London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
All stories
Fun in the frost: Outdoor ice skating in London
Londoners have skated on the city’s frozen lakes and ponds for centuries
What were London’s pleasure gardens?
For dancing, drinking, glamour and debauchery, there was nothing quite like the pleasure garden
A big night out at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
Discover the exciting new entertainment on offer to Londoners in the 1700s and 1800s
How Black Friday changed the Suffragette struggle
A day of aggression in the battle for women’s right to vote
Hardy Amies: London’s great tailor & couturier
The Savile Row-based designer had a long career spanning luxurious couture and casual menswear
Skating through the history of London’s ice rinks
Did you know ice rinks were invented in London? And the earliest version was made from pig fat?
Emmeline Pankhurst: Suffragette icon
Pankurst’s leadership of the militant votes-for-women campaign made her a feminist hero
London 1948 Olympics: The ‘Austerity Games’
Held in the struggling post-war years, these frugal Games were celebrated as a harmonious success
How Florence Nightingale shaped London healthcare
Modern nursing has a lot to thank this 19th-century trailblazer for
John Hargrave: Leader of the Kibbo Kift
Camp out, help others, work for world peace: Hargrave’s youth movement aimed for a better society
Boudica: Rebel queen of the Iceni
London burned when this warrior queen challenged the Romans
How a Neolithic jade axe came to Mortlake
Polished, Italian and left in the Thames
Why Charles I was executed
A tale of religion and Parliament which ends abruptly in 1649
The candid street photography of Margaret Monck
Capturing the energy of 1930s Londoners
Christabel Pankhurst: Suffragette leader
An inspiring leader whose radical tactics intensified women’s fight for the vote