Class & Economics
Find out how class and economics have shaped Londoners’ lived experiences through our objects, stories and blogs.
Blogs-And-Stories
Who was Charles Dickens?
19th-century London’s most celebrated writer gave us Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol
How the Great Fire of London created insurance
The Great Fire of London in 1666 had a surprising outcome: the creation of modern property insurance
How Charles Booth mapped London poverty
And showed the complexity of social class in the late 19th century
The candid street photography of Margaret Monck
Capturing the energy of 1930s Londoners
Who are the pearly kings & queens?
Since the late 1800s, pearlies have donned their button-covered regalia to raise money for charity
Powerful women in late Iron Age London: The Harper Road burial
What the burial of a high status woman tells us about gender and power at a critical time in British history
Roger Mayne’s photographs of post-war London
A window into life in the capital from the 1950s
How London’s alternative currencies made change
In the past and present, Londoners have experimented with different forms of money
The Grenfell Tower fire
This 2017 blaze killed 72 people – a preventable tragedy which triggered calls for justice
What were penny toys?
These colourful toys were sold on the streets by some of London’s poorest citizens
The story of Samuel Pepys’ silver plate
From counting pennies to splashing out on silver
