London

London Regional TransportThe easiest way to travel around London is by bus or underground train. The Londo Underground or tube has nine lines. In Central London youre never more than a few minutes walk away from a station.

1863: the worlds first TubeOn January 10th, 1863, the subways began to circulate regularly in London. An example that was soon followed by several other metropolises that channeled the public transportation for underground.The worlds first subway was created out of pure need. At the beginning of the 19th century, the British capitals streets were completely obstructed by coaches and carriages. The creator of the underground train in London, Charles Pearson, said once that the only solution for the constant jams was to transfer the public transportation upward viaducts or under the earth.

A city with a differenceLondon was not built to be a city. Ot began life as a Roman fortification at a place where it was possible to cross the River Thames. A wall was built around the town for defence, but as a period of peace followed the Norman Conquest, people buil outside the walls.In 1665 there was a terrible plague , so manu people left the city and scaped to villages. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague but also destroyed much of the city.

1665s PlagueThe Black Death. In the year 1665 death came calling on the city of London. The plague germs were carried by fleas which lived as parasites on rats. Although it had first appeared in Britain in 1348, the islands were never totally free of plague, but it was like an unpleasant possibility that people just learned to live with while they got on with their business. This time it was different.

1665s PlagueIn 1663 plague ravaged Holland. Charles II forbade any trade with the Dutch. Despite the precautions, the early spring of 1665 brought a sudden rise in the death rate in the poorer sections of London. The authorities ignored it. As spring turned into one of the hottest summers in memory, the number of deaths escalated and panic set in.

1665s PlagueThe gates are closed. By June the roads were clogged with people desperate to escape London. The Lord Mayor responded by closing the gates to anyone who did not have a certificate of health. These certificates became a currency more valuable than gold, and a market in certificates grew up.

166s PlagueDesperate Measures. By mid July over 1,000 deaths per week were reported in the city. It was rumored that dogs and cats spread the disease, so the Lord Mayor ordered all the dogs and cats destroyed. Author Daniel Defoe in his Journal of the Plague Years estimated that 40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were killed. The real effect of this was that there were fewer natural enemies of the rats who carried the plague fleas, so the germs spread more rapidly.

1665s PlagueAnyone in constant contact with plague victims, such as doctors, nurses, inspectors, were compelled to carry coloured staffs outdoors so that they could be easily seen and avoided. When one person in a house caught the plague the house was sealed until 40 days after the victim either recovered or died (usually the latter). Guards were posted at the door to see that no one got out. The guard had to be bribed to allow any food to passed to the inmates. It was not unknown for families to break through the walls of the house to escape, and in several cases they carefully lowered a noose over the guard's head from an attic window and hung him so they could get away.

1665s PlagueHeroism in the midst of horror. One footnote to this tale of horror. The plague broke out in the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, brought on a shipment of old clothes sent from London. The villagers, led by their courageous clergyman, realized that the only way to stop the spread of the plague to surrounding villages was to voluntarily quarantine the village, refusing to leave until the plague had run its course. This they did, though the cost was 259 dead out of a total of 292 inhabitants. Each year this heroic event is commemorated by the Plague Sunday Service in Eyam.

The Great Fire of LondonThe beginings. On the night of September 2, 1666, a small fire broke out in the premises of a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, London, perhaps started by the carelessness of a maid.A contemporary engraving of The Great FireIf it was carelessness, it was carelessness that had enormous and disastrous consequences, for the fire spread and soon the whole building was alight. In the close-packed streets of London, where buildings jostled each other for space, the blaze soon became an inferno. Fanned by an east wind, the fire spread with terrifying speed, feeding on the tar and pitch commonly used to seal houses.

The Great Fire of LondonPepys' View. Our best account of the Fire comes from the diaries of Samuel Pepys, Secretary of the Admiralty. He watched the course of the destruction from a safe position across the Thames, and called it, "a most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire... of above a mile long. It made me weep to see it. The churches, houses, and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made, and the cracking of houses at their ruin ...Over the Thames with one's face in the wind you were almost burned with a shower of firedrops." Pepys buried his wine and parmesan cheese to keep those valuable items safe from the flames.

The Great Fire of LondonCounting the cost. After four days while helpless citizens stood by and watched the destruction of their homes, the wind mercifully died and the fire was stopped. Then the accounting took place. When a dazed populace took stock of the damage, they must have wondered if Armageddon had come. Fully 80% of the city was destroyed, including over 13,000 houses, 89 churches and 52 Company (Guild) Halls. The spiritual hub of the city, Old St. Paul's Cathedral, was nothing but rubble. It was a disaster of unprecedented proportions.

The Great Fire of LondonWren's opportunity. Well, one person's disaster is another person's opportunity. Within days of the fire's end, Christopher Wren submitted plans to Charles II for the complete rebuilding of the city. Wren's grand scheme called for cutting wide avenues through the former warren of alleys and byways that had made up old London, opening up the city to light and air as it were. Charles liked the scheme, but he realized that the expense and the neccessity of rebuilding as fast as possible made it unworkable. Instead, he appointed Wren to rebuild the city's churches, including St. Paul's, a position the young architect filled brilliantly over the next fifty years.

The Great Fire of LondonThe Monument. Wren also was responsible for building the Monument (1671-79), a memorial commemorating the fire. The Monument (on Monument Street, naturally!) is a slender column 202 feet high, which is the exact distance from its base to the site of the baker's shop where the fire began. The original plans for the Monument called for a statue of Charles II on top, but Charles objected to the honour, fearing that the people of London would then associate him with the disaster. Wren replaced the statue with a simple bowl with flames emerging. The Monument is open year round and can be climbed to gain a wonderful view of the city. At the base is a carved stone relief depicting the story of the fire.One final note on the Great Fire. In 1986 the Baker's Company issued a somewhat belated apology for the fire (320 years late). Well, better late than never.

A city with a differenceNot many people live in the city centre, but London has spred further into the surrounding villages.Today, the metropolis of Greater London covers about 1560km nd the suburbs continue beyond this area.Some people travel over 150km every day to work in London, while living far from the city.

A city with a differenceLondon does not have just one centre, it has a number of centres, each with a distinct character. Here are some:The City: financial and business centre.

West End: shopping and entertainment centre.

Westminster: government centre.

The City

The City does not refer to the whole of central London but rather to a small area est of the centre, which includes the site of the original Roman town. It is na area which is proud of its independence and role as centre of trade and commerce.

The CityThe Citys Lod Mayor has as official residence the Mansion House. Once a year, in November, the Lord Mayors Show takes place, a colourful street parade in which the newly elected Lord Mayor travels in a golden coach, which is 200 years old.

The City: commerce and financeThe City of London is one of the major banking centres of the world and you can find banks of many natios in the famous Threadneedle Street.

The City: commerce and financeDuring weekdays in the city you can see the City gents with their bowler hats, pintriped suits and rolled umbrellas. This is the uniform only of those men involved in banking and business in the City, nad outside this small area you wil probably not see anyone dressed like this.

The City: Old BaileyThe centre of the countrys juridical system is to be found in the western part of the City. The Old Bailey housesmany courtsand some of Britans most famous murder trials have taken place here. Many solicitors and barristers have their chambers nearby, particularly in na area known as the Temple.

Famous Murder Trialswww.murderuk.com

The City: The Old BaileyAll criminal trials in Britain are held before a judge and a jury consisting of twelve ordinary people. It is the jury, not the judge, who decides if a person is guilty or not. An accused person is considered innocent until proved guilty.

The City: The pressFleet Street is famous as the home of the nations newspapers. People say Fleet Street to mean the press.British newspapers can be diveded into two groups: Quality newspapers: more serious and cover home and foreign news thoughtfullyPopular newspapers: like shocking, personal stories as well as some news.

The City: The pressQuality and popoular pprs

The City: Historic buildings

The City: Historic Buildings

The East EndThe East End grew with the spread of industries to the east of the City, and the growth of the port of London.People from