London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- This article is about London in England. For other places of the same name, see London (disambiguation).
Location
The term "London" was used for hundreds of years to refer to the conurbation centred on the small City of London in the historic county of Middlesex. Today, it usually refers to the administrative area known as Greater London, but can refer alternatively to the area within the London postal district, the area covered by the 020 phonecode (formerly 0171 and 0181; before that 071 and 081; even earlier 01), the area covered by an all-zone Transport for London Travelcard, the area within the M25 motorway, or the larger London commuter belt.
History
See History of London for full details of the history of London. The following is a summary: The city of Londinium was founded by the Romans on the north bank of the River Thames in around 50 AD. There is no evidence of a Celtic town prior to the roman settlement. It is believed to have become the capital of the Roman province of Britannia in the early second century. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman city was virtually abandoned and a Saxon town named Lundenwic was established a mile or two west in the Aldwych area in the 7th century AD. The fortified Roman City of London was reoccupied around the late 9th-early 10th century, whereafter it resumed its role as England's biggest city (although not its capital - Winchester served as capital until the 12th century). By the 18th century London was the biggest city in the world.
Over the years, London has increased dramatically in size, absorbing meadows, woodlands, villages and towns and spreading outwards in every direction. Outward growth has been physically interrupted (though by no means halted) through the definition of a Green Belt. In recent years development has been concentrated in the London Docklands and Thames Gateway areas of East London.
Modern London
Today the Greater London administrative area comprises the City of London and 32 London boroughs including the City of Westminster. The City of London, also known as the "square mile", is predominantly the financial centre, and geographically a very small area. Although bustling during the working week, the City of London is usually much calmer on the weekends.
The London that most tourists see is Central London which comprises the historic City of London, the West End with all its theatres, shops and restaurants, the City of Westminster and its Royal palaces, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea with its museum quarter and Hyde Park and the newly emerging Bankside area of Southwark with the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern and other attractions.
In contrast, the East End has played host to successive waves of immigrants for centuries and contains some of the UK's more deprived areas. The Isle of Dogs is however witnessing unprecedented commercial change and many restaurants, music and comedy clubs are injecting a more varied atmosphere. See also gentrification. The East End is centred on the Borough of Tower Hamlets and Hackney.
Government
The elected Mayor of London is Ken Livingstone. Expelled from the Labour Party after standing as an independent, against the official Labour candidate, he was re-admitted in 2004. He is regulated to some extent by an Assembly elected by a proportional voting system, which is unusual in the British political context. Improvements in public safety and transport are his key priorities.
There is every likelihood that the Mayor and the Assembly will be in conflict with one or more Boroughs from time to time: they had each enjoyed "unitary status" and a fair degree of autonomy since the Greater London (county) Council, also led by Livingstone, was abolished by the Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher in 1986.
The next elections for Mayor are due in June 2004; see London mayoral election, 2004.
Population
London was the most populous city in the world from 1825 until 1925, when it was overtaken by New York City.
The citizens of London are, and have been for many centuries, diverse in most respects. On census day, 2001, the City and the 32 boroughs (some 1579 km2 or 610 sq miles) had 7,172,036 inhabitants, making London one of the most populous cities in Europe alongside Moscow, Istanbul and Paris.
In the 2001 census 71% of these seven million people classed their ethnic group as white, 10% as Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani, 5% as black African, 5% as black Caribbean, 3% as mixed race and 1% as Chinese. The largest religious groupings are Christian (58.2%) and No Religion (15.8%). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside the European Union.
The London metropolitan area (6,267 sq miles) had a population of 13,945,000 - larger than the combined populations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and one of the World's largest 20. (external references: [1], [1])
Airports
The airfields of London City Airport, Heathrow, Biggin Hill, Kenley Aerodrome and Northolt lie within the London boundary.
Other airports, such as London Gatwick Airport, London Luton Airport, and London Stansted Airport, as well as those at Manston and Southend, incorporate "London" in their name, but the towns of Crawley, Luton and Stansted where they are situated lie in the Home Counties at some distance from London.
Special train stations built at Gatwick, Luton and Stansted help to offset their physical remoteness from the capital and thus spread scheduled airline services in a safe and manageable way across the region.
Public Transport System
While Transport for London runs the London Underground (the world's first metro or underground rail network), also known as the Tube, the famous red double decker buses are now run by private companies, although it is a requirement that the buses are still painted (mostly) red. Government proposals to place the Underground network under a "public-private partnership" arrangement have encountered widespread opposition. Transport for London introduced a Congestion Charge levied on traffic entering Central London during peak hours in mid-February 2003 in order to alleviate chronic traffic congestion. See also Rail transport in the United Kingdom.
Sport
London is home to 11 professional football clubs, most of them named after the district in which they play. Those currently in the top division (the Premier League) are Arsenal (who play in Highbury), Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur (commonly known as Spurs), and, until the 2002-03 season, West Ham United. Less famous and proportionately less successful clubs include Crystal Palace, Millwall and Queens Park Rangers - all of whom have at one time played in the top division - plus Brentford and Leyton Orient. Wimbledon F.C, in an extremely controversial move, left London in 2003 to play in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and the newly formed AFC Wimbledon inherited most of their support, despite playing at a much lower level in the football pyramid.
London is also home to many major sporting venues including Lord's, home of Middlesex and the Marylebone Cricket Club, and The Oval, home of Surrey. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which hosts the Wimbledon Championships, is based in Wimbledon. Twickenham is the home of English Rugby Union and Wembley Stadium, currently being rebuilt, is the home for international football and Rugby League. London hosts one of the world's largest mass-participation road races, the London Marathon.
London has twice hosted the Summer Olympics, in 1920 and 1948. It is one of the cities bidding to host the games in 2012 .
Culture
Music
London has five professional symphony orchestras; the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It has the world-famous Royal Opera House and is home to the English National Opera, as well has boasting the Royal Festival Hall, the South Bank and Barbican Centre complexes, and St. John's, Smith Square.
Theatre
There are over a dozen major theatres, most concentrated in the West End (specifically, Theatreland) including the National Theatre, the London Palladium, the Almeida Theatre, and The Globe, which was the home stage of Shakespeare's troupe. London also boasts a vibrant fringe theatre culture, you can catch the best of the new for low prices at places such as the Battersea Arts Center, The Place, and Tricycle Theatre.
Art
There are many art galleries, such as The National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern, Design Museum, White Cube, Saachi Gallery, ICA, and the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Museums
Museums include the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Sir John Soane's house, now a museum of Georgian architecture.
Business
The City of London or "Square Mile" is the financial centre of London, with many banks and financial institutions.
While the Port of London is now only the third largest in the United Kingdom, rather than largest in the world, it still handles 50 million tonnes of cargo each year.
London's economy generates 116,444 million pounds annually, and accounts for 17% of the UK's Gross Domestic Product - see Economy of the United Kingdom. (external link London Development Authority).
Tourism is one of the UK's largest industries, and in 2003 employed the equivalent of 350,000 full time workers in London [1].
Prime London Tourist Attractions
- Buckingham Palace
- British Museum
- Charing Cross Road
- Chinatown
- Cleopatra's Needle
- Covent Garden
- Downing Street
- Hampton Court Palace
- Horse Guards
- Imperial War Museum
- Kew Gardens
- London Bridge
- The London Eye
- Madame Tussaud's
- Monument to the Great Fire of London
- Museum of London
- National Gallery
- Natural History Museum
- The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament and tower of Big Ben)
- Piccadilly Circus
- Royal Parks of London
- Science Museum
- Soho
- St Paul's Cathedral
- Tate Britain
- Tate Modern
- Theatreland
- Tower Bridge
- Tower of London
- Trafalgar Square
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Westminster Abbey
Prominent Exhibitions
- 1851 - Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations -- The Crystal Palace
- 1862 - International Exhibition (1862)
- 1871 - First Annual International Exhibition (1871)
- 1872 - Second Annual International Exhibition (1872)
- 1873 - Third Annual International Exhibition (1873)
- 1874 - Fourth Annual International Exhibition (1874)
- 1886 - Colonial and Indian Exhibition (1886)
- 1899 - Greater Britain Exhibition (1899)
- 1908 - Franco-British Exhibition (1908)
- 1924 - British Empire Exhibition at Wembley (1924)
- 1951 - Festival of Britain
- 2000 - Millennium Dome
Books Featuring London
- The books of Charles Dickens [1]
- The books of Arthur Conan Doyle
- The books of Nick Hornby
- The books of Iain Sinclair
Films and Television Shows Featuring London
- 28 Days Later
- About A Boy
- Alfie
- An American Werewolf in London
- The Austin Powers series of films
- Basil, the Great Mouse Detective (known in North America as The Great Mouse Detective)
- Bend It Like Beckham
- Billy Elliot
- Bridget Jones's Diary
- The Day of the Triffids (film and TV versions)
- Dirty Pretty Things
- Eastenders
- Frenzy
- Friends
- Many of the James Bond films, especially The World Is Not Enough
- The Ladykillers
- The Lavender Hill Mob
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
- The Long Good Friday
- Love Actually
- Mary Poppins
- Oliver Twist
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians
- Only Fools and Horses
- Peter Pan
- The Parent Trap (1998 version)
- Passport to Pimlico
- Shanghai Knights
- Sliding Doors
- SpiceWorld
- Spooks
- Ultraviolet
See Also
- Hidden London
- History of London
- List of churches and cathedrals of London
- List of heads of London government
- List of places in London, England
- London in fiction
- London postal districts
- Mayor of London
- Subterranean London
- Subterranean rivers of London
- Tall buildings in London
- University of London
External links
- The Open Guide to London is a project to document all of London in a wiki.
- First chapter of the book "London: The Biography" by Peter Ackroyd
- Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the Greater London Authority official web site for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. www.london.gov.uk
- London at NASA's Earth Observatory
- An Explanation of the Name of London (Postscript file)
- London from Evening Standard
- London Directory
- 020 London Directory
- Transport for London Site
- London Underground The Tube
- Hotels in London
| Greater London | London | |
| London boroughs : Barking and Dagenham | Barnet | Bexley | Brent | Bromley | Camden | City of London | Croydon | Ealing | Enfield | Greenwich | Hackney | Haringey | Hammersmith and Fulham | Harrow | Havering | Hillingdon | Hounslow | Islington | Lambeth | Lewisham | Kensington and Chelsea | Kingston | Merton | Newham | Redbridge | Richmond | Southwark | Sutton | Tower Hamlets | Wandsworth | Waltham Forest | Westminster | |
| Greater London Authority | London Assembly | Mayor of London |