City of London

From the records: “The Roman legions established a settlement known as "Londinium" on the current site of the City of London around AD 43.”

From the records: “During the later decades of the 1st century, Londinium expanded rapidly, becoming Britannia's largest city, and it was provided with large public buildings such as a forum and amphitheatre.”

From the records: “During the early 2nd century, Londinium was at its height, having recovered from the fire and again had between 45,000 and 60,000 inhabitants around 140, with many more stone houses and public buildings erected.”

From the records: “The precise date of this change is unknown, and no surviving source explicitly states that Londinium was "the capital of Britain," but there are several strong indications of this status: 2nd-century roofing tiles have been found marked by the "Procurator" or "Publican of the Province of Britain at Londinium", the remains of a governor's palace and tombstones belonging to the governor's staff have been discovered, and the city was well defended and armed, with a new military camp erected at the beginning of the 2nd century in a fort on the north-western edge of the city, despite being far from any frontier.”

From the records: “The London Mithraeum rediscovered in 1954 dates from around 240, when it was erected on the east bank at the head of navigation on the River Walbrook about 200 m (660 ft) from the Thames.”

From the records: “After Londinium was raided on several occasions by Saxon pirates in the late 3rd century, construction of an additional riverside wall, built in phases, began in 280 and was repaired c. 390.”

From the records: “In AD 410 the Romans withdrew entirely from Britain.”

From the records: “Bede records that in AD 604 Augustine of Canterbury consecrated Mellitus as the first bishop to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Saxons and their king, Sæberht.”

From the records: “King Æthelred the Unready was buried in the cathedral on his death in 1016; the tomb is now lost.”

From the records: “William granted the citizens of London a charter in 1067; the city was one of a few examples of the English retaining some authority.”

From the records: “The cathedral was burnt with much of the city, in a fire in 1087, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.”

From the records: “The first documentary reference to a London Guildhall is dated 1127 or 1128; archaeologists have also discovered foundations dating to around that time.”

From the records: “Around 1132 the City was given the right to appoint its own sheriffs rather than having sheriffs appointed by the monarch.”

From the records: “A further fire in 1135 disrupted the work, and the new cathedral was not consecrated until 1240.”

From the records: “Construction began on the current building in 1411 and was completed in 1440 under the supervision of John Croxton.”

From the records: “In October 1538, an image of St Erkenwald, probably from the shrine, was delivered to the master of the king's jewels.”

From the records: “In 1561, the spire was destroyed by a lightning strike, an event that Roman Catholic writers claimed was a sign of God's judgment on England's Protestant rulers.”

From the records: “The St Paul's Theatre (1575–1606 ) was converted by Sebastian Westcott, the cathedral's organist, from the Almoner's Hall of the cathedral.”

From the records: “In 1631, a new west portico was commissioned from England's first classical architect, Inigo Jones.”

From the records: “The City of London had been a stronghold of republicanism during the English Civil Wars (1642–1651), and the wealthy and economically dynamic capital still had the potential to be a threat to Charles II, as had been demonstrated by several republican uprisings in London in the early 1660s.”

From the records: “The City was traffic-clogged, polluted, and unhealthy, especially after it was hit by a devastating outbreak of bubonic plague in the Plague Year of 1665.”

From the records: “A short time after midnight on Sunday, 2 September 1666, a fire broke out at Thomas Farriner's bakery in Pudding Lane.”

From the records: “The Rebuilding of London Act 1666 banned wood from the exterior of buildings, regulated the cost of building materials and the wages of workers, and set out a rebuilding period of three years, after which the land could be sold.”

From the records: “Wren had begun advising on the repair of the Old St Paul's' in 1661, five years before the fire in 1666.”

From the records: “On Charles' initiative, a Monument to the Great Fire of London was erected near Pudding Lane, designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, standing 61+1⁄2 metres (202 ft) tall, between 1671 and 1676.”

From the records: “The "topping out" of the cathedral (when the final stone was placed on the lantern) took place on 26 October 1708, performed by Wren's son Christopher Jr and the son of one of the masons.”

From the records: “The seven gates to the City of London, with many repairs and rebuilding over the years, stood until they were all demolished between 1760 and 1767.”

From the records: “The present grand entrance (the east wing of the south front), in "Hindoostani Gothic", was added in 1788 by George Dance.”

From the records: “Confusion between parish and private firefighting efforts led the insurance companies in 1832 to form a combined firefighting unit which would eventually become the London Fire Brigade.”

From the records: “On 16 November 1848, the pianist Frédéric Chopin made his last public appearance on a concert platform there.”

From the records: “In 1851, the city had a population of 127,869, but increasing development of the city as a central business district led to this falling to 26,923 in 1901 and to 5,234 in 1951.”

From the records: “Early in the 20th century, concerns were raised about the effects of settlement on the dome and the piers supporting it, confirmed by surveyors' reports in 1913 and 1914.”

From the records: “The cathedral survived the Blitz although it was struck by bombs on 10 October 1940 and 17 April 1941.”

From the records: “The main residential section of the City today is the Barbican Estate, constructed between 1965 and 1976.”

From the records: “The business or "non-residential vote" was abolished in other UK local council elections by the Representation of the People Act 1969, but was preserved in the City of London.”

From the records: “The extent of the city's jurisdiction has changed little from 1000 to the modern day; but the extramural parts were long home to only a few people.”

From the records: “There is a public riverside walk along the river bank, part of the Thames Path, which opened in stages – the route within the city was completed by the opening of a stretch at Queenhithe in 2023.”

From the records: “In 2025, ruins of the oldest Roman basilica in London were found.”