Victorian London (1837 - 1901)

In 1837, Victoria became Queen at the age of 18. The time while she was Queen is called the Victorian era. London was busy with trade and industry, and it grew fast. Better lighting, plumbing and transport developed, too. By the time Victoria died in 1901, London was a very different city.



During the reign of Victoria, London expanded enormously as industry came to Britain and railways were built linking much of Britain to the capital. London was the centre of world trade and had a large, powerful Empire.

Many of the buildings in London today were built in Victorian times. The most famous is probably the Houses of Parliament, built in 1834 after a fire destroyed the original buildings.

By the 1840's gas lights were being used to light streets all over London. Electric light was first used in Holborn in 1883. By the 1840's there were also horse drawn buses and from the 1870's horse drawn trams.

The World first Underground railway ('The Tube') opened in 1862. At first carriages were pulled by steam trains. The system was electrified in 1890-1905.

Georgian London (1714 - 1837)

In 1714, George I became king. He began a line of Kings and Queens called the Hanovers, who rule Britain until 1837. At this time, Britain was one of the most powerful countries in the world, with London at the heart of its trade

London quickly grew in size and population during the Georgian era. In 1801 the population reached about one million. Merchants and bankers grew rich and many lived in the new West End. Other people suffered terrible poverty. Thousands lived in filthy East End slums, where disease, crime and drunkenness were common.

Many new town houses were built. These houses were tall and three windows wide. They had arched doorways, with a window above called a fanlight. You can still see this kind of house today.

The streets of London were badly lit and full of beggars and thieves.

Several hospitals were founded in during the Georgian era including Westminster (1720), Guys (1724), St Georges (1733), London (1740) and Middlesex (1745).

Stuart London (1603 - 1649)

The first Stuart King, James I , came to the throne in 1603. He was already King James the Sixth of Scotland. He united the two countries under one king.

In 1605 a group of men tried to blow up both him and the Houses of Parliament. This Gunpowder Plot failed.

In 1625 Charles II came to the throne. In 1635 he opened Hyde Park to the public and in 1635 created Richmond Park for hunting.

Civil war broke out in 1642 between supporters of the king and parliamentary forces, led by a Puritan called Oliver Cromwell. The King lost and was beheaded in London in 1649 and Britain became a republic known as the Commonwealth. In 1660 the monarchy was returned.

Plague and Fire

London suffered to disasters in later Stuart years.

In 1665 the Great Plague killed about 70,000 people. The bubonic plague was brought to London by rats on board trading ships. It spread very quickly because people lived in very close quarters and hygiene standards were very low

In 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed two thirds of the City: 13,200 houses, 430 streets and 89 churches. The fire could be seen from forty miles round the capital. It started as a small fire accidentally in Pudding Lane in the City of London, and raged for four days as an enormous fire.

The reason why we know so many details about the fire is that two men who were alive at that time kept diaries in which they described the dramatic events. The names of these two people were Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn.

To prevent such a disaster happening again King Charles ll commanded that all new houses in London should be of stone and brick not wood. Christopher Wren constructed St Paul's Cathedral as well as many churches.

Buckingham Palace was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham.

Tudor London (1485 – 1603)

Henry VII became King in 1485, followed by Henry VIII. They were the first Tudor kings ( Tudor was their family name).

London grew in importance under the Tudor rule. It became the centre of trade and government.By the end of the Tudor era there were about 200,000 people living in London.

King Henry VIII created palaces such as St James. He is also famous for closing the cities monasteries in 1536, after the Roman Catholic church refused to grant him a divorce. During the reign of Elizabeth l, London was wealthy and successful city. Theatre became popular, helped by the arrival of playwright William Shakespeare sometime between 1585 and 1593.

The most famous theatre is The Globe, in which Shakespeare owned a share. His plays were performed there. The original theatre was burnt down in 1613 and immediately rebuilt, but closed by the Puritans in 1642. In the 1990s a new Globe Theatre was built, as close to the
original as possible, and thrives with constant productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

The river Thames was very important in Tudor times as Britain’s navy was expanded. Dockyards were built and ships were sent to explore the world.

Find out more about Tudor Britain.

Saxons and the Vikings

Later in the 5th century, Anglo-Saxons settled just west of Londinium and formed the town of Lundenwic. Saxon London consisted of many wooden huts with thatched roofs.

Disaster struck London in 842 when the Danish Vikings looted London. They returned in 851 and this time they burned a large part of the town. King Alfred the Great totally defeated the Danes in 878 and they split the country between them. The Danes took eastern England including London while Alfred took the South and West. Despite the peace treaty Alfred's men took London in 886. Alfred repaired the walls of the old Roman town. In 1016 the Vikings attacked London again but this time the Saxons fought them off.

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady."

It is thought that this nursery rhyme probably records an attack against London by the Viking, Olaf, at the beginning of the 11th Century. King Olaf of Norway attacked England but he was unable to sails up the Thames past London Bridge. At that time London Bridge was made of wood. Olaf and his men tied ropes to the wooden struts supporting it. They then rowed away and London Bridge collapsed.

The Vikings and Saxons ruled jointly England until 1042, when Edward the Confessor became King of both the Vikings and the Saxons.

Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) built a wooden palace at Westminster. Later Parliament met here. Because of this Westminster became the seat of government not the city of London itself. Edward also built Westminster Abbey, which was consecrated a few weeks before his death.

Find out more about Saxon Britain and Viking Britain

Christianity grew stronger in Anglo-Saxon Britain. In 604 AD a cathedral was founded in London and named after the apostle, Saint Paul. There is still a cathedral on the site.

St Paul's Cathedral