Blog City London The city that shaped the world

London is a city steeped in history like few others. The leading city of the British Isles since Roman times, the history found in London's grand monuments, cobbled streets and narrow lanes is in some ways reflective of the experience of all Britons. The United Kingdom was only a middling power on the European stage at the end of the Middle Ages. London bore witness to prolonged religious strife, bloody civil war, regicide, and was utterly destroyed by fire. Yet the city and the nation emerged from these centuries a striving and innovative maritime power, rising to global prominence through naval prowess. The empire created and controlled from London came about essentially by accident, and yet somehow came to be the largest and most successful the world has ever known. It brought undreamt of wealth and glory to a lucky few and by the end of the 19th Century Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace ruled over a bewildering array of peoples and lands. The government at Whitehall held in its hands more power than any in human history. For these reasons the story of London - and therefore Britain - in these centuries is one of the most fascinating and important in all history.

Then and Now Photos