City of London: The History

During the ninth century, the town suffered numerous Viking attacks. The Tower of London was built during William's reign. For many years, England had no capital city. However, the institutions of central government were moved to Westminster, close to London. This activity was strengthened during the fifteenth century thanks to its relevant textile industry. From the sixteenth to mid-seventeenth century, London benefited from the centralized politics and the maritime trade expansion developed by the Tudors and continued by the Stuarts.

Or rather, we learnt that accountability was too important to be left to accountants. The moral of the story is that what we learnt in politics is true for the economy: The City of London needs to be held to account by the citizens of London and its inheritance made available for the good of the city. Maybe it is time, after 2, years, for all of London to become a city, for the Guildhall to be its parliament and for there to be one mayor of a united city who lives in Mansion House.

Get alerts on London fights for its future when a new story is published. Choose your FT trial. Maurice Glasman, Labour peer and academic September 29, Listen to this article Play audio for this article Pause Cookies on FT Sites We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our Sites are used. Close Financial Times International Edition. Search the FT Search. World Show more World links. US Show more US links.

Companies Show more Companies links. Markets Show more Markets links. The Provisional IRA exploded several bombs in the early s, including the Bishopsgate bombing. The area is also spoken of as a possible target for al-Qaeda. For instance, when in May the BBC's Panorama programme examined the preparedness of Britain's emergency services for a terrorist attack on the scale of September 11, attacks , they simulated a chemical explosion on Bishopsgate in the east of the City.

The "Ring of Steel" is a particularly notable measure, established in the wake of the IRA bombings, that has been taken against terrorist threats. The first fire engine is in attendance in roughly five minutes on average, the second when required in a little over five and a half minutes. No-one died in an event arising from a fire in the four years prior to There is power station located in Charterhouse Street that also provides heat to some of the surrounding buildings [62].

The Office for National Statistics recorded the population in as 7,; [1] slightly higher than in the last census , , [64] and estimates the population as at mid to be 9, At the census the ethnic composition was The first half of the 19th century shows a population of between ,—,, decreasing dramatically from to , with a small increase between and The only notable boundary change since the first census in occurred in The City vies with New York City 's Downtown Manhattan as the financial capital of the world; many banking and insurance institutions have their headquarters there.

Over banks have offices in the City, and the City is an established leader in trading in Eurobonds , foreign exchange , energy futures and global insurance. The Alternative Investment Market , a market for trades in equities of smaller firms, is a recent development.

Thriving Londinium

In , the City of London accounted for 2. London is the world's greatest foreign exchange market , with much of the trade conducted in the City of London. Since Canary Wharf , a few miles east of the City in Tower Hamlets, has become another centre for London's financial services industry which houses many banks and other institutions formerly located in the Square Mile.

Although growth has continued in both locations, and there have been relocations in both directions, the Corporation has come to realise that its planning policies may have been causing financial firms to choose Canary Wharf as a location. Whilst the financial sector, and related businesses and institutions, continue to dominate, the economy is not limited to that sector. The legal profession has a strong presence, especially in the west and north i. Retail businesses were once important, but have gradually moved to the West End of London , though it is now Corporation policy to encourage retailing in some locations, for example at Cheapside near St Paul's.

The City has a number of visitor attractions, mainly based on its historic heritage as well as the Barbican Centre and adjacent Museum of London , though tourism is not at present a major contributor to the City's economy or character.

The City has many pubs, bars and restaurants, and the "night-time" economy does feature in the Bishopsgate area, towards Shoreditch. The meat market at Smithfield , wholly within the City, continues to be one of London's main markets the only one remaining in central London and the country's largest meat market. In the east is Leadenhall Market , a fresh food market that is also a visitor attraction. The trend for purely office development is beginning to reverse as the Corporation encourages residential use, albeit with development occurring when it arises on windfall sites.

The City has a target of 90 additional dwellings per year. Recent residential developments include "the Heron", a high-rise residential building on the Milton Court site adjacent to the Barbican, and the Heron Plaza development on Bishopsgate is also expected to include residential parts. Since the s, the City has diversified away from near exclusive office use in other ways.

For example, several hotels and the first department store opened in the s. However, large sections remain quiet at weekends, especially in the eastern section, and it is quite common to find shops, pubs and cafes closed on these days. Fire, bombing and post- World War II redevelopment has meant that the City, despite its history, has relatively few intact notable historic structures. Another example of a bomb-damaged place having been restored is Staple Inn on Holborn. Among the twentieth-century listed buildings are Bracken House , the first post World War II buildings in the country to be given statutory protection, and the whole of the Barbican and Golden Lane Estate.

The Tower of London is not in the City, but is a notable visitor attraction which brings tourists to the southeast of the City. Noteworthy contemporary buildings include a number of modern high-rise buildings see section below as well as the Lloyd's building. A growing number of tall buildings and skyscrapers are principally used by the financial sector. Almost all are situated in the eastern side around Bishopsgate , Leadenhall Street and Fenchurch Street , in the financial core of the City.

In the north there is a smaller cluster comprising the Barbican Estate 's three tall residential towers and the commercial CityPoint tower. Seven of the eleven London Underground lines run through the City, serving eleven stations. Bank and Tower Gateway. Three longer-distance rail termini are in the City: Moorgate is the terminus for suburban services from Hertfordshire , and two through-routes operate mostly underground along the main axes:.

The Northern line connects to two other main railway termini, Euston and Waterloo ; the latter has a direct connection to the City via the Waterloo and City Line. The City is in Travelcard Zone 1. The following bridges, listed west to east downstream , cross the River Thames: The City, like most of central London, is well served by buses , including night buses. Two bus stations are in the City, at Aldgate on the eastern boundary with Tower Hamlets, and at Liverpool Street by the railway station.

City History - City of London

There are approximately 28 Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations in the City. One of the Port of London 's 25 safeguarded wharves , Walbrook Wharf , is adjacent to Cannon Street station, and is used by the Corporation to transfer waste via the river. Swan Lane Pier, just upstream of London Bridge, is proposed to be replaced and upgraded for regular passenger services, planned to take place in — Before then, Tower Pier is to be extended.

There is a public riverside walk along the river bank, opened in stages over recent years. The only section not running along the river is a short stretch at Queenhithe. The walk along Walbrook Wharf is closed to pedestrians when waste is being transferred onto barges.

According to a survey conducted in March , the methods by which employed residents get to work varied widely: City residents send their children to schools in neighbouring Local Education Authorities , such as Islington , Tower Hamlets , Westminster and Southwark. The City of London School for Girls has its own preparatory department for entrance at age seven. The College of Law has its London campus in Moorgate. Membership is open to all — with one official proof of address required to join.

Guildhall Library, and City Business Library are also public reference libraries, specialising in the history of London and business reference resources. Author and journalist Nicholas Shaxson argued that, in return for the financial institutions based in the City raising loans and finance for the British government, the City "has extracted privileges and freedoms from rules and laws to which the rest of Britain must submit".

He further claims that the assistance provided to the institutions based within it, many of which help their rich clients with offshore tax arrangements, mean that the City is "a tax haven in its own right". The documentary The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire asserts the tax haven status that the City provides.

The oldest part of London

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the historic city and financial district within London. For the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, see London. For other uses, see City of London disambiguation and London disambiguation. City and county in United Kingdom, '; city and county. Seen from the south bank of the Thames in September Location within the London region.

Norman and Medieval London. This article appears to contradict the article City of London Corporation. Please see discussion on the linked talk page. August Learn how and when to remove this template message.

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Wards of the City of London. Coat of arms of the City of London. List of public art in the City of London. List of tallest buildings and structures in London. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 June See Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom for the full descriptions used in the Census. City status in the British Isles, — Dictionary of London Place Names.

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Of course until relatively recent times the name London referred only to the City of London with even Westminster remaining a separate entity. But when the County of London was created in , the name often came to be rather loosely used for this much larger area, which was also sometimes referred to as Greater London from about this date.

However, in Greater London was newly defined as a much enlarged area.

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City of London

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Archived from the original PDF on 27 September Retrieved 17 April Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition. The Book of Public Arms 2 ed. Gardens of the City of London. Archived from the original on 9 January Retrieved 8 December Archived from the original on 29 June Retrieved 16 September Retrieved 10 January Archived from the original on 23 October Archived from the original PDF on 5 October