Example of london history essay

The River Thames is the water artery of England with London as its main pearl. The sufficient amount of gravel helped Romans to build here a bridge in about AD 43. Their settlement was called owing to the immediate closeness of water – Llyn-din and later Londinium which according to Celtic means the river place.
There is also the unsolved fact about the existence of settlements before Roman ones, though some archeological finds prove the opposite. These finds represent the Stone Age and Iron Age, for example, there was found the ancient temple from the Iron Age which is situated beneath a runway at Heathrow Airport (“ AA Book of British Towns”).
Despite these archeological finds, Romans were the first founders of London who made it their capital; in time the city expanded a lot and became the sixth by size in the Roman Empire. London had been advancing with giant strides: very soon Romans built new roads and began to trade with the Continent. The River Thames was the main “ mediator” between the Continent and the island. In the year AD 60 at this place was situated the well developed town; though in the same year Queen Boudicca and her Icenian followers wiped it out. The results of this terrible event still let us know about it through the construction of new building sites. Later, after the mean deed of Queen Boudicca, Romans renovated the city (“ Roman London by David Nash Ford.”).
Years passed and Londinium turned out to be the administrative centre of the district. It was the first big step ahead in the history of London development. Civic buildings were erected in view of the city which was protected with strong capable of defending walls.
Also there are several other things, which had witnessed the loftiness of London during the Roman period, such as the carved altar to goddess Diana, Mithras’ temple, which is situated in Queen Victoria Street and, the footings of a fort gateway near Wood Street (“ London History”).
The pulse of Britain’s financial and commercial power throbs within the City of London; a power so great that throughout the world this complex of banks and business houses is known as simply “ The City”. From Norman times it has been proudly independent, and is a county in itself governed by the Corporation of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor of London and possessing its own police force.
The City was granted the right to elect its own mayor by Prince John in 1191. The first lord mayor was Henry FitzAlwyn, who held the office in 1192-1212, but London’s best-known lord mayor was Richard Whittington – immortalized in the fairytale as the man who “ turned again” to become thrice Lord Mayor of London, in 1397-1398, 1406-1407 and 1419-1420 (“ London History”).
A stained-glass window in St Michael, Paternoster Royal, restored after wartime bombing, shows Whittington arriving in London with his cat. This part of the Whittington legend did not appear until 1605, when an engraver, Renold Elstrack, portrayed him with his hand upon a cat. It is said that the portrait originally showed a skull, and that Elstrack changed it to a cat as a result of public protests. The picture is now in the National Portrait Gallery (“ London History”).
The City is a world centre of finance. It is the home of the Bank of England, founded in 1694. The present building was built between 1924 and 1939 to the design of Sir Herbert Baker. Beside it stands the Royal Exchange, founded in 1571 by Sir Thomas Gresham and made “ Royal” by Elizabeth I. The present Royal Exchange, completed in 1844, is the third building to stand on the site. It was the work of Sir William Tite (“ AA Book of British Towns”)
The mysterious world of “ bulls and bears” goes on inside the Stock Exchange, which was founded in 1773. It is now housed in a modern stone-and-glass building surmounted by a 350 ft tower.
Lloyd’s shipping underwriters began in 1691 in Edward Lloyd’s eating house at 16 Lombard Street. It became the world’s biggest insurance corporation, and now occupies offices built in the neo-Classical style of the 1950s. In the Room, the hall where the underwriters do business, is the Lutine Bell. It came from a French frigate, the Lutine, which sank in 1799 with a cargo of gold bullion. The bell is rung to announce news of an overdue vessel: once for a loss, twice for an arrival (“ AA Book of British Towns”).
In 1066 fire raged through the City, feeding ravenously on the timber-and-plaster buildings in its path. It started in a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane – the Monument to the fire stands 202 ft from the spot, the exact height of the column. When the fire abated, four-fifth of the City had been destroyed.
The nave contains many monuments, but none more apt than that to Wren himself. An epitaph below the dome and engraved in Latin ends with the words “ Si monumentum requires, circumspice!” (If you seek a monument, look around you!) (“ AA Book of British Towns”).

Works Cited

– “ Roman London by David Nash Ford.” N. p., n. d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
– AA Book of British Towns. Drive Publications Limited for the Automobile Association. 1979. Print.
– “ London History.” N. p., n. d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.