London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
All stories
Abney Park Cemetery
The only Magnificent Seven cemetery that doubles as a tree garden
Strange & delightful dolls in our collection
Featuring headless puppets, the ever-stylish Sindy and a 300-year-old doll with human hair
London pigeons: A bird's eye view of history
Love them or hate them, pigeons have been part of London for over 1,000 years
The New Cross fire
13 young Black people died in this 1981 tragedy, which led to the Brixton Uprising
Women’s toilets & the fight for the right to work
What can a toilet roll tell us about the history of women’s access to work and leisure?
Sophia Duleep Singh: The Suffragette princess
For this Punjabi royal, winning women’s vote was worth breaking the law
London’s Blitz: A city at war
The German bombing campaign which rained down death and destruction on London
Queen Victoria’s nifty needlework
Embroidery, crocheting, making dresses for toy dolls: Victoria was one crafty Queen
Roger Mayne’s photographs of post-war London
A window into life in the capital from the 1950s
How street play shaped the lives of London’s children
These city kids created their own outdoor playgrounds with scooters, skipping ropes and songs
Pleasure gardens: London’s early restaurants?
London’s thriving restaurant scene has roots in these hedonistic spaces of music and entertainment
The glamorous life of opera singer Adelina Patti
One of the most successful sopranos of the 1800s, Patti gained fame, wealth and a castle in Wales
The Ballets Russes in London
This pioneering touring dance company made the capital their home in the early 1900s
The great ballet dancer Anna Pavlova
A Russian-born star who took the world by storm in the early 1900s
Joseph Grimaldi: King of the clowns
Grimaldi’s extraordinary physical comedy changed the pantomime forever – but it came at a price
