London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
Locket portraits of London’s container shipping crews
Artist Hilary Powell illuminates the invisible lives of the international shipping industry
Photographing hidden worlds on the banks of the Thames
Portraits of the barren underbelly of London’s bridges, wharfs and piers
Flooded London
Before the Thames Barrier, flooding in London was regularly destructive and often deadly
The Rhinebeck Panorama: A game-changing view
Found in a barrel in 1941, this vast panorama shows the awesome spread of London in 1806
The sinking of the Princess Alice
Catastrophe struck on the River Thames in 1878 when a cargo ship collided with a tourist boat
Vikings in London
Two centuries of Viking raids and conquest left London a radically changed place
Post-war photographs of the working River Thames
Sandra Flett’s snapshot of trade and industry on London’s liquid highway
London’s whaling trade: Blubber & baleen
Whether sporting a corset or reading by lamplight, Londoners once relied on the products of whaling
The River Thames
Dive into stories about the key waterway that shaped – and has been shaped by – London
Frost fairs: Festivities on a frozen River Thames
Trading, feasting and entertainment on ice
Collecting cash at Shakespeare’s plays
Tudor and Stuart theatres may have relied on these single-use money pots
London Dock
The Wapping drop-off point for wine, tobacco, spices and ivory between 1805 and 1968
London’s famous bridges
Bridges have helped Londoners cross the Thames for 2,000 years – here's the best of them
Twickenham’s Eel Pie Island
This little island had a thriving rhythm and blues scene – where the Rolling Stones were residents
Take a tour along the River Thames in the 1930s
An atmospheric trip through lost London riverscapes
