London stories
Explore the stories of the world's greatest city, from prehistory to the present day, and uncover the hidden treasures of our collections.
All stories
The Great Pestilence in London
Plague killed over half of the city’s population between 1348 and 1352
Jacob’s Island: One of the worst slums in London
Immortalised by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist
The match girls’ strike of 1888
The actions of women in an east London match factory ignited a labour movement
Cheapside: London’s original high street
How a medieval market became a hub for luxury goods
What was life like in Victorian London?
An era of massive change for the world’s largest city
London’s abandoned & long-lost Tube stations
Disused, dismantled and disappeared underground
Purple, white & green: How the Suffragettes built a brand
Visual identity, fashion and politics mix for the first time
The Suffragettes’ window-smashing campaign of 1912
The start of mass organised direct action in the fight for women’s right to vote
Why were some Suffragettes under surveillance?
The police used covert photography to identify Suffragette militants
Madame Prunier’s luxury fish restaurant
This 20th-century restaurant brought stylish Parisian seafood to the heart of the West End
How gas lamps illuminated London
A cheaper and brighter way out of the darkness
Nonsuch Palace: Henry VIII’s lost pearl
A spectacular Tudor palace demolished to pay debts
Nicholas Culpeper: A pioneer of holistic medicine
A 17th-century herbalist who challenged the medical establishment
