20th century London (1900 – 1999)
Explore objects, stories and blogs shining a light on London during 100 years of enormous and rapid change.
Blogs-And-Stories
John Hargrave: Leader of the Kibbo Kift
Camp out, help others, work for world peace: Hargrave’s youth movement aimed for a better society
Changing London: A view from inside Pentonville Prison
From behind the walls of HMP Pentonville, these men share their views of post-WWII London and their experiences as Londoners
Teddy boys: Britain’s first youth subculture
Sporting long jackets and quiffs, the Teds were born in London
Meet the mods, a sharply dressed London subculture
Photographs from a stylish, scooter-riding 1960s scene
Music icons, Soho fashion streets & the Swinging 60s
Here’s how music and fashion were intrinsically linked in 1960s London
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
Disability: A child’s perspective from 1950s London
These photos of disabled children in 1950s London attempt to fill in a crucial gap in our history
Protesting Margaret Thatcher
The Iron Lady’s time as prime minister sparked resistance and protest that filled London’s streets
The Great Smog of 1952
12,000 people died when a toxic polluted fog descended on London
Selfridges: The store that shook up London shopping
With its bold advertising and top customer service, Selfridges brought American glamour to the capital
The vivid photography of Bill Brandt
An influential photographer whose work spanned documentary images and Surrealist portraits
Gertie Millar: An Edwardian musical comedy icon
A leading lady on the London stage in the early 1900s
The mystery of Michael Collins’ signature
How London shaped the thinking of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins
The Jewish East End
How Spitalfields and Whitechapel offered new lives to thousands fleeing persecution
