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

West Norwood Cemetery
One of south London’s Magnificent Seven – with a touch of ancient Greece

Lost rivers: The Walbrook
This small but mighty river was vital to life in the Roman and medieval city

City of London Cemetery & Crematorium
This Newham cemetery is one of the country’s biggest

The origins of Notting Hill Carnival
London’s biggest street festival is a celebration of Caribbean culture and Black identity

A history of London’s Heathrow Airport
The story of one of the world’s busiest airports – and what was discovered during its construction

Coronations through the ages
London has been host to royal coronations strange and magnificent

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
Celebrated by Londoners in the streets – and on their screens


Take a tour along the River Thames in the 1930s
An atmospheric trip through lost London riverscapes

The story of Samuel Pepys’ silver plate
From counting pennies to splashing out on silver

How the Great Fire caused a London housing crisis
Rent rises, homelessness and migration to the suburbs


The calls of London’s historic street traders
In a busy city, your voice can make a sale

Highgate Cemetery
London’s most famous graveyard, where the tomb of Karl Marx attracts fans, critics and the curious

Witches, medicine & magic through London’s history
In the face of widespread death and disease, early Londoners turned to the supernatural

Pointy shoes & sexuality in medieval London
How some extremely elongated footwear caused controversy in the capital

Kensal Green Cemetery
How a prince made this graveyard a desirable resting place for the Victorian dead

The Grunwick strike, 1976–1978
One of the defining industrial disputes of the 1970s happened in a north-west London suburb