London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
All stories
London’s catastrophic fires
Whether caused by rebellion or war, neglect or accident, fires have scorched a dark mark on our city
The Sidney Street siege: An East End shootout
A tale of revolutionaries, murder and Winston Churchill
The Battle of Barnet: North London’s bloodiest morning
Thousands fought in this key battle of the medieval Wars of the Roses
The London Eye was one big skyline revolution
One of the most eye-catching changes to London’s cityscape came at the turn of the millennium
The Great Pestilence in London
Plague killed over half of the city’s population between 1348 and 1352
A history of the London Charterhouse
How a plague burial ground evolved into a monastery, mansion, school and almshouse
Hatton Garden: London’s diamond & jewellery quarter
200 years of luxury, craftsmanship and community
The execution of Lady Jane Grey, 1554
How the ‘nine-day queen’ met a bitter and bloody end
What was the Wyatt rebellion of 1554?
An army of thousands descended on London to protest Mary I’s marriage plans
Agnes Marshall: The Victorian queen of ice cream
A long-overlooked inventor, businessperson and celebrity chef
A timeline of Roman London: Londinium from start to end
How the Romans created London, built temples and baths, then abandoned their city 350 years later
The Marchioness Disaster
On a summer night in 1989, a riverboat birthday party ended in tragedy, leaving 51 people dead
The lost, lawless tradition of Shrovetide football
Forget pancakes – for hundreds of years, Shrove Tuesday was marked by a chaotic ball game
An Irish Traveller community in 1980s Bermondsey
These photos put the focus on a group often left out of London’s story
May Day protests in post-war London
Marching for world peace and workers’ rights on a historic day of activism
Who are the Chelsea Pensioners?
British Army veterans have had a special home in west London since 1692
