Portal:London

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The London Portal

Panorama of modern London, taken from the Golden Gallery of St Paul's Cathedral. See Panorama of London for more panoramic images.

Shaftesbury Memorial,
Piccadilly Circus

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.

As one of the world's major global cities, London exerts a strong influence on world art, entertainment, fashion, commerce, finance, education, healthcare, media, science, technology, tourism, transport, and communications. Despite a post-Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange, London remains a European economic powerhouse, and one of the world's major financial centres. It hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions, some of which are the highest-ranked academic institutions in the world: Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, the London School of Economics in social sciences, and the comprehensive University College London. It is the most visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system. The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system.

London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2023 population of Greater London of just under 10 million made it Europe's third-most populous city, accounting for 13.4% of the United Kingdom's population and over 16% of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe, with about 14 million inhabitants as of 2016, making London a megacity. (Full article...)

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London Wildlife Trust's Camley Street

London Wildlife Trust (LWT) is an English wildlife charity based in London.

Founded in 1981, London Wildlife Trust is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (known as The Wildlife Trusts), each of which is a local nature charity for its area. The Trust manages 36 nature reserves in Greater London and provides education services for schools, events for nature enthusiasts, and information on how to help London's wildlife. (Full article...)

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Credit: Samuel Davenport, after William Hogarth

Gin Lane is one of a pair of 1751 engravings by William Hogarth in support of the then-proposed Gin Act 1751. This Act of Parliament made the distillation of gin illegal in England. Whereas its pendant Beer Street shows a happy city drinking the "good" beverage of English beer, Gin Lane claims to show what would happen if people started drinking gin, a harder liquor. The scene can be identified as taking place in St Giles, a slum district of London, from the presence of St George's Church, Bloomsbury, in the background.

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Mellitus (/məˈlaɪtəs/; died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christianity. He arrived in 601 AD with a group of clergy sent to augment the mission, and was consecrated as Bishop of London in 604. Mellitus was the recipient of a famous letter from Pope Gregory I known as the Epistola ad Mellitum, preserved in a later work by the medieval chronicler Bede, which suggested the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons be undertaken gradually, integrating pagan rituals and customs. In 610, Mellitus returned to Italy to attend a council of bishops, and returned to England bearing papal letters to some of the missionaries.

Mellitus was exiled from London by the pagan successors to his patron, King Sæberht of Essex, following the latter's death around 616. King Æthelberht of Kent, Mellitus' other patron, died at about the same time, forcing him to take refuge in Gaul. Mellitus returned to England the following year, after Æthelberht's successor had been converted to Christianity, but he was unable to return to London, whose inhabitants remained pagan. Mellitus was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 619. During his tenure, he was alleged to have miraculously saved the cathedral, and much of the town of Canterbury, from a fire. After his death in 624, Mellitus was revered as a saint. (Full article...)

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“

You are now
In London, that great sea, whose ebb and flow
At once is deaf and loud, and on the shore
Vomits its wrecks, and still howls on for more.
Yet in its depth what treasures!

”

Percy Bysshe Shelley. From a letter to Maria Gisborne (1820).

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Did you know...

…that St Pancras Old Church stands on what is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England?

…that the building now housing the Brick Lane Mosque (pictured) was built as a Huguenot chapel in 1743, and subsequently became a synagogue?

…that there are two London churches that claim to be the "St Clements" of the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons: St Clement Danes and St Clement Eastcheap?

…that the Neasden Temple, completed in 1995, is the largest Hindu Temple In Europe?

…that St. John's, Smith Square is nicknamed "Queen Anne’s Footstool" because its four corner towers give it the appearance of an upturned footstool?

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General images

The following are images from various London-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Cheapside pictured in 1909, with the church of St Mary-le-Bow in the background (from History of London)
Image 2A detailed copy of John Rocque's Map of London, 1741–5 (from History of London)
Image 3Section 1 (from History of London)
Image 4A plaque in the City of London noting the re-establishment of the Roman walled city (from History of London)
Image 5Section 2 (from History of London)
Image 6The Clock Tower of Wren's St Paul's Cathedral (from History of London)
Image 7John Norden's map of London in 1593. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed. (from History of London)
Image 8Section 3 (from History of London)
Image 9The National Gallery from Trafalgar Square (from Culture of London)
Image 10A signpost on Parliament Square with directions for nearby attractions (from Tourism in London)
Image 11Richard Blome's map of London (1673). The development of the West End had recently begun to accelerate. (from History of London)
Image 12The statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester, erected 1899 (from History of London)
Image 13London as engraved by J. & C. Walker in 1845 from a map by R Creighton. Many districts in the West End were fully developed, and the East End also extended well beyond the eastern fringe of the City of London. There were now several bridges over the Thames, allowing the rapid development of South London. (from History of London)
Image 14The Houses of Parliament from Westminster Bridge in the early 1890s (from History of London)
Image 15Samuel Pepys, chronicler of Stuart London (from History of London)
Image 16Maughan Library, King's College London (from Culture of London)
Image 17The "Woodcut" map of London, formally titled Civitas Londinum (c. 1561) (from History of London)
Image 18Buckingham Palace as it appeared in the 17th century (from History of London)
Image 19In spite of heavy traffic, several companies operate tour buses in London. (from Tourism in London)
Image 20Amy Winehouse was a singer-songwriter from Southgate, north London. (from Culture of London)
Image 21A silver coin of Alfred, with the legend ÆLFRED REX (from History of London)
Image 22A Carausius coin from Londinium mint (from History of London)
Image 23Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House (from Culture of London)
Image 24Tourists consulting a map near St Paul's Cathedral (from Tourism in London)
Image 25Three cultural icons of London: a K2 red telephone box, Big Ben and a red double-decker bus (from Culture of London)
Image 26Firefighters putting out flames after an air raid during The Blitz, 1941 (from History of London)
Image 27Outline of the London region (from Geography of London)
Image 28John Evelyn's plan for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire (from History of London)
Image 29Buckingham Palace in 1837, enlarged by John Nash (from History of London)
Image 30Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre (from Culture of London)
Image 31The Shard (left), an icon of 21st-century London (from History of London)
Image 32A view of London from the east in 1751 (from History of London)
Image 33Tourism in London 2013 (from Tourism in London)
Image 34Main entrance to the British Museum (from Culture of London)
Image 35Young people in Carnaby Street in 1966 (from History of London)
Image 36Satellite image by Sentinel-2 satellite (from Geography of London)
Image 37Girl in costume at the Notting Hill Carnival (from Culture of London)
Image 38Ogilby & Morgan's map of the City of London (1673). "A Large and Accurate Map of the City of London. Ichnographically describing all the Streets, Lanes, Alleys, Courts, Yards, Churches, Halls, & Houses &c. Actually Surveyed and Delineated by John Ogilby, His Majesties Cosmographer." (from History of London)
Image 39London c. 1300 (from History of London)
Image 40Tourists at Buckingham Palace (from Tourism in London)
Image 41A depiction of the imprisonment of Charles, Duke of Orléans in the Tower of London, from a 15th-century manuscript. Old London Bridge is in the background (from History of London)
Image 42A medal of Constantius I capturing London (inscribed as lon) in 296 after defeating Allectus. From Beaurains treasure. (from History of London)
Image 43A tourist stall selling various London and United Kingdom related souvenirs on the edge of Trafalgar Square on the Strand (from Tourism in London)
Image 44Brixton Academy (from Culture of London)
Image 45People gathered in Whitehall to hear Winston Churchill's victory speech, 8 May 1945. (from History of London)
Image 46Shaftesbury Avenue, c. 1949 (from History of London)

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London Boroughs

City of London † City of Westminster Kensington and Chelsea Hammersmith and Fulham Wandsworth Lambeth Southwark Tower Hamlets Hackney Islington Camden Brent Ealing Hounslow Richmond Kingston upon Thames		Merton Sutton Croydon Bromley Lewisham Greenwich Bexley Havering Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Newham Waltham Forest Haringey Enfield Barnet Harrow Hillingdon
† sui generis – not a London borough

More about London Boroughs
Category: London boroughs

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London Topics

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Transport

London has one of the oldest and largest public transport systems in the world. Many components of its transport system, such as the double-decker bus, the Hackney Carriage black taxi and the Tube, are internationally recognised symbols of London. London has a comprehensive rail network with several major railway stations, including two international train stations at St Pancras railway station and Stratford International, which connect London to mainland Europe through the Eurostar service. London also has six international airports. In addition to public transport, London is the start point for a number of motorway routes. The M25 is an orbital motorway which enables vehicles to avoid travelling through central London, and is one of the busiest motorways in Europe.