The history of the City of London goes back over 2000 years, and can be seen evolving through many different ages, the most notable of which were;

• Roman London
• Anglo-Saxon London
• Norman and Medieval London
• Tudor London
• Stuart London
• 18th century London
• 19th century London
• 20th century London

In AD 43 Britain was invaded by the Romans, and they were responsible for the creation of Londinium in a valley located to the north of the River Thames. In AD 61 Londinium was invaded by Queen Boudicca and burned to the ground before the Romans regained control and set about rebuilding their city.

At the beginning of the 5th Century Londinium was abandoned by the Romans and was left deserted and neglected until the Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain. History tells little of Londiniums history during this period, however it is widely known that the Angles, Jutes and Saxons were mainly farmers and preferred to live outside of cities.

In the 7th Century St. Pauls Cathedral was constructed. There is still a St. Pauls Cathedral to this day, however a different one due to the original being destroyed during the Great Fire Of London in 1666.

In 1066 the Normans invaded London under William the Conqueror, and constructed The Tower of London to guard the city. These were dirty and unhygenic times for London as rubbish was routinely thrown onto the streets from houses with the streets made from cobble or dirt. The city also used the original Roman walls that were simply repaired rather than replaced.

In the 13th century London elected its first Lord Mayor, the most famous of which was Dick Whitington.

In 1485 the Tudor period began in London, and by this time the city was a centre for trade and government. The population was around 200,000 people and many palaces and parks were constructed. The Tudor era saw the Thames used extensively as Britains navy was expanded, and many dockyards and ports were constructed along the river banks.

The 17th century was a period of considerable unrest in London as civil war took hold of not only London, but the whole of England. In 1665 a new fear was apparent in the city, namely the Bubonic Plague. Trading ships returning from foreign lands brought rats into the streets, and due to the low hygeine and cramped surroundings the disease was able to spread rampantly. Anyone at this time who caught the disease had little or no chance of survival. Infected houses were painted with a red cross, and quarantined for 40 days. In the entire year the disease was prevelant in London 100,000 people died from it. The facilities to bury people simply were not in place at the time, and dead bodies were routinely piled up in the streets, whilst looters took all they could from empty houses.

The following year another disaster occured in London, this time it was the Great Fire of London in 1666, that destroyed almost 60% of the city. The fire originated at a house in Pudding Lane on the 2nd September 1666 and within a short period of time, had spread due to a strong eastern wind. Attempts to prevent the fire spreading were poor and houses were blown up with gunpowder to create fire breaks to prevent the flames from spreading.

By the Thursday the fire had been extinguished however broke out again in the evening and many more houses had to be blown up with gunpowder to bring the fire finally under control. In total 87 parishes, 44 livery company halls, the old St. Johns Cathedral and The Royal Exchange were all destroyed not to mention countless residential homes. It is surprising that despite the magnitude of the fire the lives lost only totalled approximately 16 people.

In the 18th Century London began to develop rapidly due to the start of the Industrial Revolution. These were mixed times for London, as the excellent growth the city was experiencing was met by very bad crime. In 1750 the Bow Street Runners were established as a Police force to deal with the major crime problems in the city. Punishment was swift and brutal with the death penalty issued - even for minor crimes. As a result of this public hangings became regular and popular in London. The heads of the criminals were routinely displayed on spikes in public areas. As you can see these were very grusome times, and a very different culture to that of today.

The 19th century was the beginning of modern times for London as it was turned into the capital of the British Empire. London became a major force in finance and politics and grew ever-more wealthy as a result. Life was not good however for all of Londons inhabitants as slums were prevelant with poor and unhygenic conditions that were the inspiration for the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

Technology played an important part in the development of London in the 19th century with the first railway line being constructed, as well as issues of sanitation being addressed in the form of a sewer system. The 19th century also saw the construction of famous landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, Victoria and Albert Museum, Tower Bridge, Big Ben and The Houses of Parliment.

The 20th Century saw London reach its peak as the capital city of the largest empire in the world. Transportation was of great importance at this time due to the ever-increasing population. A tram network was constructed in the capital. It was also in the early 1900's that the first bus service commenced, as well as many improvements to the already well-established rail network. Upon the outbreak of World War One London was the target for Zeppelin airship raids by the Germans. These raids killed approximately 700 people and caused extensive damage. When hostilities ended in 1918 housing grew at a rapid rate with London expanding ever-further into the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey. It was between the wars that car useage became more commonplace in London, with buses and trams all operating during the day making the streets of London significantly busier.

During the Battle of Britain in 1940 the German Luftwaffe extensively bombed London as a prelude to invasion. The city suffered terrible death and destruction and thousands of school children were evacuated into the country to avoid the bombing. In total there were 71 air raids by the Luftwaffe, however the bombing was to take on a new and alarming twist in the latter stages of the war. In 1944/45 Hitler concentrated his attention on London in the form of pilot less V-1 and V-2 flying bombs. The V-1 nicknamed the 'Doodlebug' flew at hundreds of miles and hour, and would glide to its targets after being launched from ramps in France. The V-2 was an altogether more terrifying weapon.Once fired from France it would fly to the edge of space before diving down to its targets in London at over 5000mph. As a result of the German bombing London suffered, in total. just under 30,000 deaths and 50,000 serious injuries by the wars end, with many thousands of people made homeless, and left with little or no worldly possessions.

After the Second World War attention turned to housing and the emergence of the tower block. Many felt that the answer to London's lack of housing was to build upwards, thus saving considerable expensive land space. This indeed solved the housing crisis however many felt the tower blocks were unattractive and cumbersome to live in. London has seen extensive growth in the post-war years, both with regard to population and architecture, and is regarded by many as one of the greatest cities in the world.