Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

History - Archive Articles

Latest news articles about London’s long history.

Unlocking the Past: TfL releases over 400 digitized maps and more on Google Arts & Culture
Unlocking the Past: TfL releases over 400 digitized maps and more on Google Arts & Culture

Unlocking the Past: TfL releases over 400 digitized maps and more on Google Arts & Culture

More than 2,000 historical documents from Transport for London's (TfL) corporate archives are now available to view for free on Google Arts and Culture.

Feb
26
Charles Darwin’s unread copy of Marx’s Das Kapital restored for display
Charles Darwin’s unread copy of Marx’s Das Kapital restored for display

Charles Darwin’s unread copy of Marx’s Das Kapital restored for display

It's June 1873, and Karl Marx has decided to send a copy of his magnum opus, Das Kapital, to Charles Darwin, and 150 years later, that unread copy is going back on display at Charles Darwin's home.

Feb
23
From Rastafari Squats to Cardboard City: London’s working class histories get funding boost
From Rastafari Squats to Cardboard City: London’s working class histories get funding boost

From Rastafari Squats to Cardboard City: London’s working class histories get funding boost

Eight heritage projects in London have been given funding to record the history of the city's working classes.

Feb
21
London’s gas lamps to shine on as Historic England protects Covent Garden lights
London’s gas lamps to shine on as Historic England protects Covent Garden lights

London’s gas lamps to shine on as Historic England protects Covent Garden lights

Historic England has given four gas-powered street lamps that have been glowing in Covent Garden for over a century heritage listing protection, so they will continue to cast a warm glow in the streets.

Feb
12
The myths of Anne Boleyn’s Well, Carshalton
The myths of Anne Boleyn’s Well, Carshalton

The myths of Anne Boleyn’s Well, Carshalton

Next to an old church in Carshalton town centre is an old well attributed to King Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. Or is it?

Feb
07
Saxon London remains found under the National Gallery
Saxon London remains found under the National Gallery

Saxon London remains found under the National Gallery

Engineers digging a tunnel underneath the National Gallery have discovered objects from Saxon times, showing that the urban centre of Saxon London extended further west than previously thought.

Feb
06
Rare Roman London funeral remains discovered beneath Holborn Viaduct
Rare Roman London funeral remains discovered beneath Holborn Viaduct

Rare Roman London funeral remains discovered beneath Holborn Viaduct

An extraordinary discovery of Roman funeral remains has been uncovered in London, including possibly the first complete Roman funerary bed ever found in Britain.

Feb
05
500th anniversary of the Great Flood of London
500th anniversary of the Great Flood of London

500th anniversary of the Great Flood of London

Today marks the 500th anniversary of when 20,000 people fled the centre of London to avoid a massive tidal wave that was about to devastate the city.

Feb
01
From jazz to surgery: English Heritage’s Blue Plaques will celebrate a record number of women in 2024
From jazz to surgery: English Heritage’s Blue Plaques will celebrate a record number of women in 2024

From jazz to surgery: English Heritage’s Blue Plaques will celebrate a record number of women in 2024

For the first time in the history of the London Blue Plaques Scheme, which has been running for more than 150 years, more plaques will be unveiled to individual women in 2024 than in any previous year.

Jan
15
The centenary of Natwest’s first railway station bank
The centenary of Natwest’s first railway station bank

The centenary of Natwest’s first railway station bank

A century ago, on 10th January 1924, the forerunner of the NatWest bank opened its first-ever branch inside a railway station - at Waterloo station.

Jan
10
London’s only public statue of King Henry VIII restored to remove decades of pollution
London’s only public statue of King Henry VIII restored to remove decades of pollution

London’s only public statue of King Henry VIII restored to remove decades of pollution

London's only public statue of King Henry VIII has recently been given a makeover, removing decades of pollution and cleaning up the building he stands in.

Nov
29
2023
Beyond Dickensian myths: St Pancras workhouse’s early history revealed in archaeological dig
Beyond Dickensian myths: St Pancras workhouse’s early history revealed in archaeological dig

Beyond Dickensian myths: St Pancras workhouse’s early history revealed in archaeological dig

The early history of a notorious London workhouse, whose putrid conditions may have inspired Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, has been uncovered by archaeologists who found that early conditions were far better than the later years.

Nov
15
2023
Roman London’s mausoleum and mosaics going on public display in Southwark
Roman London’s mausoleum and mosaics going on public display in Southwark

Roman London’s mausoleum and mosaics going on public display in Southwark

One of the UK's most important discoveries of Roman heritage in recent years is to go on public display in Southwark, close to where it was uncovered last year.

Oct
20
2023
A tale of two stags: Tracing the origins of the Albert Gate’s sculptures
A tale of two stags: Tracing the origins of the Albert Gate’s sculptures

A tale of two stags: Tracing the origins of the Albert Gate’s sculptures

A curiosity has struck me about two fine sculptures of stags that can be found on Albert Gate, a short road next to Hyde Park.

Oct
03
2023
Dare to Be Free: London’s 1000th blue plaque unveiled at Suffragist headquarters
Dare to Be Free: London’s 1000th blue plaque unveiled at Suffragist headquarters

Dare to Be Free: London’s 1000th blue plaque unveiled at Suffragist headquarters

London's 1000th official blue plaque was unveiled last week, in a location just off Strand in central London.

Sep
26
2023
Step back in time: Explore Crystal Palace’s Victorian Beasts with these new 3D scans
Step back in time: Explore Crystal Palace’s Victorian Beasts with these new 3D scans

Step back in time: Explore Crystal Palace’s Victorian Beasts with these new 3D scans

You can now see the Crystal Palace's Victorian beasts in full 3D on your computer, after a project to scan them for restoration work also enabled a website to recreate the beasts online.

Sep
12
2023
Blue Plaque honours Tommy Flowers, the man behind Alan Turing’s computer revolution
Blue Plaque honours Tommy Flowers, the man behind Alan Turing’s computer revolution

Blue Plaque honours Tommy Flowers, the man behind Alan Turing’s computer revolution

Although Alan Turning gets justifiable fame for his WWII computer work, he needed help, and now a Blue Plaque has been installed to celebrate the electrical engineer who made it all possible, Tommy Flowers.

Sep
08
2023
London’s Blue Plaques to become a UK-wide scheme
London’s Blue Plaques to become a UK-wide scheme

London’s Blue Plaques to become a UK-wide scheme

For nearly 160 years, notable people have been recognised in London by a plaque on a building they were associated with, and now it's going nationwide.

Sep
06
2023
Unveiling the unsung hero: 360-year search ends as first witness to Great Fire of London identified
Unveiling the unsung hero: 360-year search ends as first witness to Great Fire of London identified

Unveiling the unsung hero: 360-year search ends as first witness to Great Fire of London identified

It's taken nearly 360 years to find him, but researchers now believe they have identified the person who first raised the alarm when the Great Fire of London started on the evening of 2nd September 1666.

Sep
01
2023
Finsbury Square’s lost “Sodomites Walk”
Finsbury Square’s lost “Sodomites Walk”

Finsbury Square’s lost “Sodomites Walk”

A strip of land to the south of Finsbury Square in the City that's today just a busy road was once far more notorious -- as a space where gay men congregated.

Aug
31
2023
The Tanner Street Drinking Fountain
The Tanner Street Drinking Fountain

The Tanner Street Drinking Fountain

There's a drinking fountain in Bermondsey that would once have been very difficult to get a drink from, as it used to be on top of a church.

Aug
30
2023
The North London Railway WWI memorial
The North London Railway WWI memorial

The North London Railway WWI memorial

If you walk north from Hoxton station, you might spy a Cenotaph, sitting in a recess next to this north London railway station.

Aug
23
2023
A visit to Carshalton Water Tower and Hermitage
A visit to Carshalton Water Tower and Hermitage

A visit to Carshalton Water Tower and Hermitage

Just over 300 years ago a very rich man on the verge of bankruptcy built a grand house and a water tower. Three hundred years later, both still exist, and you can go inside the water tower, but not the house.

Aug
08
2023
London’s first Night Bus started 110 years ago – in July 1913
London’s first Night Bus started 110 years ago – in July 1913

London’s first Night Bus started 110 years ago – in July 1913

This month marks the 110th anniversary of London's first Night Bus, when a new service was introduced between Cricklewood and Liverpool Street Station on Monday 14th July 1913.

Jul
17
2023