DK Travel : London : History & Culture

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1066: Norman Conquest

The next successful invasion of Britain came from northern France. It was led by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, who was crowned King of England in the newly completed Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.
1240: First Parliament

The first parliament sat in Westminster and became a seat of government separate from the mercantile City, which continued to expand on the former Roman site.
1534: The Reformation

A quarrel between Henry VIII and Pope Clement VII over the king’s divorce led to Henry breaking with Rome and declaring himself head of the church in England. Today, the sovereign remains the head of the Church of England.
1649: Charles I Executed

Charles I’s belief in the divine right of kings led to civil war. The royalist cause was lost and the king was beheaded in 1649. After 11 years of Puritanism, his son Charles II returned to the throne to preside over the Restoration.
1666: Great Fire of London

Much of the city, including the medieval St Paul’s and 87 parish churches, were destroyed in the fire, which raged for five days. Afterwards Sir Christopher Wren replanned the entire city, including the cathedral.
1863: First Underground

Originally designed to link the main London railway termini, the Metropolitan Line was the world’s first underground railway. When it opened, the carriages were little more than trucks.
1875: Embankments Built

Built on either side of the river, the Embankments were among the great engineering works of the Victorians. They were designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette to contain a vast new sewage system to take waste to pumping stations outside London.
1940–41: The Blitz

Between September 1940 and May 1941, German air raids left 30,000 Londoners dead. The bombers destroyed much of the Docks, the East End and the City. The House of Commons, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London were all hit. Many Londoners sought shelter in Underground stations at night.
1992: Docklands Development

Docks that were once hives of activity began to be deserted in the 1960s as trade moved to a modern container port at Tilbury. In the 1980s, regeneration of the area began, notably around the West India Dock, where Canary Wharf was built in 1992. A new City airport was created on the site of the former Royal docks.
2 Willow Road

Designed in 1939 by the architect Ernö Goldfinger for himself and his wife, the artist Ursula Blackwell, this is one of the most important examples of modern architecture in the UK. A film helps put the life and times of the couple in context. Goldfinger designed all the furniture and collected some fine works by Henry Moore, Max Ernst and Marcel Duchamp.