London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
All stories
How did medieval Londoners celebrate Christmas?
Fasting, feasting and wassailers at your door
Richmond Palace: A long-lost Tudor showpiece
Transformed by Henry VII, loved by Elizabeth I, largely forgotten about today
Chimney sweeps’ soot-stained past
Brush up on the history of a trade that once sent children climbing into danger
Photographing London at rush hour, 1978
Barry Lewis captured the crowds commuting in the capital
When London was swept up in balloon mania
Balloon ascents were all the rage in the late 1700s and 1800s
Sunil Gupta’s photo-collages protested Section 28
This 1988 series challenged homophobic government legislation through photography and poetry
Jellied eels might be the ultimate London delicacy
Caught in the Thames or shipped from abroad, eels have a long history of sustaining Londoners
Kitty Lord: ‘Eccentric’ dancer who travelled the world
The forgotten stage star who forged an international career from her moves, charm and risqué songs
Penny for the Guy?: A lost Bonfire Night tradition
Before 5 November, children would wheel a handmade ‘Guy’ around town and ask adults for money
Spitalfields Market: 400 years of feeding London
A former fruit and veg trading hub in the heart of the East End
St James’s Park: Royal playground & wildlife haven
The park surrounded by palaces – and home to a colony of pelicans
Finding beauty in 1930s working-class London
Humphrey Spender’s photos were born from an appreciation of ordinary life
Office life in the 1980s
Anna Fox’s photographs pick out the mundane and the sinister in the aspirational 1980s workplace
Colourful prints of lost East End shops
Look again at the greengrocers, delis and butchers that have disappeared from our streets
Greenwich Park: Where time begins
The birthplace of Tudor monarchs and Greenwich Mean Time
