London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
All stories

The Stone Age skull rescued from the River Thames
Found after 5,000 years in the mud

Alvin Langdon Coburn’s ethereal photographs of London
A foggy, shadowy view of the capital in 1909

Occupy London: Looking back at the 2011 protests
In the wake of the global financial crisis, anti-capitalist protesters set up a camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral

Portraits of London’s close-knit queer club scenes
Liz Johnson Artur captured community, individuality and joy on and around the dance floor

The Huguenots in London
These French refugees worked silk in Spitalfields and silver in Soho, weaving a lasting legacy

Fast food & feasts: Where did Tudor Londoners eat out?
Meat pies, alehouse snacks and boiled sheep’s feet sold on the streets

Inside St Paul’s Cathedral
Tiptoe through these tranquil photographs from the early 1900s


Photographing London after dark
When the sun set, Alan Delaney took out his camera, capturing a ghostly city marked by shadow

Who was publicly executed in London?
Thirteen tales of the cooks, rebels, bankers and king who died in front of a watching crowd

Malorie Blackman’s books shaped Britain’s youth
The south-east Londoner writes diverse fictional worlds for young people of all ages

Zadie Smith: Writing north-west London
The author of books like White Teeth and The Fraud uses the north-west suburbs as her canvas

Mapping London’s execution landscape
In central London, you’re never further than 5km from a known site of execution


The outdoor theatres of Tudor London
Late 16th-century London was Shakespeare’s playground, where theatre thrived on open-air stages

Atmospheric photographs of Hampstead Heath
Observing the living landscape of London’s urban wilderness

London’s historic buildings & famous places
In London, Roman ruins rub shoulders with Brutalist towers, Tudor homes and modern landmarks