Oxford University Press, 2001, 9780192801067, 140, 45406491,History
{{For timeline|Timeline of London}}Prehistory
In 1993, remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the south foreshore upstream from Vauxhall Bridge.WEB, First ‘London Bridge’ in River Thames at Vauxhall, 27 May 2015,exploring-london.com/tag/vauxhall-bridge/, 18 December 2023, Two of the timbers were radiocarbon dated to 1750–1285 BC. In 2010, foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4800–4500 BC,WEB, London’s Oldest Prehistoric Structure,www.bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/londons-oldest-prehistoric-structure/, BAJR, 19 August 2018,www.bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/londons-oldest-prehistoric-structure/," title="web.archive.org/web/20180707053946www.bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/londons-oldest-prehistoric-structure/,">web.archive.org/web/20180707053946www.bajrfed.co.uk/bajrpress/londons-oldest-prehistoric-structure/, 7 July 2018, live, 3 April 2015, were found on the Thames’s south foreshore downstream from Vauxhall Bridge.WEB, Milne, Gustav, London’s Oldest Foreshore Structure!,www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/london-s-oldest-find-discovered-at-vauxhall, Frog Blog, Thames Discovery Programme, 15 April 2011,www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/london-s-oldest-find-discovered-at-vauxhall," title="web.archive.org/web/20110430002236www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/london-s-oldest-find-discovered-at-vauxhall,">web.archive.org/web/20110430002236www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/london-s-oldest-find-discovered-at-vauxhall, 30 April 2011, live, Both structures are on the south bank of the Thames, where the now-underground River Effra flows into the Thames.Roman London
Despite the evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans around 47 AD, about four years after their invasion of 43 AD.BOOK, Roman London, Perring, Dominic, 1991, Routledge, London, 978-0-203-23133-3, 1, This only lasted until about 61 AD, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it and burnt it to the ground.WEB, British History Timeline - Roman Britain,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/romanbritain_timeline_noflash.shtml, dead,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/romanbritain_timeline_noflash.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20110430191143www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/romanbritain_timeline_noflash.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20110430191143www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/romanbritain_timeline_noflash.shtml, 30 April 2011, 7 June 2008, BBC, {{multiple image| align = right| direction = vertical| header = | width = 215| image1 = Reconstruction_drawing_of_Londinium_in_120_AD,_Museum_of_London_(34881481351).jpg| caption1 = Reconstruction drawing of Londinium in 120 AD| image2 = London Wall fragment.jpg| caption2 = A surviving section of the 3rd-century London Wall behind Tower Hill}}The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as the principal city of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000.BOOK, London Civic Theatre: City Drama and Pageantry from Roman Times to 1558, Anne, Lancashire,books.google.com/books?id=QajvxgbH59QC&pg=PA19, Cambridge University Press, 2002, 19, 978-0-521-63278-2,Anglo-Saxon and Viking-period London
With the early 5th-century collapse of Roman rule, the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued around St Martin-in-the-Fields until about 450.WEB, The last days of Londinium,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Londinium.htm, dead,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Londinium.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090108092449www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Londinium.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090108092449www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Londinium.htm, 8 January 2009, 31 March 2013, Museum of London, From about 500, an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed slightly west of the old Roman city.WEB,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm, The early years of Lundenwic, The Museum of London,www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080610043903www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080610043903www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Past/MissingLink/Themes/TML_themes_Lundenwic.htm, 10 June 2008, dead, By about 680 the city had become a major port again, but there is little evidence of large-scale production. From the 820s repeated Viking assaults brought decline. Three are recorded; those in 851 and 886 succeeded, while the last, in 994, was rebuffed.WEB,web.cn.edu/kwheeler/viking_attacklist.html?showall=1, Viking Attacks, 19 January 2016, Wheeler, Kip,web.archive.org/web/20160101055729/https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/viking_attacklist.html?showall=1, 1 January 2016, dead, The Vikings applied Danelaw over much of eastern and northern England, its boundary running roughly from London to Chester as an area of political and geographical control imposed by the Viking incursions formally agreed by the Danish warlord, Guthrum and the West Saxon king Alfred the Great in 886. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Alfred “refounded” London in 886. Archaeological research shows this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls. London then grew slowly until a dramatic increase in about 950.ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vince, Alan, 2001, London, Lapidge, Michael, Blair, John, Keynes, Simon, Scragg, Donald, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England, Blackwell, 978-0-631-22492-1, By the 11th century, London was clearly the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey, rebuilt in Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor, was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England, but from this time London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton: “It had the resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital.“BOOK, Frank Stenton, Stenton, Frank, 1971, Anglo-Saxon England, 538–539, Oxford University Press, 3rd, 978-0-19-280139-5,Middle Ages
File:Westminster Abbey by Canaletto, 1749.jpg|thumb|Westminster Abbey, as seen in this painting (Canaletto, 1749), is a World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteAfter winning the Battle of Hastings, William, Duke of Normandy was crowned King of England in newly completed Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.WEB, Ibeji, Mike, 17 February 2011, History – 1066 – King William,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/1066_06.shtml, live,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/1066_06.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20090922053048www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/1066_06.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20090922053048www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/1066_06.shtml, 22 September 2009, 29 March 2021, BBC, William built the Tower of London, the first of many such in England rebuilt in stone in the south-eastern corner of the city, to intimidate the inhabitants.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/architecture_02.shtml, A History of British Architecture — White Tower, Tinniswood, Adrian, Adrian Tinniswood, BBC, 5 May 2008,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/architecture_02.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20090213124332www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/architecture_02.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20090213124332www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/architecture_02.shtml, 13 February 2009, live, In 1097, William II began building Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. It became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster.WEB,www.parliament.uk/about/history/building.cfm, UK Parliament — Parliament: The building, 9 November 2007, UK Parliament, 27 April 2008,www.parliament.uk/about/history/building.cfm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080311032051www.parliament.uk/about/history/building.cfm,">web.archive.org/web/20080311032051www.parliament.uk/about/history/building.cfm, 11 March 2008, dead, In the 12th century, the institutions of central government, which had hitherto followed the royal English court around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed, for most purposes at Westminster, although the royal treasury came to rest in the Tower. While the City of Westminster developed into a true governmental capital, its distinct neighbour, the City of London, remained England’s largest city and principal commercial centre and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London. In 1100, its population was some 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000.BOOK, Schofield, John, Vince, Alan, Alan Vince, Medieval Towns: The Archaeology of British Towns in Their European Setting, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003, 978-0-8264-6002-8,books.google.com/books?id=Qu7QLC7g7VgC&pg=PA26, 26, With the Black Death in the mid-14th century, London lost nearly a third of its population.WEB, Ibeji, Mike, 10 March 2011, BBC – History – British History in depth: Black Death,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml, live,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20110430191039www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20110430191039www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml, 30 April 2011, 3 November 2008, BBC, en-GB, London was the focus of the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/richard_ii_king.shtml, Richard II (1367–1400), BBC, 12 October 2008,www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/richard_ii_king.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20110430191132www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/richard_ii_king.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20110430191132www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/richard_ii_king.shtml, 30 April 2011, live, London was a centre of England’s Jewish population before their expulsion by Edward I in 1290. Violence against Jews occurred in 1190, when it was rumoured that the new king had ordered their massacre after they had presented themselves at his coronation.WEB, Jacobs, Joseph, 1906, England,www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5764-england, Jewish Encyclopedia, In 1264 during the Second Barons’ War, Simon de Montfort’s rebels killed 500 Jews while attempting to seize records of debts.{{Citation |work=Continuum |ol=24816680M |isbn=978-1-84725-186-2 |location=London |title=The King’s Jews |url=https://archive.org/details/kingsjewsmoneyma00mund |first=Robin R. |last=Mundill |lccn=2010282921 |oclc=466343661 |year=2010 |pages=88–99}}Early modern
File:Siege of London (MS 1168).jpg|thumb|upright|The Lancastrian siege of London in 1471 is attacked by a Yorkist sally.]]During the Tudor period, the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism. Much of London property passed from church to private ownership, which accelerated trade and business in the city.BOOK, Pevsner, Nikolaus, London – The Cities of London and Westminster, Penguin Books, 2nd, 1, 1 January 1962, 48, B0000CLHU5, In 1475, the Hanseatic League set up a main trading base (kontor) of England in London, called the Stalhof or Steelyard. It remained until 1853, when the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg sold the property to South Eastern Railway.EB1911, Steelyard, Merchants of the, Woollen cloth was shipped undyed and undressed from 14th/15th century London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries.BOOK, Pounds, Normal J. G., An Historical Geography of Europe 450 B.C.–A.D. 1330, Cambridge University Press, 1973, 9781139163552, 430, 10.1017/CBO9781139163552, Yet English maritime enterprise hardly reached beyond the seas of north-west Europe. The commercial route to Italy and the Mediterranean was normally through Antwerp and over the Alps; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan. The reopening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 spurred a burst of commercial activity.BOOK, Ramsay, George Daniel, The Queen’s Merchants and the Revolt of the Netherlands (The End of the Antwerp Mart, Vol 2), Manchester University Press, 1986, 9780719018497, 1 & 62–63, The Royal Exchange was founded.BOOK, Burgon, John William, The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham, Founder of the Royal Exchange: Including Notices of Many of His Contemporaries. With Illustrations, Volume 2, R. Jennings, 1839, 978-1277223903, London, 80–81, Mercantilism grew and monopoly traders such as the East India Company were founded as trade expanded to the New World. London became the main North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from about 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.(File:London - John Norden’s map of 1593.jpg|thumb|left|Map of London in 1593. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed.)In the 16th century, William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London during English Renaissance theatre. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599 in Southwark. Stage performances came to a halt in London when Puritan authorities shut down the theatres in the 1640s.NEWS, From pandemics to puritans: when theatre shut down through history and how it recovered,www.thestage.co.uk/long-reads/from-pandemics-to-puritans-when-theatre-shut-down-through-history-and-how-it-recovered, 22 June 2022, The Stage.co.uk, The ban on theatre was lifted during the Restoration in 1660, and London’s oldest operating theatre, Drury Lane, opened in 1663 in what is now the West End theatre district.NEWS, London’s 10 oldest theatres,www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/galleries/Londons-oldest-theatres/,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/galleries/Londons-oldest-theatres/, 11 January 2022, subscription, live, 27 June 2022, The Telegraph, {{cbignore}}By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, in the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605.BOOK, James I, Durston, Christopher, 1993, Routledge, London, 978-0-415-07779-8, 59,archive.org/details/jamesi0000durs/page/59, In 1637, the government of Charles I attempted to reform administration in the London area. This called for the Corporation of the city to extend its jurisdiction and administration over expanding areas around the city. Fearing an attempt by the Crown to diminish the Liberties of London, coupled with a lack of interest in administering these additional areas or concern by city guilds of having to share power, caused the Corporation’s “The Great Refusal”, a decision which largely continues to account for the unique governmental status of the City.JOURNAL, Doolittle, Ian, 2014, ‘The Great Refusal’: Why Does the City of London Corporation Only Govern the Square Mile?, The London Journal, 39, 1, 21–36, 10.1179/0305803413Z.00000000038, 159791907, In the English Civil War, the majority of Londoners supported the Parliamentary cause. After an initial advance by the Royalists in 1642, culminating in the battles of Brentford and Turnham Green, London was surrounded by a defensive perimeter wall known as the Lines of Communication. The lines were built by up to 20,000 people, and were completed in under two months.WEB, Flintham, David, London,www.fortified-places.com/london/, dead,www.fortified-places.com/london/," title="web.archive.org/web/20090116190923www.fortified-places.com/london/,">web.archive.org/web/20090116190923www.fortified-places.com/london/, 16 January 2009, 28 March 2021, Fortified Places, The fortifications failed their only test when the New Model Army entered London in 1647,Harrington, Peter (2003). English Civil War Fortifications 1642–51, Volume 9 of Fortress, 9, Osprey Publishing, {{ISBN|1-84176-604-6}}. p. 57 and they were levelled by Parliament the same year.WEB, Flintham, David, London,www.fortified-places.com/london/, dead,www.fortified-places.com/london/," title="web.archive.org/web/20090116190923www.fortified-places.com/london/,">web.archive.org/web/20090116190923www.fortified-places.com/london/, 16 January 2009, 28 March 2021, Fortified Places, BOOK, The English Civil War: A contemporary account (v. 1), Caliban Books, Wencelaus Hollar (Illustrator), Christopher Hill (Introduction), 978-1850660316, Razzell, Peter, 1 January 1996, Razzell, Edward, BOOK, Gardiner, Samuel R., History of the Great Civil War, 1642-1649, 18 December 2016, Forgotten Books, 978-1334658464, 3, 16 July 2017, 218, File:Great Fire London.jpg|thumb|The Great Fire of LondonGreat Fire of LondonLondon was plagued by disease in the early 17th century,WEB,urbanrim.org.uk/plague%20list.htm, A List of National Epidemics of Plague in England 1348–1665, Urban Rim, 4 December 2009, 3 May 2010,urbanrim.org.uk/plague%20list.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090508010316urbanrim.org.uk/plague%20list.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090508010316urbanrim.org.uk/plague%20list.htm, 8 May 2009, dead, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population.The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings.BOOK, Pepys, Samuel, Samuel Pepys, The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 45: August/September 1666, 2 September 1666, Univ of California Press, 1893, Mynors Bright (decipherer), Henry B. Wheatley,www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4167/pg4167.html, 978-0-520-22167-3,www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4167/pg4167.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130813025236www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4167/pg4167.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130813025236www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4167/pg4167.html, 13 August 2013, live, Rebuilding took over ten years and was supervised by polymath Robert Hooke.WEB, Schofield, John, 17 February 2011, BBC – History – British History in depth: London After the Great Fire,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/after_fire_01.shtml, live,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/after_fire_02.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20090410000142www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/after_fire_02.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20090410000142www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/after_fire_02.shtml, 10 April 2009, 29 March 2021, BBC, en-GB, In 1708 Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral, was completed. During the Georgian era, new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London. In the east, the Port of London expanded downstream. London’s development as an international financial centre matured for much of the 18th century.NEWS, Amsterdam and London as financial centers in the eighteenth century,www.cambridge.org/core/journals/financial-history-review/article/abs/amsterdam-and-london-as-financial-centers-in-the-eighteenth-century1/8B23F8D271B1BCD05594064523600E85, 4 July 2022, Cambridge University Press, In 1762, George III acquired Buckingham House, which was enlarged over the next 75 years. During the 18th century, London was said to be dogged by crime,Hell on Earth, or the Town in an Uproar (anon., London 1729). Jarndyce Autumn Miscellany catalogue, London: 2021. and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force.WEB, 2001, PBS – Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,www.pbs.org/kqed/demonbarber/madding/thieftaker.html, 28 March 2021, PBS, Epidemics during the 1720s and 30s saw most children born in the city die before reaching their fifth birthday.WEB, Harris, Rhian, 5 October 2012, History – The Foundling Hospital,www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/foundling_01.shtml, 28 March 2021, BBC, en-GB, File:Fotografi av Royal Exchange. London, England - Hallwylska museet - 105857.tif|thumb|The Royal Exchange in 1886. It was founded in 1571 (with the present building rebuilt in 1844) as a centre of commerce for the City of London.]]Coffee-houses became a popular place to debate ideas, as growing literacy and development of the printing press made news widely available, with Fleet Street becoming the centre of the British press. The invasion of Amsterdam by Napoleonic armies led many financiers to relocate to London and the first London international issue was arranged in 1817. Around the same time, the Royal Navy became the world’s leading war fleet, acting as a major deterrent to potential economic adversaries. Following a fire in 1838, the Royal Exchange was redesigned by William Tite and rebuilt in 1844. The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 was specifically aimed at weakening Dutch economic power. London then overtook Amsterdam as the leading international financial centre.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Yor4DAAAQBAJ, Finance Masters: A Brief History of International Financial Centers in the Last Millennium, Coispeau, Olivier, 2016, World Scientific, 978-981-310-884-4,Late modern and contemporary
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, an unprecedented growth in urbanisation took place, and the number of High Streets (the primary street for retail in Britain) rapidly grew.NEWS, White, Matthew, The rise of cities in the 18th century,www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/the-rise-of-cities-in-the-18th-century, 11 June 2022, British Library, 22 May 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220522225623/https://www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/the-rise-of-cities-in-the-18th-century, dead, CONFERENCE, Trends in urbanisation, 1993, Christopher Watson, K.B. Wildey, Wm H. Robinson, Proceedings of the First International Conference on Urban Pests, 10.1.1.522.7409, London was the world’s largest city from about 1831 to 1925, with a population density of 802 per acre (325 per hectare).WEB, London: The greatest city,www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/i-m/london4.html, dead,www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/i-m/london4.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20090419104109www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/i-m/london4.html,">web.archive.org/web/20090419104109www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/i-m/london4.html, 19 April 2009, 25 March 2021, Channel 4, In addition to the growing number of stores selling goods, such as Harding, Howell & Co.—one of the first department stores—located on Pall Mall, the streets had scores of street sellers. London’s overcrowded conditions led to cholera epidemics, claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866.WEB, Brown, Robert W.,www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.html, London in the Nineteenth Century, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 13 December 2011, dead,www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20111230164544www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.html,">web.archive.org/web/20111230164544www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.html, 30 December 2011, Rising traffic congestion led to the creation of the London Underground, the world’s first urban rail network.NEWS, A short history of world metro systems – in pictures,www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/sep/10/-sp-history-metro-pictures-london-underground-new-york-beijing-seoul, 3 March 2024, The Guardian, The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion in the capital and some surrounding counties; it was abolished in 1889 when the London County Council was created out of county areas surrounding the capital.BOOK, Pennybacker, Susan D., Vision for London, 1889–1914, 2005, Routledge, 18, From the early years of the 20th century onwards, teashops were found on High Streets across London and the rest of Britain, with Lyons, who opened the first of their chain of teashops in Piccadilly in 1894, leading the way.NEWS, Bawden and battenberg: the Lyons teashop lithographs,www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/jul/12/bawden-battenberg-lyons-teashops-lithographs, 27 June 2022, The Guardian, The tearooms, such as the Criterion in Piccadilly, became a popular meeting place for women from the suffrage movement.NEWS, Taking Tea and Talking Politics: The Role of Tearooms,historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/womens-history/suffrage/taking-tea-and-talking-politics/, 27 June 2022, Historic England, The city was the target of many attacks during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign, between 1912 and 1914, which saw historic landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral bombed.WEB, Suffragettes, violence and militancy,www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy, British Library, 9 October 2021, 10 September 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210910203912/https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy, dead, {{multiple image| direction = vertical| align = right| width = 220| image1 = British recruits August 1914 Q53234.jpg| caption1 = British volunteer recruits in London, August 1914, during World War I| image2 = LondonBombedWWII full.jpg| caption2 = A bombed-out London street during the Blitz, World War II}}{{anchor|German air attacks}}London was bombed by the Germans in the First World War, and during the Second World War, the Blitz and other bombings by the German Luftwaffe killed over 30,000 Londoners, destroying large tracts of housing and other buildings across the city.WEB, 18 May 2016, Bomb-Damage Maps Reveal London’s World War II Devastation,www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/bomb-damage-maps-reveal-londons-world-war-ii-devastation.aspx, dead,www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/bomb-damage-maps-reveal-londons-world-war-ii-devastation.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20170430155359www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/bomb-damage-maps-reveal-londons-world-war-ii-devastation.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20170430155359www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/bomb-damage-maps-reveal-londons-world-war-ii-devastation.aspx, 30 April 2017, 18 June 2017, nationalgeographic.com.au, The tomb of the Unknown Warrior, an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed during the First World War, was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920.WEB,www.nam.ac.uk/press/buried-among-kings-story-unknown-warrior, Buried Among Kings: The Story of the Unknown Warrior, Nam.ac.uk, National Army Museum, 15 April 2023, The Cenotaph, located in Whitehall, was unveiled on the same day, and is the focal point for the National Service of Remembrance held annually on Remembrance Sunday, the closest Sunday to 11 November.WEB, Vaughan-Barratt, Nick, Remembrance,www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/0c66fc02-abf2-31e0-9867-cc306b16d3c9, BBC Blogs, 4 November 2009, BBC, 15 April 2023, The 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium, while London was still recovering from the war.MAGAZINE, Ronk, Liz, 27 July 2013, LIFE at the 1948 London Olympics, Time (magazine), Time,time.com/3877686/1948-london-summer-olympics-life-photos/, dead, 18 June 2017,time.com/3877686/1948-london-summer-olympics-life-photos/," title="web.archive.org/web/20150530005852time.com/3877686/1948-london-summer-olympics-life-photos/,">web.archive.org/web/20150530005852time.com/3877686/1948-london-summer-olympics-life-photos/, 30 May 2015, From the 1940s, London became home to many immigrants, primarily from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan,BOOK, Hibbert, Christopher, The London Encyclopaedia, Weinreb, Ben, Keay, Julia, Keay, John, Pan Macmillan, Photographs by Matthew Weinreb, 2010, 9781405049252, 3rd, 428, making London one of the most diverse cities in the world. In 1951, the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank.NEWS, 2008, 1951: King George opens Festival of Britain, BBC,news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/3/newsid_2481000/2481099.stm, 18 June 2017, The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956, which ended the “pea soup fogs” for which London had been notorious, and had earned it the nickname the “Big Smoke”.WEB, Breen, Matt, Most Googled: why is London called the ‘Big Smoke’?,www.timeout.com/london/blog/most-googled-why-is-london-called-the-big-smoke-011317, 29 November 2022, Time Out London, 13 January 2017, en-GB, Starting mainly in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for worldwide youth culture, exemplified by the Swinging London sub-culture associated with the King’s Road, Chelsea and Carnaby Street.BOOK, Swinging City: A Cultural Geography of London 1950–1974, Routledge, Rycroft, Simon, 2016, 87,books.google.com/books?id=I5O1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT87, Mapping Swinging London, 9781317047346, The role of trendsetter revived in the punk era.BOOK, Bracken, Gregory B., Walking Tour London: Sketches of the city’s architectural treasures... Journey Through London’s Urban Landscapes, Marshall Cavendish International, 2011, 9789814435369, 10, In 1965 London’s political boundaries were expanded in response to the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created.WEB,www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-35716693, The rise and fall of the GLC, Webber, Esther, 31 March 2016, BBC Newsmaccess-date=18 June 2017, During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. These attacks lasted for two decades, starting with the Old Bailey bombing.>WEB, Godoy, Maria, 7 July 2005, Timeline: London’s Explosive History,www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4734400, 25 March 2021, NPR, Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4854556.stm, The legacy of the Brixton riots, John, Cindi, 5 April 2006, BBC, 18 June 2017, Greater London’s population declined in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s.NEWS,www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-31082941, London’s population hits 8.6m record high, BBC News, 2 February 2015, 19 June 2017, The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury, with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including the Canary Wharf development. This was born out of London’s increasing role as an international financial centre in the 1980s.WEB,www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/28/canary-wharf-timeline-london-building-docklands-thatcher, Canary Wharf timeline: from the Thatcher years to Qatari control, Zolfagharifard, Ellie, 14 February 2014, The Guardian, 19 June 2017, Located about 2 miles (3 km) east of central London, the Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea.JOURNAL, Kendrick, Mary, Mary Kendrick, 1988, The Thames Barrier, Landscape and Urban Planning, 16, 1–2, 57–68, 10.1016/0169-2046(88)90034-5, The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, leaving London with no central administration until 2000 and the creation of the Greater London Authority.NEWS, 2008, 1986: Greater London Council abolished, BBC,news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_2530000/2530803.stm, 20 June 2017, To mark the 21st century, the Millennium Dome, London Eye and Millennium Bridge were constructed.WEB,www.building.co.uk/millennium-projects-10-years-of-good-luck/5001637.article, Millennium projects: 10 years of good luck, Ijeh, Ike, 25 June 2010, building.co.uk, 20 June 2017, On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics, as the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times. On 7 July 2005, three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus were bombed in a series of terrorist attacks.In 2008, Time named London alongside New York City and Hong Kong as Nylonkong, hailing them as the world’s three most influential global cities.BOOK, International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015, 9781785360688, Derudder, Ben, 422, Hoyler, Michael, Taylor, Peter J., Witlox, Frank, In January 2015, Greater London’s population was estimated to be 8.63 million, its highest since 1939.WEB, Population Growth in London, 1939–2015,data.london.gov.uk/dataset/population-change-1939-2015/resource/0a026346-960e-49e6-b968-a386d2cfe55f,data.london.gov.uk/dataset/population-change-1939-2015/resource/0a026346-960e-49e6-b968-a386d2cfe55f," title="web.archive.org/web/20150219160246data.london.gov.uk/dataset/population-change-1939-2015/resource/0a026346-960e-49e6-b968-a386d2cfe55f,">web.archive.org/web/20150219160246data.london.gov.uk/dataset/population-change-1939-2015/resource/0a026346-960e-49e6-b968-a386d2cfe55f, 19 February 2015, dead, London Datastore, Greater London Authority, 7 July 2015, Alt URL During the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK as a whole decided to leave the European Union, but most London constituencies voted for remaining.WEB, Chandler, Mark, 24 June 2016, ‘Wouldn’t you prefer to be President Sadiq?’ Thousands call on Sadiq Khan to declare London’s independence and join EU,www.standard.co.uk/news/london/wouldnt-you-prefer-to-be-president-sadiq-thousands-back-campaign-for-sadiq-khan-to-declare-londons-a3280141.html, 25 March 2021, Evening Standard, live,web.archive.org/web/20201108104206/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/wouldnt-you-prefer-to-be-president-sadiq-thousands-back-campaign-for-sadiq-khan-to-declare-londons-a3280141.html, 8 November 2020, However, Britain’s exit from the EU in early 2020 only marginally weakened London’s position as an international financial centre.WEB, London as a Financial Center Since Brexit: Evidence from the 2022 BIS Triennial Survey,www.bu.edu/gdp/2022/12/16/london-as-a-financial-center-since-brexit-evidence-from-the-2022-bis-triennial-survey/, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, 16 December 2022, live,web.archive.org/web/20230927094017/https://www.bu.edu/gdp/2022/12/16/london-as-a-financial-center-since-brexit-evidence-from-the-2022-bis-triennial-survey/, 27 September 2023,Administration
Local government
File:City coat of arms, Holborn Viaduct (cropped).jpg|thumb|Arms of the Corporation of the City of LondonWEB,www.sacred-texts.com/lcr/fsca/fsca19.htm, The Heraldic Dragon, Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art, John, Vinycomb, 1909, Internet Sacred Text Archive, 23 July 2015, 28 May 2017,www.sacred-texts.com/lcr/fsca/fsca19.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20170528185311www.sacred-texts.com/lcr/fsca/fsca19.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20170528185311www.sacred-texts.com/lcr/fsca/fsca19.htm, live, ]]The administration of London is formed of two tiers: a citywide, strategic tier and a local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities.WEB, Who runs London – Find Out Who Runs London and How,www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/who-runs-london, 28 March 2021, London Councils, The GLA consists of two elected components: the mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, which scrutinises the mayor’s decisions and can accept or reject the mayor’s budget proposals each year. The GLA has responsibility for the majority of London’s transport system through its functional arm Transport for London (TfL), it is responsible for overseeing the city’s police and fire services, and also for setting a strategic vision for London on a range of issues.WEB, The essential guide to London local government,www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/who-runs-london/essential-guide-london-local-government, London Councils, 19 June 2023, The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Newham. The mayor since 2016 has been Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital.NEWS, London Elections 2016: Results, BBC News,www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2016/london/results, 7 May 2016, The mayor’s statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which was most recently revised in 2011.WEB, The London Plan,www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/londonplan, live,www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/londonplan," title="web.archive.org/web/20120508220051www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/londonplan,">web.archive.org/web/20120508220051www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/londonplan, 8 May 2012, 25 May 2012, Greater London Authority, The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.WEB, London Government Directory – London Borough Councils,directory.londoncouncils.gov.uk/, 29 March 2017, London Councils, They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, libraries, leisure and recreation, social services, local roads and refuse collection.WEB, London Government,www.politics.co.uk/reference/london-government/, politics.co.uk, 19 June 2023, Certain functions, such as waste management, are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010 the combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA).WEB, 2011, Local Government Financial Statistics England No.21 (2011),assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7462/1911067.pdf,web.archive.org/web/20180428000713/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7462/1911067.pdf, live, 25 March 2021, 28 April 2018, The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London, run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. It is the third largest fire service in the world.WEB,www.london-fire.gov.uk/WhoWeAre.asp, Who we are, London Fire Brigade, 25 August 2009,www.london-fire.gov.uk/WhoWeAre.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20110429034538www.london-fire.gov.uk/WhoWeAre.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20110429034538www.london-fire.gov.uk/WhoWeAre.asp, 29 April 2011, dead, National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust, the largest free-at-the-point-of-use emergency ambulance service in the world.WEB,www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/about_us.aspx, About us, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, 25 August 2009,www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/about_us.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20110427031902www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/about_us.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20110427031902www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/about_us.aspx, 27 April 2011, dead, The London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required. Her Majesty’s Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames, which is under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority from Teddington Lock to the sea.WEB, Port of London Act 1968 (as amended),www.pla.co.uk/Port-of-London-Act-1968, 29 March 2021, Port of London Authority,National government
File:10 Downing Street. MOD 45155532 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|190px|10 Downing Street, official residence of the Prime Minister ]]London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom. Many government departments, as well as the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street, are based close to the Palace of Westminster, particularly along Whitehall.WEB, Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street,www.gov.uk/government/organisations/prime-ministers-office-10-downing-street, 25 March 2021, uk.gov, There are 73 members of Parliament (MPs) from London; {{as of|2019|December}}, 49 are from the Labour Party, 21 are Conservatives, and three are Liberal Democrats.NEWS, 2019, Constituencies A-Z – Election 2019, BBC News,www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies, dead, 30 March 2020,web.archive.org/web/20191216195058/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies, 16 December 2019, The ministerial post of minister for London was created in 1994 and as of 2020 is held by Paul Scully.WEB, Minister for London,www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-for-london, gov.uk, UK Government, 30 March 2020, en,Policing and crime
Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London, is provided by the Metropolitan Police (“The Met“), overseen by the mayor through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).WEB,policeauthority.org/Metropolitan/, MPA: Metropolitan Police Authority, Metropolitan Police Authority, 22 May 2012, 4 May 2013, The Met is also referred to as Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police.WEB,www.london.gov.uk/gla/policing.jsp, Policing, Greater London Authority, 25 August 2009,www.london.gov.uk/gla/policing.jsp," title="web.archive.org/web/20080121173357www.london.gov.uk/gla/policing.jsp,">web.archive.org/web/20080121173357www.london.gov.uk/gla/policing.jsp, 21 January 2008, dead, First worn by Met police officers in 1863, the custodian helmet has been called a “cultural icon” and a “symbol of British law enforcement”.NEWS, Just how practical is a traditional Bobby’s helmet?,www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30932319, 11 April 2023, BBC, Introduced by the Met in 1929, the blue police telephone box (basis for the TARDIS in Doctor Who) was once a common sight throughout London and regional cities in the UK.NEWS, Police lose fight to ground Tardis,www.theguardian.com/media/2002/oct/23/bbc.broadcasting1, 15 April 2023, The Guardian, File:SIS building (26327425611).jpg|thumbnail|upright=1.1|right|Headquarters of MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence service, at the SIS Building. Scenes featuring James BondJames BondThe British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink services.WEB, 2021, About Us,www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/about-us/about-us/, 28 March 2021, British Transport Police, The Ministry of Defence Police is a special police force in London, which does not generally become involved with policing the general public.WEB, 2017, Ministry of Defence – Our Purpose,www.mod.police.uk/index.html, 28 March 2021, Ministry of Defence Police, 6 May 2021,www.mod.police.uk/index.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20210506183729www.mod.police.uk/index.html,">web.archive.org/web/20210506183729www.mod.police.uk/index.html, dead, The UK’s domestic counter-intelligence service (MI5) is headquartered in Thames House on the north bank of the River Thames, and the foreign intelligence service (MI6) is headquartered in the SIS Building on the south bank.BOOK, Andrew, Christopher, The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5, 134, Allen Lane, 2009, 978-0-713-99885-6,archive.org/details/defenceofrealmau0000andr/page/134, Crime rates vary widely across different areas of London. Crime figures are made available nationally at Local Authority and Ward level.WEB, 12 March 2021, Recorded Crime: Geographic Breakdown – Metropolitan Police Service,data.london.gov.uk/dataset/recorded_crime_summary, 28 March 2021, Greater London Authority, en-US, In 2015, there were 118 homicides, a 25.5% increase over 2014.NEWS,www.itv.com/news/london/2016-01-24/london-murder-rate-up-14-over-the-past-year/, London murder rate up 14% over the past year, ITV News, 24 January 2016, 16 February 2016, Recorded crime has been rising in London, notably violent crime and murder by stabbing and other means have risen. There were 50 murders from the start of 2018 to mid April 2018. Funding cuts to police in London are likely to have contributed to this, though other factors are involved.WEB, Crerar, Pippa, Gayle, Damien, 10 April 2018, Sadiq Khan Holds City Hall Summit on How To Tackle Violent Crime,www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/10/sadiq-khan-holds-city-hall-summit-on-how-to-tackle-violent, 25 March 2021, The Guardian, However, homicide figures fell in 2022 with 109 recorded for the year, and the murder rate in London is much lower than other major cities around the world.NEWS, Met Police: London homicide figures fall in 2022,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64183759, 5 January 2024, BBC,Geography
Scope
London, also known as Greater London, is one of nine regions of England and the top subdivision covering most of the city’s metropolis. The City of London at its core once comprised the whole settlement, but as its urban area grew, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to amalgamate the city with its suburbs, causing “London” to be defined several ways.BOOK, Beavan, Charles, Bickersteth, Harry, Reports of Cases in Chancery, Argued and Determined in the Rolls Court, Saunders and Benning, 1865,archive.org/details/reportscasesinc14romigoog, (File:London by Sentinel-2.jpg|alt=|thumb|Satellite view of London in June 2018)Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town, in which ‘London’ forms part of postal addresses.BOOK, Stationery Office, The Inner London Letter Post, H.M.S.O, 1980, 978-0-10-251580-0, 128, The London telephone area code (020) covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are excluded and some just outside included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places.WEB,www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1993/Uksi_19930441_en_1.htm, The Essex, Greater London and Hertfordshire (County and London Borough Boundaries) Order, 1993, Office of Public Sector Information, 6 June 2008,www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1993/Uksi_19930441_en_1.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20100107231348www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1993/Uksi_19930441_en_1.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20100107231348www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1993/Uksi_19930441_en_1.htm, 7 January 2010, live, Further urban expansion is now prevented by the Metropolitan Green Belt, although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, producing a separately defined Greater London Urban Area. Beyond this is the vast London commuter belt.WEB,www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/plansd/london_regional_200104.pdf, London in its Regional Setting, London Assembly, 6 June 2008,www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/plansd/london_regional_200104.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20080527193714www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/plansd/london_regional_200104.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20080527193714www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/plansd/london_regional_200104.pdf, 27 May 2008, dead, Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London,BOOK,www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1963/cukpga_19630033_en_1, London Government Act 1963, 1996, Office of Public Sector Information, 6 May 2008, 978-0-16-053895-7,www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1963/cukpga_19630033_en_1," title="web.archive.org/web/20100817142118www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1963/cukpga_19630033_en_1,">web.archive.org/web/20100817142118www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1963/cukpga_19630033_en_1, 17 August 2010, dead, and by the River Thames into North and South, with an informal central London area. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, are about {{Coord|51|30|26|N|00|07|39|W|type:city(7,000,000)_region:GB}}.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/08/15/charingcross_feature.shtml, London — Features — Where is the Centre of London?, BBC, 6 June 2008,www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/08/15/charingcross_feature.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20100817141948www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/08/15/charingcross_feature.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20100817141948www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/08/15/charingcross_feature.shtml, 17 August 2010, live,Status
Within London, both the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are counties for the purposes of lieutenancies.WEB,www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970023_en_1, Lieutenancies Act 1997, OPSI, 7 June 2008,www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970023_en_1," title="web.archive.org/web/20100522210452www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970023_en_1,">web.archive.org/web/20100522210452www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970023_en_1, 22 May 2010, dead, The area of Greater London includes areas that are part of the historic counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire.BOOK, Barlow, I.M., Metropolitan Government, Routledge, 1991, 9780415020992, London, 346, London’s status as the capital of England, and later the United Kingdom, has never been granted or confirmed by statute or in written form.{{refn|According to the Collins English Dictionary definition of ‘the seat of government’,BOOK, Sinclair, J.M., Collins English dictionary., 1994, HarperCollins Publishers, Glasgow, 978-0004706788, 3rd updated, London is not the capital of England, as England does not have its own government. According to the Oxford English Reference Dictionary definition of ‘the most important town’ and many other authorities.BOOK, Pearsall, Judy, Trumble, Bill, The Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2002, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, 978-0198606529, 2nd, rev, |group=note}}Its status as a capital was established by constitutional convention, which means its status as de facto capital is a part of the UK’s uncodified constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation.JOURNAL, Schofield, John, When London became a European capital, June 1999, British Archaeology, Council for British Archaeology, 45, 1357-4442,www.britarch.ac.uk/BA/ba45/ba45regs.html, 6 May 2008,www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba45/ba45regs.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110425074539www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba45/ba45regs.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110425074539www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba45/ba45regs.html, 25 April 2011, dead, More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context is known as London.WEB,www.gos.gov.uk/gol/factgol/London/?a=42496, Government Offices for the English Regions, Fact Files: London, Office for National Statistics, 4 May 2008, dead,www.gos.gov.uk/gol/factgol/London/?a=42496," title="web.archive.org/web/20080124102915www.gos.gov.uk/gol/factgol/London/?a=42496,">web.archive.org/web/20080124102915www.gos.gov.uk/gol/factgol/London/?a=42496, 24 January 2008,Topography
File:London from Primrose Hill May 2013.jpg|thumb|London from Primrose HillPrimrose HillGreater London encompasses a total area of {{convert|1583|km2|sqmi|order=flip}} an area which had a population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of {{convert|4542|PD/km2|PD/sqmi|order=flip}}. The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of {{convert|8382|km2|sqmi|order=flip}} has a population of 13,709,000 and a population density of {{convert|1510|PD/km2|PD/sqmi|order=flip}}.WEB,www.dgcl.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/lu_pour_vous/les_grandes_metropol/downloadFile/attachedFile/metropolislondres.pdf?nocache=1254397828.63, Metropolis: 027 London, World Association of the Major Metropolises, 3 May 2010, dead,www.dgcl.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/lu_pour_vous/les_grandes_metropol/downloadFile/attachedFile/metropolislondres.pdf?nocache=1254397828.63," title="web.archive.org/web/20110427084411www.dgcl.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/lu_pour_vous/les_grandes_metropol/downloadFile/attachedFile/metropolislondres.pdf?nocache=1254397828.63,">web.archive.org/web/20110427084411www.dgcl.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/lu_pour_vous/les_grandes_metropol/downloadFile/attachedFile/metropolislondres.pdf?nocache=1254397828.63, 27 April 2011, Modern London stands on the Thames, its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a flood plain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill, Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill. Historically London grew up at the lowest bridging point on the Thames. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=M9qvtYYhRtAC&pg=PR11, London: A History, Francis, Sheppard, 10, Oxford University Press, 2000, 978-0-19-285369-1, 6 June 2008, Since the Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked, and many of its London tributaries now flow underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding.WEB,www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/flooding/?version=1&lang=_e, Flooding, UK Environment Agency, 19 June 2006,www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/flooding/?version=1&lang=_e," title="web.archive.org/web/20060215080725www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/flooding/?version=1&lang=_e,">web.archive.org/web/20060215080725www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/flooding/?version=1&lang=_e, 15 February 2006, dead, The threat has increased over time because of a slow but continuous rise in high water level caused by climate change and by the slow ‘tilting’ of the British Isles as a result of post-glacial rebound.WEB,www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/sealevels/?version=1&lang=_e, “Sea Levels“ – UK Environment Agency, Environment Agency, 6 June 2008,www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/sealevels/?version=1&lang=_e," title="web.archive.org/web/20080523225152www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/sealevels/?version=1&lang=_e,">web.archive.org/web/20080523225152www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/eff/1190084/natural_forces/sealevels/?version=1&lang=_e, 23 May 2008, dead,Climate
London has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew. At Kew, the most rainfall in one month is {{Convert|189|mm|in|order=flip|abbr=}} in November 1755 and the least is {{Convert|0|mm|in|order=flip|abbr=}} in both December 1788 and July 1800. Mile End also had {{Convert|0|mm|in|order=flip|abbr=}} in April 1893.WEB,www.trevorharley.com/weather-april.html, Weather April, trevorharley.com, The wettest year on record is 1903, with a total fall of {{Convert|969|mm|in|order=flip|abbr=}} and the driest is 1921, with a total fall of {{Convert|308|mm|in|order=flip|abbr=}}.WEB,old.wetterzentrale.de/klima/pkewgar.html, Niederschlagsmonatssummen KEW GARDENS 1697–1987, 16 May 2020, 24 February 2021,old.wetterzentrale.de/klima/pkewgar.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20210224100657old.wetterzentrale.de/klima/pkewgar.html,">web.archive.org/web/20210224100657old.wetterzentrale.de/klima/pkewgar.html, dead, The average annual precipitation amounts to about 600 mm, which is half the annual rainfall of New York City.WEB, Average Annual Precipitation by City in the US – Current Results,www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-precipitation-by-city.php, 25 March 2021, currentresults.com, Despite relatively low annual precipitation, London receives 109.6 rainy days on the 1.0 mm threshold annually. London is vulnerable to climate change, and there is concern among hydrological experts that households may run out of water before 2050.NEWS,www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/london-water-drought-climate-change-b2079811.html?amp, London could run out of water in 25 years as cities worldwide face rising risk of drought, report warns, Saphora Smith, The Independent, 16 May 2022, 5 June 2022, Temperature extremes in London range from {{convert|40.2|°C|°F|1}} at Heathrow on 19 July 2022 down to {{convert|-17.4|°C|°F}} at Northolt on 13 December 1981.WEB,starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/mintemp_map.php?date=1981-12-13, Minimum Temperatures observed on 13th Dec 1981 at 06Z (SYNOP)/09Z (MIDAS/BUFR) UTC (529 reports), 30 April 2023, WEB,www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/search, Search | Climate Data Online (CDO) | National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), 1 August 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190729134639/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/search, 29 July 2019, dead, Records for atmospheric pressure have been kept at London since 1692. The highest pressure ever reported is {{convert|1049.8|mbar|inHg}} on 20 January 2020.NEWS, Amos, Jonathan,www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51180211, London breaks a high-pressure record, 20 January 2020, BBC News, 13 February 2020, Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot. London’s average July high is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F). On average each year, London experiences 31 days above {{convert|25|°C|°F|1}} and 4.2 days above {{convert|30.0|°C|°F|1}}. During the 2003 European heat wave, prolonged heat led to hundreds of heat-related deaths.JOURNAL, The impact of the 2003 heat wave on daily mortality in England and Wales and the use of rapid weekly mortality estimates, Eurosurveillance, 10, 7, 1 July 2005, H, Johnson, RS, Kovats, G, McGregor, J, Stedman, M, Gibbs, H, Walton, 15–16, 10.2807/esm.10.07.00558-en, 16088043,www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=558, free, A previous spell of 15 consecutive days above {{convert|32.2|°C|°F|1}} in England in 1976 also caused many heat related deaths.WEB, Taylor, Brian, 2002, 1976. The Incredible Heatwave.,www.theweatheroutlook.com/twoother/twocontent.aspx?type=libgen&id=1432, live,web.archive.org/web/20080712080114/https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twoother/twocontent.aspx?type=libgen&id=1432, 12 July 2008, 25 March 2021, TheWeatherOutlook, A previous temperature of {{convert|37.8|°C|°F}} in August 1911 at the Greenwich station was later disregarded as non-standard.WEB, 1911, Monthly Weather Report of the Meteorological Office,www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/mohippo/pdf/i/7/aug1911.pdf, dead,web.archive.org/web/20171113123406/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/mohippo/pdf/i/7/aug1911.pdf, 13 November 2017, 25 March 2021, Wyman and Sons, Ltd., Droughts can also, occasionally, be a problem, especially in summer, most recently in summer 2018, and with much drier than average conditions prevailing from May to December.WEB, 2018, UK Droughts: SPI,eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/droughts/, 25 March 2021, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, However, the most consecutive days without rain was 73 days in the spring of 1893.WEB,www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/philip-eden/Longest-drought-for-2-years.htm, Philip Eden: Longest drought for 2 years – weatheronline.co.uk, weatheronline.co.uk, 10 April 2019, Winters are generally cool with little temperature variation. Heavy snow is rare but snow usually falls at least once each winter. Spring and autumn can be pleasant. As a large city, London has a considerable urban heat island effect,WEB,legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/climate-change/docs/UHI_summary_report.pdf, London’s Urban Heat Island: A Summary for Decision Makers, Greater London Authority, October 2006, 29 April 2015, dead,legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/climate-change/docs/UHI_summary_report.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120816015955legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/climate-change/docs/UHI_summary_report.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120816015955legacy.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/climate-change/docs/UHI_summary_report.pdf, 16 August 2012, making the centre of London at times {{convert|5|C-change|0}} warmer than the suburbs and outskirts.NEWS, Eden, Philip, 9 June 2004, Ever Warmer as Temperatures Rival France, London,www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1463994/Ever-warmer-as-temperatures-rival-France.html, live, 25 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20200326104750/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1463994/Ever-warmer-as-temperatures-rival-France.html, 26 March 2020, {{London weatherbox}}Areas
Places within London’s vast urban area are identified using area names, such as Mayfair, Southwark, Wembley, and Whitechapel. These are either informal designations, reflect the names of villages that have been absorbed by sprawl, or are superseded administrative units such as parishes or former boroughs.WEB,www.historytoday.com/ad-harvey/london%E2%80%99s-boroughs, London’s Boroughs, History Today, 19 April 2023, File:London (44761485915).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The West End theatreWest End theatreSuch names have remained in use through tradition, each referring to a local area with its own distinctive character, but without official boundaries. Since 1965, Greater London has been divided into 32 London boroughs in addition to the ancient City of London.WEB,www.london.gov.uk/london-life/city-government/boroughs.jsp, London boroughs — London Life, GLA, London Government, 3 November 2008,www.london.gov.uk/london-life/city-government/boroughs.jsp," title="web.archive.org/web/20071213025156www.london.gov.uk/london-life/city-government/boroughs.jsp,">web.archive.org/web/20071213025156www.london.gov.uk/london-life/city-government/boroughs.jsp, 13 December 2007, dead, The City of London is the main financial district,WEB,www.london.gov.uk/london-life/business-and-jobs/financial-centre.jsp, London as a financial centre, Mayor of London,www.london.gov.uk/london-life/business-and-jobs/financial-centre.jsp," title="web.archive.org/web/20080106051217www.london.gov.uk/london-life/business-and-jobs/financial-centre.jsp,">web.archive.org/web/20080106051217www.london.gov.uk/london-life/business-and-jobs/financial-centre.jsp, 6 January 2008, dead, and Canary Wharf has recently developed into a new financial and commercial hub in the Docklands to the east.The West End is London’s main entertainment and shopping district, attracting tourists.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1608619.stm, West End still drawing crowds, BBC News, 6 June 2008, 22 October 2001,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1608619.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20110511121403news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1608619.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20110511121403news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1608619.stm, 11 May 2011, live, West London includes expensive residential areas where properties can sell for tens of millions of pounds.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/money/2006/apr/17/tax.g2, Super Rich, 17 April 2006, The Guardian, 7 June 2008, London, James, Meek,www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/apr/17/tax.g2," title="web.archive.org/web/20110501134745www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/apr/17/tax.g2,">web.archive.org/web/20110501134745www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/apr/17/tax.g2, 1 May 2011, live, The average price for properties in Kensington and Chelsea is over £2 million with a similarly high outlay in most of central London.WEB,www.rbkc.gov.uk/planningandconservation/planningpolicy/idoc.ashx?docid=bf56bda1-575c-435b-92ac-9a71625c1746&version=-1,web.archive.org/web/20161010131732/https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/planningandconservation/planningpolicy/idoc.ashx?docid=bf56bda1-575c-435b-92ac-9a71625c1746&version=-1, dead, 10 October 2016, Information on latest house prices in the Royal Borough, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, NEWS,www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/08/housing-london-jump-19-per-cent-year, Average house prices in London jump 19 percent in a year, Rupert, Jones, The Guardian, London, 8 August 2014, 24 September 2014, The East End is the area closest to the original Port of London, known for its high immigrant population, as well as for being one of the poorest areas in London.NEWS,msnbc.msn.com/id/8487518/site/newsweek/, 6 July 2005,msnbc.msn.com/id/8487518/site/newsweek/," title="web.archive.org/web/20060829024354msnbc.msn.com/id/8487518/site/newsweek/,">web.archive.org/web/20060829024354msnbc.msn.com/id/8487518/site/newsweek/, 29 August 2006, Tomorrow’s East End, Newsweek, Flynn, Emily, New York, dead, The surrounding East London area saw much of London’s early industrial development; now, brownfield sites throughout the area are being redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway including the London Riverside and Lower Lea Valley, which was developed into the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.Architecture
File:Aerial Tower of London.jpg|thumb|The Tower of LondonTower of LondonLondon’s buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, partly because of their varying ages. Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the National Gallery, are constructed from Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the centre, are characterised by white stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures in central London pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, these being a few trace Roman remains, the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the city. Further out is, for example, the Tudor-period Hampton Court Palace.BOOK, Summerson, John, 1969, Great Palaces (Hampton Court. pp. 12–23), Hamlyn, 9780600016823,archive.org/details/greatpalaces0000unse, John Summerson, Part of the varied architectural heritage are the 17th-century churches by Christopher Wren, neoclassical financial institutions such as the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, to the early 20th century Old Bailey courthouse and the 1960s Barbican Estate. The 1939 Battersea Power Station by the river in the south-west is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, most notably St. Pancras and Paddington.WEB,www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Paddington_Station.html, Paddington Station, Great Buildings, 6 June 2008,www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Paddington_Station.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110525164017www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Paddington_Station.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110525164017www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Paddington_Station.html, 25 May 2011, dead, The density of London varies, with high employment density in the central area and Canary Wharf, high residential densities in inner London, and lower densities in Outer London.File:Buckingham Palace from side, London, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|The east wing public façade of Buckingham PalaceBuckingham PalaceFile:Trafalgar Square by Christian Reimer.jpg|thumb|Trafalgar Square and its fountains, with Nelson’s ColumnNelson’s ColumnThe Monument in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the Great Fire of London, which originated nearby. Marble Arch and Wellington Arch, at the north and south ends of Park Lane, respectively, have royal connections, as do the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. Nelson’s Column (built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson) is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of central London. Older buildings are mainly brick, commonly the yellow London stock brick.NEWS,www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1&xml=/property/2008/03/27/lpgreen127.xml, Eco homes: Wooden it be lovely... ?, The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 2008, London, Sarah, Lonsdale, 27 March 2008,web.archive.org/web/20130308205754/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1&xml=/property/2008/03/27/lpgreen127.xml, 8 March 2013, dead, In the dense areas, most of the concentration is via medium- and high-rise buildings. London’s skyscrapers, such as 30 St Mary Axe (dubbed “The Gherkin“), Tower 42, the Broadgate Tower and One Canada Square, are mostly in the two financial districts, the City of London and Canary Wharf. High-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of St Paul’s Cathedral and other historic buildings. This protective policy, known as ‘St Paul’s Heights’, has been in operation by the City of London since 1937.NEWS, Protected views and tall buildings,www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/planning/planning-policy/protected-views-and-tall-buildings, 28 June 2022, City of London.gov.uk, 1 November 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221101182326/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/planning/planning-policy/protected-views-and-tall-buildings, dead, Nevertheless, there are a number of tall skyscrapers in central London, including the 95-storey Shard London Bridge, the tallest building in the United Kingdom and Western Europe.NEWS, Take a tour of The Shard’s viewing platform,www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-20979547, 16 June 2023, BBC, Other notable modern buildings include The Scalpel, 20 Fenchurch Street (dubbed “The Walkie-Talkie“), the former City Hall in Southwark, the Art Deco BBC Broadcasting House plus the Postmodernist British Library in Somers Town/Kings Cross and No 1 Poultry by James Stirling. The BT Tower stands at {{convert|620|ft|0}} and has a 360 degree coloured LED screen near the top. What was formerly the Millennium Dome, by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now an entertainment venue called the O2 Arena.NEWS,www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/2788214/The-lemon-Dome-that-was-transformed-into-O2s-concert-crown.html, The Lemon Dome That Was Transformed into O2’s Concert Crown, White, Dominic, 15 April 2008, The Daily Telegraph, 19 June 2022, {{Wide image|Palace of Westminster from the dome on Methodist Central Hall (cropped).jpg|900px|The Houses of Parliament and Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) on the right foreground, the London Eye on the left foreground and The Shard with Canary Wharf in the background; seen in September 2014}}Natural history
The London Natural History Society suggests that London is “one of the World’s Greenest Cities” with more than 40 per cent green space or open water. They indicate that 2000 species of flowering plant have been found growing there and that the tidal Thames supports 120 species of fish.WEB,www.lnhs.org.uk/index.htm,www.lnhs.org.uk/Index.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20070212143739www.lnhs.org.uk/Index.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20070212143739www.lnhs.org.uk/Index.htm, dead, 12 February 2007, Wildlife in London, England: LNHS Home page, lnhs.org.uk, They state that over 60 species of bird nest in central London and that their members have recorded 47 species of butterfly, 1173 moths and more than 270 kinds of spider around London. London’s wetland areas support nationally important populations of many water birds. London has 38 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), two national nature reserves and 76 local nature reserves.WEB, London Natural History Society – Home,lnhs.org.uk/, 25 March 2021, lnhs.org.uk, Amphibians are common in the capital, including smooth newts living by the Tate Modern, and common frogs, common toads, palmate newts and great crested newts. On the other hand, native reptiles such as slowworms, common lizards, barred grass snakes and adders, are mostly only seen in Outer London.WEB, Tuffrey, Laurie, 27 July 2012, London’s Amphibians and Reptile Populations Mapped,www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/27/london-amphibian-reptile-map, live,web.archive.org/web/20210102204944/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/27/london-amphibian-reptile-map, 2 January 2021, 25 March 2021, The Guardian, en, File:Flickr - Duncan~ - Fox Trot.jpg|thumb|left|A fox on Ayres Street, Southwark, South LondonSouth LondonAmong other inhabitants of London are 10,000 red foxes, so that there are now 16 foxes for every square mile (6 per square kilometre) of London. Other mammals found in Greater London are hedgehog, brown rat, mice, rabbit, shrew, vole, and grey squirrel.WEB, Mammals,www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park/richmond-park-attractions/wildlife/mammals, live,web.archive.org/web/20200307135419/https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park/richmond-park-attractions/wildlife/mammals, 7 March 2020, 25 March 2021, The Royal Parks, In wilder areas of Outer London, such as Epping Forest, a wide variety of mammals are found, including European hare, badger, field, bank and water vole, wood mouse, yellow-necked mouse, mole, shrew, and weasel, in addition to red fox, grey squirrel and hedgehog. A dead otter was found at The Highway, in Wapping, about a mile from the Tower Bridge, which would suggest that they have begun to move back after being absent a hundred years from the city.WEB,www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/946018.londons_first_wild_otter_found/,www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/946018.londons_first_wild_otter_found/," title="web.archive.org/web/20100401110428www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/946018.londons_first_wild_otter_found/,">web.archive.org/web/20100401110428www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/946018.londons_first_wild_otter_found/, dead, 1 April 2010, London’s first wild otter found, Peter, Law, This Is Local London, Ten of England’s eighteen species of bats have been recorded in Epping Forest: soprano, Nathusius’ and common pipistrelles, common noctule, serotine, barbastelle, Daubenton’s, brown long-eared, Natterer’s and Leisler’s.WEB,www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/wildlife-and-nature/Pages/Mammals.aspx, Mammals, cityoflondon.gov.uk, 16 November 2014,www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/wildlife-and-nature/Pages/Mammals.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20150318070552www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/wildlife-and-nature/Pages/Mammals.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20150318070552www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/wildlife-and-nature/Pages/Mammals.aspx, 18 March 2015, dead, Herds of red and fallow deer roam freely within much of Richmond and Bushy Park. A cull takes place each November and February to ensure numbers can be sustained.NEWS, Bishop, Rachael, 5 November 2012, Richmond Park Deer Cull Begins, Sutton & Croydon Guardian, London,www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/wandsworthnews/10026864.Richmond_Park_deer_cull_begins/, live, 25 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20200307135458/https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/10026864.richmond-park-deer-cull-begins/, 7 March 2020, Epping Forest is also known for its fallow deer, which can frequently be seen in herds to the north of the Forest. A rare population of melanistic, black fallow deer is also maintained at the Deer Sanctuary near Theydon Bois. Muntjac deer are also found in the forest. While Londoners are accustomed to wildlife such as birds and foxes sharing the city, more recently urban deer have started becoming a regular feature, and whole herds of fallow deer come into residential areas at night to take advantage of London’s green spaces.NEWS, 25 February 2014, In Pictures: London’s Urban Deer, Evening Standard,www.standard.co.uk/news/london/in-pictures-londons-urban-deer-9149902.html, live, 25 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210301073242/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/in-pictures-london-s-urban-deer-9149902.html, 1 March 2021,Demography
{|class=“wikitable” style="float:right; text-align:right;”Age structure and median age
London’s median age is one of the youngest regions in the UK. It was recorded in 2018 that London’s residents were 36.5 years old, which was younger than the UK median of 40.3.Children younger than 14 constituted 20.6% of the population in Outer London in 2018, and 18% in Inner London. The 15–24 age group was 11.1% in Outer and 10.2% in Inner London, those aged 25–44 years 30.6% in Outer London and 39.7% in Inner London, those aged 45–64 years 24% and 20.7% in Outer and Inner London respectively. Those aged 65 and over are 13.6% in Outer London, but only 9.3% in Inner London.WEB, 20 April 2020, The Age Distribution of the Population,www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/londons-population-age/, dead,web.archive.org/web/20200702033916/https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/population-age-groups/, 2 July 2020, 27 March 2021, Trust for London,Country of birth
The 2021 census recorded that 3,575,739 people or 40.6% of London’s population were foreign-born,NEWS, International migration, England and Wales: Census 2021,www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/internationalmigrationenglandandwales/census2021#:~:text=London%20has%20remained%20the%20region,had%20a%20non%2DUK%20passport, 3 December 2022, ONS, making it among the cities with the largest immigrant population in terms of absolute numbers and a growth of roughly 3 million since 1971 when the foreign born population was 668,373.WEB, UK Data Service, Jisc, 21 March 2013, Casweb,casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uindex.htm, 14 January 2024, casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk, English, 13% of the total population were Asian born (32.1% of the total foreign born population), 7.1% are African born (17.5%), 15.5% are Other European born (38.2%) and 4.2% were born in the Americas and Caribbean (10.3%).WEB, Countries of birth - Office for National Statistics, https:www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/create/filter-outputs/2260f256-3757-4b75-835d-b904cb29a357, 14 January 2024, ons.gov.uk, The 5 largest single countries of origin were respectively India, Romania, Poland, Bangladesh and Pakistan.About 56.8% of children born in London in 2021 were born to a mother who was born abroad.WEB, Parents’ country of birth - Office for National Statistics,www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/parentscountryofbirth, 14 January 2024, ons.gov.uk, This trend has been increasing in the past two decades when foreign born mothers made up 43.3% of births in 2001 in London, becoming the majority in the middle of the 2000s by 2006 comprising 52.5%.A large degree of the foreign born population who were present at the 2021 census had arrived relatively recently. Of the total population, those that arrived between the years of 2011 and 2021 account for 16.6% of London.WEB, Year of arrival in the uk - Office for National Statistics,www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/create/filter-outputs/038e579d-69a5-4765-821f-864f6d4ea8a1, 14 January 2024, ons.gov.uk, Those who arrived between 2001 and 2010 are 10.4%, between 1991 and 2001, 5.7%, and prior to 1990, 7.3%.Ethnic groups
{{multiple image| caption_align = center| header_align = center| align = right| direction = vertical| width = 200| header = Maps of Greater London showing percentage distribution of selected ethnic groups according to the 2021 Census| image1 = White London 2021.png| alt1 = WhiteLanguages
In January 2005, a survey of London’s ethnic and religious diversity claimed that more than 300 languages were spoken in London and more than 50 non-indigenous communities had populations of more than 10,000.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/21/britishidentity1, Every race, colour, nation and religion on earth, The Guardian, London, 6 May 2008, Leo, Benedictus, 21 January 2005,www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jan/21/britishidentity1," title="web.archive.org/web/20110501134732www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jan/21/britishidentity1,">web.archive.org/web/20110501134732www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jan/21/britishidentity1, 1 May 2011, live, At the 2021 census, 78.4% spoke English as their first language.WEB, Main language - Office for National Statistics,www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/create/filter-outputs/bd973425-a3bd-4610-92b4-e8d77e908654, 14 January 2024, ons.gov.uk, The 5 biggest languages outside of English were Romanian, Spanish, Polish, Bengali and Portuguese.Religion
{{see also|List of churches in London}}{{Pie chart|thumb = rightAccents
File:St Mary-le-Bow - geograph.org.uk - 3756403.jpg|thumb|upright|Traditionally, anyone born within earshot of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church was considered to be a true CockneyCockneyCockney is an accent heard across London, mainly spoken by working-class and lower-middle class Londoners. It is mainly attributed to the East End and wider East London, having originated there in the 18th century, although it has been suggested that the Cockney style of speech is much older.WEB, 17 August 2012, Cockney,public.oed.com/blog/cockney/, 16 April 2021, Oxford English Dictionary, en, Some features of Cockney include, Th-fronting (pronouncing “th” as “f“), “th” inside a word is pronounced with a “v”, H-dropping, and, like most English accents, a Cockney accent drops the “r” after a vowel.BOOK, McArthur, Thomas, Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, 2005, Oxford University Press, John Camden Hotten, in his Slang Dictionary of 1859, makes reference to Cockney “use of a peculiar slang language” (Cockney rhyming slang) when describing the costermongers of the East End. Since the start of the 21st century the extreme form of the Cockney dialect is less common in parts of the East End itself, with modern strongholds including other parts of London and suburbs in the home counties.NEWS, ‘Extreme’ form of Cockney dialect in decline, says report,www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jun/10/extreme-form-of-cockney-dialect-in-decline-says-report-1953, 28 June 2023, The Guardian, This is particularly pronounced in areas like Romford (in the London Borough of Havering) and Southend (in Essex) which have received significant inflows of older East End residents in recent decades.WEB, Mount, Harry, 10 April 2012, Word on the street in London,www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/word-on-the-street-in-london-6487089.html, 8 February 2024, Evening Standard, en, Estuary English is an intermediate accent between Cockney and Received Pronunciation.WEB, Estuary English Q and A – JCW,www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/ee-faqs-jcw.htm, dead,www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/ee-faqs-jcw.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20100111062912www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/ee-faqs-jcw.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20100111062912www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/ee-faqs-jcw.htm, 11 January 2010, 16 August 2010, University College London, It is widely spoken by people of all classes.WEB, Estuary English,www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/, 16 April 2021, University College London, Multicultural London English (MLE) is a multiethnolect becoming increasingly common in multicultural areas amongst young, working-class people from diverse backgrounds. It is a fusion of an array of ethnic accents, in particular Afro-Caribbean and South Asian, with a significant Cockney influence.WEB, What is MLE? – Language and Linguistic Science, University of York,www.york.ac.uk/language/research/projects/mle/what-is-mle/, 16 April 2021, University of York, Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard for British English.BOOK, Wells, John, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 2008, Longman, 978-1-4058-8118-0, 3rd, xix, para 2.1, It has no specific geographical correlate,WEB, English language - Varieties of English,www.britannica.com/topic/English-language, 16 April 2021, Encyclopædia Britannica, en, although it is also traditionally defined as the standard speech used in London and south-eastern England.WEB, English language – Characteristics of Modern English,www.britannica.com/topic/English-language, 16 April 2021, Encyclopædia Britannica, en, It is mainly spoken by upper-class and upper-middle class Londoners.WEB, Received Pronunciation,www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/received-pronunciation, 16 April 2021, The British Library, 28 July 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/received-pronunciation, dead,Economy
File:City_of_London_skyscrapers_HDR_-_2023-03-18.jpg|thumb|The City of LondonCity of LondonLondon’s gross regional product in 2019 was £503 billion, around a quarter of UK GDP.WEB,www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/regionaleconomicactivitybygrossdomesticproductuk/1998to2019/pdf, Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK: 1998 to 2019, UK- Office for National Statistics, Trevor, Fenton, ons.gov.uk, London has five major business districts: the city, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington and Lambeth & Southwark. One way to get an idea of their relative importance is to look at relative amounts of office space: Greater London had 27 million m2 of office space in 2001, and the City contains the most space, with 8 million m2 of office space. London has some of the highest real estate prices in the world.WEB, Lowe, Felix, 18 February 2008, Highgate Trumps Chelsea as Priciest Postcode,www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/2784634/Highgate-trumps-Chelsea-as-priciest-postcode.html, live,web.archive.org/web/20210102203419/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/2784634/Highgate-trumps-Chelsea-as-priciest-postcode.html, 2 January 2021, 25 March 2021, The Daily Telegraph,City of London
London’s finance industry is based in the City of London and Canary Wharf, the two major business districts. London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world as the most important location for international finance.NEWS, 29 November 2007, The City of London’s tumble – After the fall, The Economist, London,www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDNDRPTT, dead, 15 May 2009,www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDNDRPTT," title="archive.today/20121208172611www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDNDRPTT,">archive.today/20121208172611www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDNDRPTT, 8 December 2012, London took over as a major financial centre shortly after 1795 when the Dutch Republic collapsed before the Napoleonic armies. This caused many bankers established in Amsterdam (e.g. Hope, Baring I’m), to move to London. Also, London’s market-centred system (as opposed to the bank-centred one in Amsterdam) grew more dominant in the 18th century. The London financial elite was strengthened by a strong Jewish community from all over Europe capable of mastering the most sophisticated financial tools of the time. This economic strength of the city was attributed to its diversity.WEB,www.bartleby.com/34/2/6.html, Letter VI – On the Presbyterians. Letters on the English., Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de., 1909–1914, Bartleby.com, The Harvard Classics, 1734, 22 July 2017, NEWS, The Origin of Religious Tolerance: Voltaire,www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=2095, 28 June 2023, Independent Institute, File:Paternoster Square.jpg|thumb|The London Stock Exchange at Paternoster Square and Temple Bar ]]File:London.bankofengland.arp.jpg|thumb|The Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandBy the mid-19th century, London was the leading financial centre, and at the end of the century over half the world’s trade was financed in British currency.NEWS, London - Finance,www.britannica.com/place/London/Finance, 4 July 2022, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Still, {{as of|2016|lc=y}} London tops the world rankings on the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI),WEB,www.longfinance.net/images/gfci/20/GFCI20_26Sep2016.pdf, The Global Financial Centres Index 20,www.longfinance.net/images/gfci/20/GFCI20_26Sep2016.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20170928122804www.longfinance.net/images/gfci/20/GFCI20_26Sep2016.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20170928122804www.longfinance.net/images/gfci/20/GFCI20_26Sep2016.pdf, 28 September 2017, dead, 8 August 2019, and it ranked second in A.T. Kearney’s 2018 Global Cities Index.WEB, Hales, Mike, Mendoza Peña, Andrés, Peterson, Erik R., Dessibourg, Nicole, 2018 Global Cities Report – Learning from the East: Insights from China’s Urban Success,atkearney.com/2018-global-cities-report, dead,web.archive.org/web/20180620232225/https://www.atkearney.com/2018-global-cities-report, 20 June 2018, 20 June 2018, A.T. Kearney, London’s largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK’s balance of payments. Notwithstanding a post-Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange,NEWS,fortune.com/2023/10/31/uk-stock-market-doom-loop-london-financial-capital/amp/, UK’s stock market is in a ‘doom loop’ that’s undermining London’s status as a global financial capital, investment bank says, Alexandra Muller and Bloomberg News, Fortune, New York, 31 October 2023, 20 February 2024, London is still one of Europe’s most economically powerful cities, and it remains one of the major financial centres of the world. It is the world’s biggest currency trading centre, accounting for some 37 per cent of the $5.1 trillion average daily volume, according to the BIS.NEWS, 18 September 2016, London’s core role in euros under spotlight after Brexit vote, Reuters,uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-bis-britain-idUKKCN11O0C4, 28 March 2021, Over 85 per cent (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Because of its prominent global role, London’s economy had been affected by the financial crisis of 2007–2008. However, by 2010 the city had recovered, put in place new regulatory powers, proceeded to regain lost ground and re-established London’s economic dominance.NEWS, Gardiner, Beth, 20 January 2010, The London Banking Center Is Beginning to Feel Like Itself Again., The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/global/21rglofinuk.html, live, 28 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20100125173353/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/global/21rglofinuk.html, 25 January 2010, Along with professional services headquarters, the City of London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, and Lloyd’s of London insurance market.BOOK, Mantle, Jonathan, For Whom the Bell Tolls,archive.org/details/forwhombelltolls0000mant, registration, 1992, Sinclair-Stevenson, London, 9781856191524, Over half the UK’s top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe’s 500 largest companies have their headquarters in central London. Over 70 per cent of the FTSE 100 are within London’s metropolitan area, and 75 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London.WEB, 9 June 2009, London Stock Exchange,www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/, dead,www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/," title="web.archive.org/web/20090609022757www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/,">web.archive.org/web/20090609022757www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/, 9 June 2009, 27 April 2008, London Stock Exchange, In a 1992 report commissioned by the London Stock Exchange, Sir Adrian Cadbury, chairman of his family’s confectionery company Cadbury, produced the Cadbury Report, a code of best practice which served as a basis for reform of corporate governance around the world.WEB, Gittelson, Steven, Adrian Cadbury, a leader in corporate governance, dies at 86,www.washingtonpost.com/business/adrian-cadbury-a-leader-in-corporate-governance-dies-at-86/2015/09/04/e87dd2fe-532e-11e5-8c19-0b6825aa4a3a_story.html, The Washington Post, 23 July 2022, 4 September 2015,Media and technology
File:Broadcasting House 20160816.jpg|thumb|upright|Broadcasting House, headquarters of the BBCBBCMedia companies are concentrated in London, and the media distribution industry is London’s second most competitive sector.WEB,www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2CAE66FB-2DD5-41A5-B916-8FFC37276059/0/BC_RS_lpuk_0511_FR.pdf,www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2CAE66FB-2DD5-41A5-B916-8FFC37276059/0/BC_RS_lpuk_0511_FR.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20060525075622www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2CAE66FB-2DD5-41A5-B916-8FFC37276059/0/BC_RS_lpuk_0511_FR.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20060525075622www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2CAE66FB-2DD5-41A5-B916-8FFC37276059/0/BC_RS_lpuk_0511_FR.pdf, dead, 25 May 2006, London’s Place in the UK Economy, 2005–6, November 2005, Oxford Economic Forecasting on behalf of the Corporation of London, 19, 19 June 2006, The BBC, the world’s oldest national broadcaster, is a significant employer, while other broadcasters, including ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Sky, also have headquarters around the city. Many national newspapers, including The Times, founded in 1785, are edited in London; the term Fleet Street (where most national newspapers operated) remains a metonym for the British national press.BOOK, Solesbury, William, World Cities, City Worlds, 2018, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 5, The communications company WPP is the world’s largest advertising agency.NEWS, The world’s biggest ad agency is going all in on AI with Nvidia’s help,edition.cnn.com/2023/05/29/tech/nvidia-wpp-ai-advertising/index.html, 21 March 2024, CNN, A large number of technology companies are based in London, notably in East London Tech City, also known as Silicon Roundabout. In 2014 the city was among the first to receive a geoTLD.PRESS RELEASE, 10 June 2013, London gets go ahead for new ‘.london’ internet domain,www.londonandpartners.com/media-centre/press-releases/2013/130610-london-gets-go-ahead-for-new-london-internet-domain, dead,www.londonandpartners.com/media-centre/press-releases/2013/130610-london-gets-go-ahead-for-new-london-internet-domain," title="web.archive.org/web/20130614213446www.londonandpartners.com/media-centre/press-releases/2013/130610-london-gets-go-ahead-for-new-london-internet-domain,">web.archive.org/web/20130614213446www.londonandpartners.com/media-centre/press-releases/2013/130610-london-gets-go-ahead-for-new-london-internet-domain, 14 June 2013, 28 March 2021, London & Partners, In February 2014 London was ranked as the European City of the Future in the 2014/15 list by fDi Intelligence.NEWS, McReynolds, Cathy, 17 February 2014, European Cities and Regions of the Future 2014/15, fDiIntelligence.com, London,www.fdiintelligence.com/Locations/Europe/European-Cities-and-Regions-of-the-Future-2014-15, 28 March 2021, A museum in Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing was based during World War II, is in Bletchley, {{convert|40|mi|adj=off}} north of central London, as is The National Museum of Computing.NEWS, UK computer history gets new home,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6291422.stm, 11 July 2007, 4 July 2022, BBC, The gas and electricity distribution networks that manage and operate the towers, cables and pressure systems that deliver energy to consumers across the city are managed by National Grid plc, SGNWEB, Gas distributors,www.ofgem.gov.uk/gas/distribution-networks/gb-gas-distribution-network, Ofgem, 19 January 2016, 20 June 2013, and UK Power Networks.WEB, Electricity distributor,www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Our-company/electricity/Distribution-Network-Operator-Companies/, National Grid, 19 January 2015,www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Our-company/electricity/Distribution-Network-Operator-Companies/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140914184550www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Our-company/electricity/Distribution-Network-Operator-Companies/,">web.archive.org/web/20140914184550www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Our-company/electricity/Distribution-Network-Operator-Companies/, 14 September 2014, dead,Tourism
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|image1=British Museum from NE 2 (cropped).JPG|caption1=The British Museum- British Museum: 6,820,686
- National Gallery: 5,908,254
- Natural History Museum (South Kensington): 5,284,023
- Southbank Centre: 5,102,883
- Tate Modern: 4,712,581
- Victoria and Albert Museum (South Kensington): 3,432,325
- Science Museum: 3,356,212
- Somerset House: 3,235,104
- Tower of London: 2,785,249
- National Portrait Gallery: 2,145,486
Transport
Transport is one of the four main areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London,WEB,www.tfl.gov.uk/, Transport for London, Transport for London, 27 April 2008,www.tfl.gov.uk/," title="web.archive.org/web/20100104235448www.tfl.gov.uk/,">web.archive.org/web/20100104235448www.tfl.gov.uk/, 4 January 2010, live, but the mayor’s financial control does not extend to the longer-distance rail network that enters London. In 2007 the Mayor of London assumed responsibility for some local lines, which now form the London Overground network, adding to the existing responsibility for the London Underground, trams and buses. The public transport network is administered by Transport for London (TfL).The lines that formed the London Underground, as well as trams and buses, became part of an integrated transport system in 1933 when the London Passenger Transport Board or London Transport was created. Transport for London is now the statutory corporation responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, and is run by a board and a commissioner appointed by the Mayor of London.WEB,www.london.gov.uk/help/faq.jsp#transport,www.london.gov.uk/help/faq.jsp," title="web.archive.org/web/20071019055413www.london.gov.uk/help/faq.jsp,">web.archive.org/web/20071019055413www.london.gov.uk/help/faq.jsp, 19 October 2007, How do I find out about transport in London?, Greater London Authority, 5 June 2008, dead,Aviation
File:Heathrow Terminal 5C Iwelumo-1.jpg|thumb|Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in Europe as well as the second busiest in the world for international passenger traffic (Terminal 5C is pictured).]]London is a major international air transport hub with the busiest city airspace in the world. Eight airports use the word London in their name, but most traffic passes through six of these. Additionally, various other airports also serve London, catering primarily to general aviation flights.- Heathrow Airport, in Hillingdon, West London, was for many years the busiest airport in the world for international traffic, and is the major hub of the nation’s flag carrier, British Airways.WEB, 2020, Heathrow Airport Travel Report 2019,www.heathrow.com/content/dam/heathrow/web/common/documents/company/heathrow-2-0-sustainability/futher-reading/Heathrow-Airport-Travel-Report-2019.pdf, 25 March 2021, Heathrow Airport, LHR Airports Limited, 38, In March 2008 its fifth terminal was opened.WEB,www.heathrow-airport-uk.info/heathrow-airport-terminal-5.htm, Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, TMC Ltd, 27 April 2008,www.heathrow-airport-uk.info/heathrow-airport-terminal-5.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20110430195211www.heathrow-airport-uk.info/heathrow-airport-terminal-5.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20110430195211www.heathrow-airport-uk.info/heathrow-airport-terminal-5.htm, 30 April 2011, dead,
- Gatwick Airport, south of London in West Sussex, handles flights to more destinations than any other UK airport and is the main base of easyJet, the UK’s largest airline by number of passengers.WEB, Airline Data Annual Reports 2017,www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airlines/Datasets/UK-Airline-data/2017/Airline-data-annual-reports-2017/, 25 March 2021, Civil Aviation Authority,
- London Stansted Airport, north-east of London in Essex, has flights that serve the greatest number of European destinations of any UK airport and is the main base of Ryanair, the world’s largest international airline by number of international passengers.WEB,www.stanstedairport.com/about-us/london-stansted-airport-and-mag/facts-and-figures/, Facts and Figures – Stansted Airport, stanstedairport.com,
- Luton Airport, to the north of London in Bedfordshire, is used by several budget airlines (especially easyJet and Wizz Air) for short-haul flights.BOOK,www.london-luton.co.uk/en/, London Luton Airport, 1969, London Luton Airport, 27 April 2008, 978-0-11-510256-1,www.london-luton.co.uk/en," title="web.archive.org/web/20110501023741www.london-luton.co.uk/en,">web.archive.org/web/20110501023741www.london-luton.co.uk/en, 1 May 2011, dead,
- London City Airport, the most central airport and the one with the shortest runway, in Newham, East London, is focused on business travellers, with a mixture of full-service short-haul scheduled flights and considerable business jet traffic.WEB,www.londoncityairport.com/Default.aspx, London City Airport — Corporate Information, London City Airport Ltd., 6 June 2008,www.londoncityairport.com/Default.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20110423115236www.londoncityairport.com/Default.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20110423115236www.londoncityairport.com/Default.aspx, 23 April 2011, dead,
- London Southend Airport, east of London in Essex, is a smaller, regional airport that caters for short-haul flights on a limited, though growing, number of airlines.WEB, Londoners love our airport, 18 May 2018, Adam, Cornell, live,www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16234556.Londoners_love_our_airport/?ref=rss,www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16234556.Londoners_love_our_airport/?ref=rss," title="web.archive.org/web/20190612091241www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16234556.Londoners_love_our_airport/?ref=rss,">web.archive.org/web/20190612091241www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16234556.Londoners_love_our_airport/?ref=rss, 12 June 2019, 8 August 2019, In 2017, international passengers made up over 95% of the total at Southend, the highest proportion of any London airport.WEB, 2017, Airport data 2017 – UK Civil Aviation Authority,www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2017/, live,web.archive.org/web/20210226130311/https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2017/, 26 February 2021, 25 March 2021, Civil Aviation Authority,
Rail
Underground and DLR
{{multiple image| align = right| direction = vertical| header =| width = 216| image1 = Baker Street tube station MMB 19 S Stock.jpg| width1 =| alt1 = | caption1 = The London Underground, opened in January 1863, is the world’s oldest and third-longest rapid transit system| image2 = Monument Underground Station - geograph.org.uk - 5468795.jpg| alt2 = | caption2 = The roundel symbol designed by Edward Johnston and trademarked in 1917}}Opened in 1863, the London Underground, commonly referred to as the Tube or just the Underground, is the oldest and third longest metro system in the world.NEWS,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20641351, Oyster card celebrates 150th Tube anniversary, BBC News, 10 December 2012, 10 January 2013, NEWS,www.citymetric.com/transport/what-largest-metro-system-world-1361, What is the largest metro system in the world?, 5 September 2015, City Metric, 12 June 2018, London, 12 June 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190612085224/https://www.citymetric.com/transport/what-largest-metro-system-world-1361, dead, The system serves 272 stations, and was formed from several private companies, including the world’s first underground electric line, the City and South London Railway, which opened in 1890.NEWS, A brief history of the Underground,tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/london-underground/a-brief-history-of-the-underground, 23 January 2023, Transport for London, Over four million journeys are made every day on the Underground network, over 1 billion each year.PRESS RELEASE,www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/7103.html, Tube breaks record for passenger numbers, Transport for London, 27 December 2007, 5 February 2011,www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/7103.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110427025251www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/7103.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110427025251www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/7103.html, 27 April 2011, dead, An investment programme is attempting to reduce congestion and improve reliability, including £6.5 billion (€7.7 billion) spent before the 2012 Summer Olympics.WEB, The London 2012 legacy,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/25869.aspx,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/25869.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20121018211357www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/25869.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20121018211357www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/25869.aspx, dead, 18 October 2012, Transport for London, 11 August 2013, The Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which opened in 1987, is a second, more local metro system using smaller and lighter tram-type vehicles that serve the Docklands, Greenwich and Lewisham.WEB,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/dlr, London’s transport - a history: Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Transport for London, 17 November 2023, live,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/dlr," title="web.archive.org/web/20140615201803www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/dlr,">web.archive.org/web/20140615201803www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/dlr, 15 June 2014,Suburban
There are 368 railway stations in the London Travelcard Zones on an extensive above-ground suburban railway network. South London, particularly, has a high concentration of railways as it has fewer Underground lines. Most rail lines terminate around the centre of London, running into eighteen terminal stations, with the exception of the Thameslink trains connecting Bedford in the north and Brighton in the south via Luton and Gatwick airports.WEB,www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=HomePage,www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=HomePage," title="web.archive.org/web/20100130091433www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=HomePage,">web.archive.org/web/20100130091433www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=HomePage, 30 January 2010, First Capital Connect, First Capital Connect, 27 April 2008, dead, London has Britain’s busiest station by number of passengers—Waterloo, with over 184 million people using the interchange station complex (which includes Waterloo East station) each year.WEB,www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529, Rail Station Usage, Office of Rail Regulation, 24 October 2009,www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529," title="web.archive.org/web/20070705115621www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529,">web.archive.org/web/20070705115621www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529, 5 July 2007, live, {{rws|Clapham Junction}} is one of Europe’s busiest rail interchanges.NEWS, Council looks at extension of London Underground’s Northern line to Clapham Junction,www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-underground-northern-line-clapham-junction-wandsworth-borough-council-b1056869.html, 15 April 2023, Evening Standard, With the need for more rail capacity, the Elizabeth Line (also known as Crossrail) opened in May 2022.NEWS,www.standard.co.uk/news/london/crossrail-elizabeth-line-opening-date-announced-may-24-london-tube-tfl-transport-for-london-b997837.html, Crossrail opening date finally announced, 4 May 2022, 4 May 2022, It is a new railway line running east to west through London and into the Home Counties with a branch to Heathrow Airport.WEB, 2021, Regional Map,www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/regional-map,www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/regional-map," title="web.archive.org/web/20101024104105www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/regional-map,">web.archive.org/web/20101024104105www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/regional-map, dead, 24 October 2010, 27 March 2021, Crossrail, It was Europe’s biggest construction project, with a £15 billion projected cost.NEWS, Lister, Richard, 2 January 2012, Crossrail’s giant tunnelling machines unveiled, BBC News,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16289051, 27 March 2021,Inter-city and international
File:St Pancras Railway Station 2012-06-23.jpg|thumb|St Pancras International is the main terminal for high-speed Eurostar and High Speed 1 services, as well as commuter suburban Thameslink and inter-city East Midlands RailwayEast Midlands RailwayLondon is the centre of the National Rail network, with 70 per cent of rail journeys starting or ending in London.WEB, 2014, Rail,londonfirst.co.uk/our-focus/londons-transport-infrastructure/rail/, dead,londonfirst.co.uk/our-focus/londons-transport-infrastructure/rail/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140407083946londonfirst.co.uk/our-focus/londons-transport-infrastructure/rail/,">web.archive.org/web/20140407083946londonfirst.co.uk/our-focus/londons-transport-infrastructure/rail/, 7 April 2014, 5 April 2014, London First, King’s Cross station and Euston station, both in London, are the starting points of the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line – the two main railway lines in Britain. Like suburban rail services, regional and inter-city trains depart from several termini around the city centre, directly linking London with most of Great Britain’s major cities and towns.WEB, Smithers, Andrew, 8 December 2020, Great Britain National Rail Train Operators,www.nationalrail.co.uk/TOCs%20AS%20v46%20Dec%202020.pdf, 27 March 2021, National Rail, 23 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210423051734/https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/TOCs%20AS%20v46%20Dec%202020.pdf, dead, The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has operated between London and Edinburgh since 1862; the world famous steam locomotive named after this service, Flying Scotsman, was the first locomotive to reach the officially authenticated speed of 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) in 1934.NEWS, The Flying Scotsman: How the first 100mph locomotive became the most famous train in the world,www.countrylife.co.uk/out-and-about/the-flying-scotsman-how-the-first-100mph-locomotive-became-the-most-famous-train-in-the-world-252287, 22 April 2023, Country Life (magazine), Country Life, Some international railway services to Continental Europe were operated during the 20th century as boat trains. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 connected London directly to the continental rail network, allowing Eurostar services to begin. Since 2007, high-speed trains link St. Pancras International with Lille, Calais, Paris, Disneyland Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and other European tourist destinations via the High Speed 1 rail link and the Channel Tunnel.WEB, 14 November 2007, Eurostar arrives in Paris on time,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7093761.stm, 27 March 2021, BBC News, The first high-speed domestic trains started in June 2009 linking Kent to London.WEB,www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/highspeed/, Highspeed, Southeastern, 5 February 2011,www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/highspeed/," title="web.archive.org/web/20110501110057www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/highspeed/,">web.archive.org/web/20110501110057www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/highspeed/, 1 May 2011, dead, There are plans for a second high speed line linking London to the Midlands, North West England, and Yorkshire.WEB, 11 February 2021, Phase 2a Act to bring HS2 to the north,www.gov.uk/government/news/phase-2a-act-to-bring-hs2-to-the-north, 28 July 2022, gov.uk, en,Buses, coaches and trams
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}}London’s bus network runs 24 hours a day with about 9,300 vehicles, over 675 bus routes and about 19,000 bus stops.WEB, What we do – Buses,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/buses, Transport for London, 5 April 2014, In 2019 the network had over 2 billion commuter trips per year.WEB, 28 October 2020, Annual bus statistics: England 2019/20,assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929992/annual-bus-statistics-year-ending-march-2020.pdf, 25 March 2021, Department for Transport, 2, Since 2010 an average of £1.2 billion is taken in revenue each year.WEB, 24 March 2021, Government support for the bus industry and concessionary travel (England) (BUS05),www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus05-subsidies-and-concessions, 26 March 2021, GOV.UK, BUS0501: Operating revenue for local bus services by revenue type, by metropolitan area status: England (ODS, 34.7KB), London has one of the largest wheelchair-accessible networks in the worldWEB, 20 June 2017, Most Accessible Cities Around The World,www.sunrisemedical.com.au/blog/world-accessible-cities, 26 March 2021, Sunrise Medical, and from the third quarter of 2007, became more accessible to hearing and visually impaired passengers as audio-visual announcements were introduced.WEB, 2016, Leading the way – Travelling with a sensory impairment in London,www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/leading_the_way_march_2016.pdf, 26 March 2021, Greater London Authority, An emblem of London, the red double-decker bus first appeared in the city in 1947 with the AEC Regent III RT (predecessor to the AEC Routemaster).BOOK, Blake, Jim, London Transport Buses in the 1960s, 2022, Pen & Sword Books, 9, London’s coach hub is Victoria Coach Station, opened in 1932. Nationalised in 1970 and then purchased by London Transport (now Transport for London), Victoria Coach Station has over 14 million passengers a year and provides services across the UK and continental Europe.PRESS RELEASE, Victoria Coach Station to remain major coach hub,tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/august/victoria-coach-station-to-remain-major-coach-hub, 23 August 2019, 11 June 2022, Transport for London, London has a modern tram network, known as Tramlink. It has 39 stops and four routes, and carried 28 million people in 2013.PRESS RELEASE, Tram-endous boost for travellers, Transport for London,tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/news-articles/tram-endous-boost-for-travellers, 26 March 2021, 4 April 2016,web.archive.org/web/20160513142204/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/news-articles/tram-endous-boost-for-travellers, dead, 13 May 2016, Since June 2008, Transport for London has completely owned and operated Tramlink.WEB, 25 June 2008, Statement of Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2008,content.tfl.gov.uk/6-Statement-of-Acounts-2008.pdf, 26 March 2021, Transport for London, 67, | align = left
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Cable car
London’s first and to date only cable car is the London Cable Car, which opened in June 2012. The cable car crosses the Thames and links Greenwich Peninsula with the Royal Docks in the east of the city. It is able to carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction at peak times.NEWS,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18619936, BBC News, Thames cable car opens for passengers, 28 June 2012, 2 July 2023,Cycling
File:Belgrave Road, Victoria, London - Boris Bikes - Santander Cycles by Elliott Brown.jpg|thumb|Santander Cycle Hire, near Victoria in Central London]]In the Greater London Area, around 670,000 people use a bike every day,WEB, 2016, Travel in London Report 9,content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-report-9.pdf, 25 March 2021, Transport for London, 143, meaning around 7% of the total population of around 8.8 million use a bike on an average day.WEB, United Kingdom: Greater London: Boroughs – Population Statistics, Charts and Map,www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/greaterlondon/, 25 March 2021, citypopulation.de, Cycling has become an increasingly popular way to get around London. The launch of a bicycle hire scheme in July 2010 was successful and generally well received.WEB, 2016, Travel in London Report 9,content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-report-9.pdf, 25 March 2021, Travel in London, 146–147,Port and river boats
The Port of London, once the largest in the world, is now only the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 45 million tonnes of cargo each year as of 2009.WEB, 10 June 2010, Provisional Port Statistics 2009,www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/maritime/ports/provportstats2009, dead,webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110203090417/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/maritime/ports/provportstats2009, 3 February 2011, 26 April 2011, Department for Transport, Most of this cargo passes through the Port of Tilbury, outside the boundary of Greater London.London has river boat services on the Thames known as Thames Clippers, which offer both commuter and tourist boat services.BOOK, Steves, Rick, Rick Steves England, 17 March 2020, Avalon Publishing, 978-1-64171-237-8, en, At major piers including Canary Wharf, London Bridge City, Battersea Power Station and London Eye (Waterloo), services depart at least every 20 minutes during commuter times.WEB, 2021, Commute Through London – Uber Boat by Thames Clippers,www.thamesclippers.com/commuters/commute-by-river, 26 March 2021, thamesclippers.com, en-GB, The Woolwich Ferry, with 2.5 million passengers every year, is a frequent service linking the North and South Circular Roads.WEB, 16 April 2013, Woolwich Ferries celebrate 50 years of service,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/27762.aspx, dead,www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/27762.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20130922034512www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/27762.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20130922034512www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/27762.aspx, 22 September 2013, 26 March 2021, Transport of London,Roads
Although the majority of journeys in central London are made by public transport, car travel is common in the suburbs. The inner ring road (around the city centre), the North and South Circular roads (just within the suburbs), and the outer orbital motorway (the M25, just outside the built-up area in most places) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes—but very few motorways penetrate into inner London. The M25 is the second-longest ring-road motorway in Europe at {{convert|117|mi|adj=off}} long.WEB, Highways Agency, 25 June 2018,www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m25/, 25 June 2018, M25,www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m25/," title="web.archive.org/web/20180626030215www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m25/,">web.archive.org/web/20180626030215www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m25/, 26 June 2018, dead, The A1 and M1 connect London to Leeds, and Newcastle and Edinburgh.WEB,www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/f99/1.shtml, SABRE - Road Lists - The First 99 - A1, Sabre-roads.org.uk, 14 June 2023, 15 November 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211115121242/https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/f99/1.shtml, dead, File:16-11-16-Glasgow street scene-RR2 7280 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The hackney carriage (black cab) is a common sight on London streets. Black has been its standard colour since the Austin FX3Austin FX3The Austin Motor Company began making hackney carriages (London taxis) in 1929, and models include Austin FX3 from 1948, Austin FX4 from 1958, with more recent models TXII and TX4 manufactured by London Taxis International. The BBC states, “ubiquitous black cabs and red double-decker buses all have long and tangled stories that are deeply embedded in London’s traditions”.Although traditionally black, some are painted in other colours or bear advertising.NEWS, THE RULES: Why can London taxis choose to display advertising livery, but minicabs can’t?,www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/the-rules-why-can-london-taxis-choose-to-display-advertising-livery-but-minicabs-can-t, 18 May 2024, Taxi point, London is notorious for its traffic congestion; in 2009, the average speed of a car in the rush hour was recorded at {{convert|10.6|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.NEWS, Mulholland, Hélène, Boris Johnson mulls ‘intelligent’ congestion charge system for London,www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/16/boris-johnson-congestion-charge, The Guardian, London, 16 March 2009, In 2003, a congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of central London.WEB,theconversation.com/london-congestion-charge-what-worked-what-didnt-what-next-92478, London congestion charge: what worked, what didn’t, what next, Badstuber, Nicole, The Conversation, 2 March 2018, 28 April 2020, Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a greatly reduced season pass.WEB,www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/congestion/, Central London Congestion Charging, England, Verdict Traffic, 28 April 2020, Over the course of several years, the average number of cars entering the centre of London on a weekday was reduced from 195,000 to 125,000.Table 3 in Santos, Georgina; Button, Kenneth; Noll, Roger G. “London Congestion Charging/Comments.” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs.15287084 (2008): 177,177–234.Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) were widely introduced in London, but in 2023 the Department for Transport stopped funding them, even though the benefits outweighed the costs by approximately 100 times in the first 20 years and the difference is growing over time.NEWS, Walker, Peter, Health gains of low-traffic schemes up to 100 times greater than costs, study finds,www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/08/health-gains-of-low-traffic-schemes-up-to-100-times-greater-than-costs-study-finds, 10 March 2024, The Guardian, London, 8 March 2024,Education
Tertiary education
{{See also|List of universities and higher education colleges in London}}File:University College London -quadrant-11Sept2006 (1).jpg|thumb|University College London (UCL), established by Royal Charter in 1836, is one of the founding colleges of the University of LondonUniversity of LondonFile:Imperial College London down Exhibition Road.jpg|thumb|Imperial College London, a technical research university focusing on science, engineering, medicine and business, in South KensingtonSouth KensingtonFile:Centre Building, LSE from LSE Square.jpg|thumb|The London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsLondon is a major global centre of higher education teaching and research and has the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. According to the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, London has the greatest concentration of top class universities in the worldWEB, 11 September 2015, QS World University Rankings® 2015/16,www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2015#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=, dead,web.archive.org/web/20150914234029/https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2015#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=, 14 September 2015, 27 March 2021, Top Universities, and its international student population of around 110,000 is larger than any other city in the world.WEB, Malthouse, Kit, 1 January 1990, Capital offer,www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking/analysis/capital-offer, 27 March 2021, timeshighereducation.com, A 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers report termed London the global capital of higher education.WEB,pdf.pwc.co.uk/cities-of-opportunity-2014-london.pdf, Pricewaterhousecoopers, 26 September 2015,pdf.pwc.co.uk/cities-of-opportunity-2014-london.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20180612143014pdf.pwc.co.uk/cities-of-opportunity-2014-london.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20180612143014pdf.pwc.co.uk/cities-of-opportunity-2014-london.pdf, 12 June 2018, dead, A number of world-leading education institutions are based in London. In the 2022 QS World University Rankings, Imperial College London is ranked No. 6 in the world, University College London (UCL) is ranked 8th, and King’s College London (KCL) is ranked 37th.WEB, QS World University Rankings 2023: Top Global Universities,www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023, 19 September 2022, Top Universities, en, All are regularly ranked highly, with Imperial College being the UK’s leading university in the Research Excellence Framework ranking 2021.WEB, 12 May 2022, REF 2021: Quality ratings hit new high in expanded assessment,www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ref-2021-research-excellence-framework-results-announced, 19 September 2022, Times Higher Education, en, The London School of Economics (LSE) has been described as the world’s leading social science institution for both teaching and research.NEWS, Hipwell, Deirdre, 23 September 2007, London School of Economics and Political Science, The Times, London,www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article2496158.ece, dead, 27 March 2021,www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article2496158.ece," title="web.archive.org/web/20081202225123www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article2496158.ece,">web.archive.org/web/20081202225123www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article2496158.ece, 2 December 2008, The London Business School is considered one of the world’s leading business schools and in 2015 its MBA programme was ranked second-best in the world by the Financial Times.NEWS,rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings, FT Global MBA Rankings, Financial Times, 25 January 2010,rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings," title="web.archive.org/web/20110504135153rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings,">web.archive.org/web/20110504135153rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings, 4 May 2011, live, London, The city is also home to three of the world’s top ten performing arts schools (as ranked by the 2020 QS World University RankingsWEB,www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2020/performing-arts, Performing Arts, 25 February 2020, Top Universities, ): the Royal College of Music (ranking 2nd in the world), the Royal Academy of Music (ranking 4th) and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (ranking 6th).NEWS, 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject: Performing Arts,www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2022/performing-arts, 26 June 2022, Top Universities.com, With{{HESA student population|INSTID=LON}} students in London and around 48,000 in University of London Worldwide,WEB,london.ac.uk/sites/default/files/governance/university-of-london-financial-statement-2018-19.pdf, Financial Statements 2018–19, University of London, 1 March 2020, 8, the federal University of London is the largest contact teaching university in the UK.WEB, 2007, Table 0a – All Students by Institution, Mode of Study, Level of Study, Gender and Domicile 2005/06,www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0506.xls, dead,www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0506.xls," title="web.archive.org/web/20070928044330www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0506.xls,">web.archive.org/web/20070928044330www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0506.xls, 28 September 2007, 27 March 2021, HESA, It includes five multi-faculty universities – City, King’s College London, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway and UCL – and a number of smaller and more specialised institutions including Birkbeck, the Courtauld Institute of Art, Goldsmiths, the London Business School, the London School of Economics, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Royal Academy of Music, the Central School of Speech and Drama, the Royal Veterinary College and the School of Oriental and African Studies.WEB, Member institutions,london.ac.uk/ways-study/study-campus-london/member-institutions, 27 March 2021, University of London, en, Universities in London outside the University of London system include Brunel University, Imperial College London,{{refn|Imperial College London was a constituent college of the University of London between 1908 and 2007. Degrees during this time were awarded by the federal university; however, the college now issues its own degrees.|group=note}} Kingston University, London Metropolitan University, University of East London, University of West London, University of Westminster, London South Bank University, Middlesex University, and University of the Arts London (the largest university of art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts in Europe).NEWS,www.theguardian.com/education/2008/may/01/universityguide.highereducation42, University of the Arts London, 1 May 2008, The Guardian, 27 August 2010,www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/may/01/universityguide.highereducation42," title="web.archive.org/web/20110501135123www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/may/01/universityguide.highereducation42,">web.archive.org/web/20110501135123www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/may/01/universityguide.highereducation42, 1 May 2011, live, London, In addition, there are three international universities – Regent’s University London, Richmond, The American International University in London and Schiller International University.File:KCL Guys Campus1.jpg|thumb|left|King’s College London’s Guy’s Campus, home to the university’s Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine ]]London is home to five major medical schools – Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of Queen Mary), King’s College London School of Medicine (the largest medical school in Europe), Imperial College School of Medicine, UCL Medical School and St George’s, University of London – and has many affiliated teaching hospitals. It is also a major centre for biomedical research, and three of the UK’s eight academic health science centres are based in the city – Imperial College Healthcare, King’s Health Partners and UCL Partners (the largest such centre in Europe).NEWS,www.theguardian.com/society/2008/aug/07/health.highereducation, NHS hospitals to forge £2bn research link-up with university, Carvel, John, 7 August 2008, The Guardian, 6 September 2010,www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/07/health.highereducation," title="web.archive.org/web/20110501140334www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/07/health.highereducation,">web.archive.org/web/20110501140334www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/07/health.highereducation, 1 May 2011, live, London, Additionally, many biomedical and biotechnology spin out companies from these research institutions are based around the city, most prominently in White City. Founded by pioneering nurse Florence Nightingale at St Thomas’ Hospital in 1860, the first nursing school is now part of King’s College London.NEWS, Florence Nightingale: The Mother of Nursing, National Institutes of Health, 2015, 4557413, Karimi, H., Masoudi Alavi, N., 4, 2, e29475, 26339672, It was at King’s in 1952 where a team led by Rosalind Franklin captured Photo 51, the critical evidence in identifying the structure of DNA.WEB,www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51/anat-flash.html, Anatomy of Photo 51, Krock, Lexi, NOVA online, PBS, 22 April 2003, 19 April 2023,www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51/anat-flash.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20100729050654www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51/anat-flash.html,">web.archive.org/web/20100729050654www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51/anat-flash.html, 29 July 2010, live, There are a number of business schools in London, including the London School of Business and Finance, Cass Business School (part of City University London), Hult International Business School, ESCP Europe, European Business School London, Imperial College Business School, the London Business School and the UCL School of Management.File:Architectural sculpture, RADA.jpg|thumb|right|Opened in 1904, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) is a member of the Federation of Drama SchoolsFederation of Drama SchoolsLondon is also home to many specialist arts education institutions, including the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Central School of Ballet, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), London College of Contemporary Arts (LCCA),the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London Contemporary Dance School, National Centre for Circus Arts, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, the Royal College of Art, Sylvia Young Theatre School and Trinity Laban. The BRIT School in the London borough of Croydon provides training for the performing arts and technologies.WEB,www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/11-famous-former-pupils-you-432659, 11 of the most famous people who studied at Croydon’s BRIT School, Truelove, Sam, 13 October 2016, Croydon Advertiser, 17 July 2022,Primary and secondary education
{{see also|Centre for School Design}}The majority of primary and secondary schools and further-education colleges in London are controlled by the London boroughs or otherwise state-funded; leading examples include Ashbourne College, Bethnal Green Academy, Brampton Manor Academy, City and Islington College, City of Westminster College, David Game College, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, Leyton Sixth Form College, London Academy of Excellence, Tower Hamlets College, and Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre. There are also a number of private schools and colleges in London, some old and famous, such as City of London School, Harrow (alumni includes seven former British prime ministers), St Paul’s School, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, University College School, The John Lyon School, Highgate School and Westminster School.NEWS, Schools: Harrow School,www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp299-302, 2 May 2024, BHO,Royal Observatory, Greenwich and learned societies
File:Tourists taking pictures at Prime Meridian monument, Greenwich Observatory, London.jpg|thumb|upright=1|right|Tourists queuing to take pictures on the line of the historic prime meridian at the Royal Observatory, GreenwichRoyal Observatory, GreenwichFounded in 1675, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich was established to address the problem of calculating longitude for navigational purposes. This pioneering work in solving longitude featured in astronomer royal Nevil Maskelyne’s Nautical Almanac which made the Greenwich meridian the universal reference point, and helped lead to the international adoption of Greenwich as the prime meridian (0° longitude) in 1884.BOOK, Ridpath, Ian, A Dictionary of Astronomy, 2012, Oxford University Press, 198, Important scientific learned societies based in London include the Royal Society—the UK’s national academy of sciences and the oldest national scientific institution in the world—founded in 1660,ENCYCLOPEDIA, Royal Society, Encyclopædia Britannica,www.britannica.com/topic/Royal-Society, 23 July 2022, Hunter, Michael, and the Royal Institution, founded in 1799. Since 1825, the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have presented scientific subjects to a general audience, and speakers have included physicist and inventor Michael Faraday, aerospace engineer Frank Whittle, naturalist David Attenborough and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.WEB, History of the Christmas Lectures,www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/history, The Royal Institution, 22 April 2015,Culture
Leisure and entertainment
{{see also|List of annual events in London|West End theatre}}Leisure is a major part of the London economy. A 2003 report attributed a quarter of the entire UK leisure economy to LondonWEB, Mayor of London – Spending Time: Londons Leisure Economy,www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/spending_time.jsp,www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/spending_time.jsp," title="web.archive.org/web/20031219084151www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/spending_time.jsp,">web.archive.org/web/20031219084151www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/spending_time.jsp, dead, 19 December 2003, london.gov.uk, 30 September 2015, at 25.6 events per 1000 people.WEB, Chadha, Aayush, UK Event Data – In Review,www.tickx.co.uk/article/772, tickx.co.uk, 11 December 2017, 1 December 2017,web.archive.org/web/20171201232544/https://www.tickx.co.uk/article/772, dead, The city is one of the four fashion capitals of the world, and, according to official statistics, is the world’s third-busiest film production centre, presents more live comedy than any other city,WEB, 20 facts about London’s culture {{!, London City Hall |url=https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/arts-culture/promoting-arts-culture/20-facts-about-london-s-culture |website=London.gov.uk |access-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=web.archive.org/web/20151001092404/https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/arts-culture/promoting-arts-culture/20-facts-about-london-s-culture |archive-date=1 October 2015}} and has the biggest theatre audience of any city in the world.NEWS, Study puts London ahead of New York as centre for theatre,www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/54e31212-17f1-11e4-b842-00144feabdc0.html,www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/54e31212-17f1-11e4-b842-00144feabdc0.html," title="ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/54e31212-17f1-11e4-b842-00144feabdc0.html,">ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/54e31212-17f1-11e4-b842-00144feabdc0.html, 10 December 2022, subscription, Financial Times, London, 30 July 2014, 30 September 2015, James, Pickford, File:Harrods at Night, London - Nov 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|Harrods department store in KnightsbridgeKnightsbridgeWithin the City of Westminster in London, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premieres are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements.WEB,www.piccadillylights.co.uk/, Piccadilly Lights, Land Securities, 3 November 2008,www.piccadillylights.co.uk/," title="web.archive.org/web/20110426103109www.piccadillylights.co.uk/,">web.archive.org/web/20110426103109www.piccadillylights.co.uk/, 26 April 2011, dead, London’s theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs, and restaurants, including the city’s Chinatown district (in Soho), and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops. The city is the home of Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals have dominated West End theatre since the late 20th century.Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: the new musical The New York Times referred to Andrew Lloyd Webber as “the most commercially successful composer in history” Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, the world’s longest-running play, has been performed in the West End since 1952.NEWS, The Mousetrap at 60: why is this the world’s longest-running play?,www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/nov/20/mousetrap-60-years-agatha-christie, 20 July 2022, The Guardian, The Laurence Olivier Awards–named after Laurence Olivier–are given annually by the Society of London Theatre. The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Opera, and English National Opera are based in London and perform at the Royal Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as touring the country.WEB,www.yourlondon.gov.uk/visiting/topic.jsp?topicid=6482&search_title=Theatres+and+concert+halls, Theatres and concert halls, Your London, 6 June 2008,www.yourlondon.gov.uk/visiting/topic.jsp?topicid=6482&search_title=Theatres%2Band%2Bconcert%2Bhalls," title="web.archive.org/web/20080124185332www.yourlondon.gov.uk/visiting/topic.jsp?topicid=6482&search_title=Theatres%2Band%2Bconcert%2Bhalls,">web.archive.org/web/20080124185332www.yourlondon.gov.uk/visiting/topic.jsp?topicid=6482&search_title=Theatres%2Band%2Bconcert%2Bhalls, 24 January 2008, dead,LGBT scene
The first gay bar in London in the modern sense was The Cave of the Golden Calf, established as a night club in an underground location at 9 Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, in 1912 and “which developed a reputation for sexual freedom and tolerance of same-sex relations.“BOOK, London and the Culture of Homosexuality, 1885–1914 (Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture), Matt Cook, 978-0521089807, 6 November 2008, Cambridge University Press, registration,archive.org/details/londoncultureofh00matt, 120, File:Comptons-Of-Soho.jpg|thumb|upright|Comptons of Soho during London Pride in 2010]]While London has been an LGBT tourism destination, after homosexuality was decriminalised in England in 1967 gay bar culture became more visible, and from the early 1970s Soho (and in particular Old Compton Street) became the centre of the London LGBT community. G-A-Y, previously based at the Astoria, and now Heaven, is a long-running night club.WEB, 30 November 2019, Forty years of sheer Heaven at the London superclub,www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/30/40-years-of-sheer-heaven-london-gay-superclub, 25 August 2022, The Guardian, en, Wider British cultural movements have influenced LGBT culture: for example, the emergence of glam rock in the UK in the early 1970s, via Marc Bolan and David Bowie, saw a generation of teenagers begin playing with the idea of androgyny, and the West End musical The Rocky Horror Show, which debuted in London in 1973, is also widely said to have been an influence on countercultural and sexual liberation movements.NEWS, 25 September 2015, We Live in the World ‘Rocky Horror’ Created, en-US, Flavorwire,flavorwire.com/539534/we-live-in-the-world-rocky-horror-created, 22 May 2017, The Blitz Kids (which included Boy George) frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, helping launch the New Romantic subcultural movement in the late 1970s.WEB,www.theblitzkids.com/site_archive/theblitzkids/menuboy.html, Boy George, The Blitz Kids, 30 June 2022, dead,theblitzkids.com/site_archive/theblitzkids/menuboy.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110830193512theblitzkids.com/site_archive/theblitzkids/menuboy.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110830193512theblitzkids.com/site_archive/theblitzkids/menuboy.html, 30 August 2011, Today, the annual London Pride Parade and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival are held in the city.Olson, Donald. London for Dummies (Volume 136 of Dummies Travel). John Wiley & Sons, 2 February 2010. 6th Edition. {{ISBN|0470619651}}, 9780470619650. p. 67.Literature, film and television
File:Sherlock Holmes Museum.jpg|left|thumb|Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker StreetBaker StreetLondon has been the setting for many works of literature. The pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer’s late 14th-century Canterbury Tales set out for Canterbury from London. William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary Ben Jonson was also based there, and some of his work, most notably his play The Alchemist, was set in the city. A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) by Daniel Defoe is a fictionalisation of the events of the 1665 Great Plague.The literary centres of London have traditionally been hilly Hampstead and (since the early 20th century) Bloomsbury. Writers closely associated with the city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire; Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has influenced people’s vision of early Victorian London; and Virginia Woolf, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century.WEB,www.brynmawr.edu/library/speccoll/guides/london/londoninliterature.shtml, London in Literature, Bryn Mawr College, 6 June 2008,www.brynmawr.edu/library/speccoll/guides/london/londoninliterature.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20110427043832www.brynmawr.edu/library/speccoll/guides/london/londoninliterature.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20110427043832www.brynmawr.edu/library/speccoll/guides/london/londoninliterature.shtml, 27 April 2011, live, Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early 20th centuries are Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Robert Louis Stevenson mixed in London literary circles, and in 1886 he wrote the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a gothic novella set in Victorian London.NEWS, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,www.britishlibrary.cn/en/works/jekyllandhyde/, 15 June 2023, British Library, In 1898, H. G. Wells’ sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds sees London (and southern England) invaded by Martians.NEWS, The War of the Worlds,www.britannica.com/topic/The-War-of-the-Worlds-novel-by-Wells#ref343460, 2 August 2022, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Letitia Elizabeth Landon wrote Calendar of the London Seasons in 1834. Modern writers influenced by the city include Peter Ackroyd, author of (London: The Biography), and Iain Sinclair, who writes in the genre of psychogeography. In the 1940s, George Orwell wrote essays in the London Evening Standard, including “A Nice Cup of Tea” (method for making tea) and “The Moon Under Water” (an ideal pub).NEWS, Orwell in the Evening Standard,orwellsociety.com/orwell-in-the-evening-standard/, 27 June 2022, Orwell Society, The WWII evacuation of children from London is depicted in C. S. Lewis’ first Narnia book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950). On Christmas Eve 1925, Winnie-the-Pooh debuted in London’s Evening News, with the character based on a stuffed toy A. A. Milne bought for his son Christopher Robin in Harrods.NEWS, Winnie-the-Pooh goes to Harrods in new authorised AA Milne prequel,www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/23/winnie-the-pooh-goes-to-harrods-in-new-authorised-aa-milne-prequel, 23 April 2023, The Guardian, In 1958, author Michael Bond created Paddington Bear, a refugee found in Paddington station. A screen adaptation, Paddington (2014), features the calypso song “London is the Place for Me”.WEB, Paddington.com,www.paddington.com/global/about/timeline/, About, dead,paddington.com/global/about/timeline/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160817131744paddington.com/global/about/timeline/,">web.archive.org/web/20160817131744paddington.com/global/about/timeline/, 17 August 2016, {{wikisource|Calendar of the London Seasons/Calendar of the London Seasons|’Calendar of the London Seasons’, by L. E. L.}}File:London July 2010 (4818942309).jpg|thumb|Opened in 1937, the Odeon cinema in Leicester SquareLeicester SquareLondon has played a significant role in the film industry. Major studios within or bordering London include Pinewood, Elstree, Ealing, Shepperton, Twickenham, and Leavesden, with the James Bond and Harry Potter series among many notable films produced here.NEWS, The Harry Potter economy,www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2009/12/17/the-harry-potter-economy, 8 July 2022, The Economist, WEB,filmlondon.org.uk/studio-contacts, Film London – studio contacts, Filmlondon.org.uk, 27 May 2017,filmlondon.org.uk/studio-contacts," title="web.archive.org/web/20170810011712filmlondon.org.uk/studio-contacts,">web.archive.org/web/20170810011712filmlondon.org.uk/studio-contacts, 10 August 2017, dead, Working Title Films has its headquarters in London. A post-production community is centred in Soho, and London houses six of the world’s largest visual effects companies, such as Framestore.NEWS, The UK’s VFX Industry: In Profile,www.ukscreenalliance.co.uk/subpages/the-uks-vfx-industry-in-profile/, 7 July 2022, UK Screen Alliance, The Imaginarium, a digital performance-capture studio, was founded by Andy Serkis.WEB, Who We Are,www.theimaginariumstudios.com/who-we-are, The Imaginarium Studios, 5 October 2012, dead,www.theimaginariumstudios.com/who-we-are," title="web.archive.org/web/20121031092554www.theimaginariumstudios.com/who-we-are,">web.archive.org/web/20121031092554www.theimaginariumstudios.com/who-we-are, 31 October 2012, London has been the setting for films including Oliver Twist (1948), Scrooge (1951), Peter Pan (1953), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), My Fair Lady (1964), Mary Poppins (1964), Blowup (1966), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Long Good Friday (1980), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Notting Hill (1999), Love Actually (2003), V for Vendetta (2005), (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) (2008) and The King’s Speech (2010). Notable actors and filmmakers from London include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Caine, Julie Andrews, Peter Sellers, David Lean, Julie Christie, Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan, Alan Rickman, Jude Law, Helena Bonham Carter, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Riz Ahmed, Dev Patel, Daniel Kaluuya, Tom Holland and Daniel Day-Lewis. Post-war Ealing comedies featured Alec Guinness, from the 1950s Hammer Horrors starred Christopher Lee, films by Michael Powell included the London-set early slasher Peeping Tom (1960), the 1970s comedy troupe Monty Python had film editing suites in Covent Garden, while since the 1990s Richard Curtis’s rom-coms have featured Hugh Grant. The largest cinema chain in the country, Odeon Cinemas was founded in London in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch.WEB, Feature: The legacy of Oscar Deutsch’s cinemas,www.theguardian.com/arts/critic/feature/0,1169,717532,00.html, The Guardian, 8 July 2022, The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been held in London since 1949, with the BAFTA Fellowship the Academy’s highest accolade.WEB,heritage.bafta.org/moment/1971/the-fellowship-baftas-top-prize/60, BAFTA, 19 June 2023, The Fellowship: BAFTA’s top prize, 13 May 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190513071405/https://heritage.bafta.org/moment/1971/the-fellowship-baftas-top-prize/60, live, Founded in 1957, the BFI London Film Festival takes place over two weeks every October.MAGAZINE, Variety (magazine), Variety,variety.com/2020/film/global/kate-winslet-saoirse-ronan-london-film-festival-1234748238/, Saoirse Ronan, Kate Winslet Drama ‘Ammonite’ to Close BFI London Film Festival, 26 August 2020, 8 July 2022, London is a major centre for television production, with studios including Television Centre, ITV Studios, Sky Campus and Fountain Studios; the latter hosted the original talent shows, Pop Idol, The X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent (the latter two created by TV personality Simon Cowell who starred as a judge in all three shows), before each format was exported around the world.NEWS, The scribbled note that changed TV,www.theguardian.com/media/2009/oct/26/x-factor-cowell-fuller, 4 October 2019, The Guardian, NEWS,variety.com/2015/tv/spotlight/itv-simon-cowell-talks-strong-ties-with-brit-broadcaster-1201467913/, ITV: Simon Cowell Talks Strong Ties With Brit Broadcaster, Variety, 7 April 2015, Formerly a franchise of ITV, Thames Television featured comedians such as Benny Hill and Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean was first screened by Thames), while Talkback produced Da Ali G Show which featured Sacha Baron Cohen as Ali G.NEWS, Da Ali G Show (TV Series),www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-zteorv/da-ali-g-show/, 8 July 2022, Radio Times, Many television shows have been set in London, including the popular television soap opera EastEnders.NEWS, EastEnders Episode 1, 19/02/1985,www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b053l8b7, 28 June 2023, BBC,Museums, art galleries and libraries
File:Kensington Museums aerial 2011 b.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Aerial view of Albertopolis. The Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Geographical Society, and Royal College of Art are visible near the top; Victoria and Albert Museum and Natural History Museum at the lower end; Imperial College, Royal College of Music, and Science Museum lying in between.]]London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British Museum in Bloomsbury, in 1753.WEB, The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane,www.bl.uk/events/the-life-and-curiosity-of-hans-sloane, 27 March 2021, The British Library, 19 November 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181119150309/https://www.bl.uk/events/the-life-and-curiosity-of-hans-sloane, dead, Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens, and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artefacts from around the globe. In 1824, the National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in Trafalgar Square.{{citation |last= Liscombe |first= R. W.|year= 1980|title= William Wilkins, 1778–1839 |place= Cambridge |publisher= Cambridge University Press|pages=180–82 }}The British Library is the second largest library in the world, and the national library of the United Kingdom.WEB, Sen Nag, Oishimaya, 5 March 2018, The Largest Libraries In The World,www.worldatlas.com/articles/5-largest-libraries-in-the-world.html, 30 March 2021, World Atlas, en-US, There are many other research libraries, including the Wellcome Library and Dana Centre, as well as university libraries, including the British Library of Political and Economic Science at LSE, the Abdus Salam Library at Imperial, the Maughan Library at King’s, and the Senate House Libraries at the University of London.NEWS, Bayley, Sian, 21 February 2019, Best libraries in London: The V&A, British Library, Wellcome Trust, BFI and more, Evening Standard,www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/culturecity/best-libraries-in-london-wellcome-trust-british-library-canada-water-victoria-and-albert-guildhall-a4072696.html, 26 March 2021, In the latter half of the 19th century the locale of South Kensington was developed as “Albertopolis”, a cultural and scientific quarter. Three major national museums are there: the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum. The National Portrait Gallery was founded in 1856 to house depictions of figures from British history; its holdings now comprise the world’s most extensive collection of portraits.WEB, Cullinan (Director), Nicholas, Organisation – National Portrait Gallery,www.npg.org.uk/about/organisation.php, 26 March 2021, National Portrait Gallery, The national gallery of British art is at Tate Britain, originally established as an annexe of the National Gallery in 1897. The Tate Gallery, as it was formerly known, also became a major centre for modern art. In 2000, this collection moved to Tate Modern, a new gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station which is accessed by pedestrians north of the Thames via the Millennium Bridge.NEWS, Millennium Bridge,www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/442404-millennium-bridge, 27 July 2022, Visit London,Music
File:Royal Albert Hall.001 - London.JPG|The Royal Albert Hall hosts concerts and musical events, including The PromsThe PromsLondon is one of the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and hosts major music corporations, such as Universal Music Group International and Warner Music Group, and countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. The city is also home to many orchestras and concert halls, such as the Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus), the Southbank Centre (London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra), Cadogan Hall (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Royal Albert Hall (The Proms). The Proms, an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music first held in 1895, ends with the Last Night of the Proms. London’s two main opera houses are the Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum (home to the English National Opera). The UK’s largest pipe organ is at the Royal Albert Hall. Other significant instruments are in cathedrals and major churches—the church bells of St Clement Danes feature in the 1744 nursery rhyme “Oranges and Lemons”.BOOK, The Layman’s Magazine of the Living Church, Issues 1-20, 1940, Morehouse-Gorham, 5, Several conservatoires are within the city: Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban. The record label EMI was formed in the city in 1931, and an early employee for the company, Alan Blumlein, created stereo sound that year.NEWS, Early stereo recordings restored,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7537782.stm, BBC, 28 March 2023, 1 August 2008,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7537782.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080807025132news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7537782.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20080807025132news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7537782.stm, 7 August 2008, live, File:Abbey Rd Studios.jpg|thumb|left|Abbey Road Studios in Abbey Road ]]London has numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including the world’s busiest indoor venue, the O2 Arena,WEB, 2015 Year End Worldwide Ticket Sales – Top 200 Area Venues,www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2015/2015YearEndWorldwideTicketSalesTop200ArenaVenues.pdf, dead,arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517203229/http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2015/2015YearEndWorldwideTicketSalesTop200ArenaVenues.pdf, 17 May 2016, 26 March 2021, and Wembley Arena, as well as many mid-sized venues, such as Brixton Academy, the Hammersmith Apollo and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Several music festivals, including the Wireless Festival, Lovebox and Hyde Park’s British Summer Time, are held in London.WEB, Keens, Oliver, Levine, Nick, 11 March 2021, The best music festivals in London 2021,www.timeout.com/london/music-festivals/the-best-music-festivals-in-london?package_page=48331, 26 March 2021, Time Out London, The city is home to the original Hard Rock Cafe and the Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded many of their hits. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, musicians and groups like Elton John, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Queen, Eric Clapton, the Who, Cliff Richard, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, T. Rex, the Police, Elvis Costello, Dire Straits, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, the Cure, Madness, Culture Club, Dusty Springfield, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Status Quo and Sade, derived their sound from the streets and rhythms of London.BOOK, Tow, Stephen, London, Reign Over Me How England’s Capital Built Classic Rock, 2020, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, BOOK,www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/04/06/garycrowley_londontop40_feature.shtml, London’s top 40 artists, 6 April 2006, BBC, 9 September 2008, 978-0-89820-135-2, London was instrumental in the development of punk music, with figures such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood all based in the city.WEB, 10 November 2015, PUNK – Paris Photo Special Feature,www.michaelhoppengallery.com/news/55/#:~:text=After%20a%20brief%20stint%20managing,the%20radical%20punk%20clothing%20style., 25 March 2021, Michael Hoppen Gallery, en, WEB, Whatley, Jack, In Pictures: The ‘Anarchy In The U.K. Tour’ of 1976, the infamous tour that never really toured,faroutmagazine.co.uk/in-pictures-the-anarchy-in-the-u-k-tour-of-1976-the-infamous-tour-that-never-really-toured/, 25 March 2021, Far Out Magazine, 14 March 2019, en-US, Other artists to emerge from the London music scene include George Michael, Kate Bush, Seal, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bush, the Spice Girls, Jamiroquai, Blur, the Prodigy, Gorillaz, Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Dido, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis, Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa and Florence and the Machine.WEB,www.londonbc.co.uk/history-of-music-in-london.html, History of music in London, The London Music Scene, 2 August 2009,www.londonbc.co.uk/history-of-music-in-london.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110427023619www.londonbc.co.uk/history-of-music-in-london.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110427023619www.londonbc.co.uk/history-of-music-in-london.html, 27 April 2011, dead, Artists from London played a prominent role in the development of synth-pop, including Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys and Eurythmics; the latter’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” was recorded in the attic of their north London home, heralding a trend for home recording methods.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=rPdJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23, 23, Dawn of the DAW: The Studio as Musical Instrument, Bell, Adam Patrick, 2018, Oxford University Press, 9780190296629, Artists from London with a Caribbean influence include Hot Chocolate, Billy Ocean, Soul II Soul and Eddy Grant, with the latter fusing reggae, soul and samba with rock and pop.WEB,www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/08/02/eddy-grants-electric-rock-38/74a1753f-17b5-451b-b873-e1fd9f9237b0/, Eddy Grant’s Electric Rock, Himes, Geoffrey, 2 August 1983, The Washington Post, 19 March 2021, London is also a centre for urban music. In particular the genres UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep and grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of house, hip hop, and reggae, alongside local drum and bass. Urban acts from London include Stormzy, M.I.A., Jay Sean and Rita Ora. Music station BBC Radio 1Xtra was set up to support the rise of local urban contemporary music both in London and in the rest of the United Kingdom. The British Phonographic Industry’s annual popular music awards, the Brit Awards, are held in London.WEB,www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1977, Brit Awards History, Brit Awards, en, 28 December 2019,Recreation
Parks and open spaces
{{see also|List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater London|List of local nature reserves in Greater London}}File:Hyde Park London from the air.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Hyde Park (with Kensington GardensKensington GardensA 2013 report by the City of London Corporation said that London is the “greenest city” in Europe with 35,000 acres (14,164 hectares) of public parks, woodlands and gardens.WEB, McGlone, Conor, 9 July 2013, London ‘greenest city’ in Europe,www.edie.net/news/6/London--greenest-city--in-Europe-/, 27 March 2021, edie.net, en, The largest parks in the central area of London are three of the eight Royal Parks, namely Hyde Park and its neighbour Kensington Gardens in the west, and Regent’s Park to the north.WEB,www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington_gardens/, Kensington Gardens, 2008, The Royal Parks, 26 April 2008,www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington_gardens/," title="web.archive.org/web/20100527231143www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington_gardens/,">web.archive.org/web/20100527231143www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington_gardens/, 27 May 2010, dead, Hyde Park in particular is popular for sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. Regent’s Park contains London Zoo, the world’s oldest scientific zoo, and is near Madame Tussauds wax museum.WEB, Madame Tussauds, London,www.tourist-information-uk.com/madame-tussauds.htm, live,www.tourist-information-uk.com/madame-tussauds.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20110427094710www.tourist-information-uk.com/madame-tussauds.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20110427094710www.tourist-information-uk.com/madame-tussauds.htm, 27 April 2011, 26 March 2021, Madame Tussauds, Primrose Hill is a popular spot from which to view the city skyline.BOOK, Mills, David, Dictionary of London Place Names, Oxford University Press, 2001, 9780192801067, 45406491, Close to Hyde Park are smaller Royal Parks, Green Park and St. James’s Park.WEB, 2008, Green Park,www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green_park/, dead,www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green_park/about.cfm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090904010152www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green_park/about.cfm,">web.archive.org/web/20090904010152www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green_park/about.cfm, 4 September 2009, 26 March 2021, The Royal Parks, A number of large parks lie outside the city centre, including Hampstead Heath and the remaining Royal Parks of Greenwich Park to the southeast, and Bushy Park and Richmond Park (the largest) to the southwest. Hampton Court Park is also a royal park, but, because it contains a palace, it is administered by the Historic Royal Palaces, unlike the eight Royal Parks.WEB,www.richmond.gov.uk/home/services/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/park_details.htm?parkId=268, Park details – Hampton Court, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 26 August 2015, dead,www.richmond.gov.uk/home/services/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/park_details.htm?parkId=268," title="web.archive.org/web/20150826172424www.richmond.gov.uk/home/services/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/park_details.htm?parkId=268,">web.archive.org/web/20150826172424www.richmond.gov.uk/home/services/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/park_details.htm?parkId=268, 26 August 2015, Close to Richmond Park is Kew Gardens, which has the world’s largest collection of living plants. In 2003, the gardens were put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.WEB,www.kew.org/ksheets/pdfs/k16kewhistory.pdf, Kew, History & Heritage, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 24 January 2013, dead,www.kew.org/ksheets/pdfs/k16kewhistory.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20080829192523www.kew.org/ksheets/pdfs/k16kewhistory.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20080829192523www.kew.org/ksheets/pdfs/k16kewhistory.pdf, 29 August 2008, There are also parks administered by London’s borough Councils, including Victoria Park in the East End and Battersea Park in the centre. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest,WEB,217.154.230.195/NR/rdonlyres/A3CB6563-4D0D-4C35-AC7F-818C28306E79/0/OS_EF_Dogs.pdf, Epping Forest You & Your Dog, brochure, City of London, 13 March 2010, dead,217.154.230.195/NR/rdonlyres/A3CB6563-4D0D-4C35-AC7F-818C28306E79/0/OS_EF_Dogs.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110704191340217.154.230.195/NR/rdonlyres/A3CB6563-4D0D-4C35-AC7F-818C28306E79/0/OS_EF_Dogs.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110704191340217.154.230.195/NR/rdonlyres/A3CB6563-4D0D-4C35-AC7F-818C28306E79/0/OS_EF_Dogs.pdf, 4 July 2011, both controlled by the City of London Corporation.WEB, Ramblers,www.ramblers.org.uk/info/parks/name/c/corporationoflondon.htm,www.ramblers.org.uk/info/parks/name/c/corporationoflondon.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20081029232404www.ramblers.org.uk/info/parks/name/c/corporationoflondon.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20081029232404www.ramblers.org.uk/info/parks/name/c/corporationoflondon.htm, dead, 29 October 2008, Corporation of London Open Spaces, Ramblers, 12 December 2011, Hampstead Heath incorporates Kenwood House, a former stately home and a popular location in the summer months when classical musical concerts are held by the lake.WEB,www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100200800k00800f, Kenwood House, English Heritage, 26 April 2008,www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100200800k00800f," title="web.archive.org/web/20100305202033www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100200800k00800f,">web.archive.org/web/20100305202033www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100200800k00800f, 5 March 2010, live, Epping Forest is a popular venue for various outdoor activities, including mountain biking, walking, horse riding, golf, angling, and orienteering. Three of the UK’s most-visited theme parks, Thorpe Park near Staines-upon-Thames, Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington and Legoland Windsor, are located within {{convert|20|mi}} of London.NEWS, The best theme parks near London,www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/best-theme-parks-in-and-around-london, 5 January 2024, Time Out,Walking
File:Horse Ride, Wimbledon Common - geograph.org.uk - 692221.jpg|thumb|The Horse Ride is a tree tunnel (route overhung by trees) on the western side of Wimbledon CommonWimbledon CommonWalking is a popular recreational activity in London. Areas that provide for walks include Wimbledon Common, Epping Forest, Hampton Court Park, Hampstead Heath, the eight Royal Parks, Regents Canal Walk, canals and disused railway tracks.WEB,www.innerlondonramblers.org.uk/ideasforwalks.html, Inner London Ramblers – Walk Ideas, Phil, Marson, innerlondonramblers.org.uk, Access to canals and rivers has improved recently, including the creation of the Thames Path, some {{convert|28|mi|km}} of which is within Greater London, and The Wandle Trail along the River Wandle.WEB,www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/wandle-trail, Wandle Trail – Map, Sustrans, Other long-distance paths, linking green spaces, have also been created, including the Capital Ring, the Green Chain Walk, London Outer Orbital Path (“Loop“), Jubilee Walkway, Lea Valley Walk, and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk.Sport
{{see also|Football in London|Rugby union in London}}{{multiple image| align = right| direction = vertical| header =| width = 215| image1 = Wembley Stadium interior.jpg| width1 =| alt1 =Notable people
See also
- Outline of England
- Outline of London{{Clear}}
Notes
{{reflist|group=upper-alpha|refs=London region (Greater London administrative area)}}{{Reflist|group=“note“}}References
{{reflist}}Bibliography
- BOOK, Ackroyd, Peter, London: The Biography, Vintage, London, 2001, 978-0-09-942258-7, London: The Biography,
- BOOK, Mills, David, Dictionary of London Place Names, Oxford Paperbacks, 2001, 978-0-19-280106-7, 45406491,
External links
{{sister project links|auto=yes}}- London.gov.uk – Greater London Authority
- VisitLondon.com – official tourism site
- Museum of London
- London in British History Online, with links to numerous authoritative online sources
- “London”, In Our Time, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Peter Ackroyd, Claire Tomalin and Iain Sinclair (28 September 2000)
- {{osmrelation-inline|175342}}
- Old maps of London, from the Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, National Library of Israel
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