History of London continued
Civil War & The Georgian Period
The London of 1665 had become one of the principal
cities of Europe, with a population approaching
a then massive 500,000 and notable landmarks such
as St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey dominating
an increasingly impressive skyline. Little did Londoners
know, however, that a double tragedy was about to
bring this newly-crowned 'greatest city in Christendom'
to its knees.
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"But Lord, how empty the streets are, and melancholy,
so many poor sick people...so many sad stories overheard,
everybody talking of the dead." So wrote the
diarist Samuel Pepys in the London of 1665, as the
last Great Plague raged through the summer
months and carried away a staggering 100,000 dead.
Sparing no class, sex, or race, the rat-borne epidemic
devastated whole communities and made all but subsistence
living possible for many Londoners.
Barely as the city recovered from the devastations
of the Plague, the Great Fire of 1666 raged
from a small baker's shop in Pudding Lane throughout
whole riverside districts, destroying 13,000 houses
and 90 churches, including St. Paul's. Paintings of
this disaster show the whole London skyline enveloped
in flames and the sky glowing orange as the fire burned
unabated for five days and nights. (The site of the
initial fire is today marked by the towering Monument,
a short stroll from Monument Station).
That London recovered and prospered in the years following
these twin calamities is testament to the spirit and
confidence of the city that was soon to become the
capital of an Empire. Georgian London became the
elegant city of broad terraces and manicured parks
- many of which survive today. Painters, sculptors,
and craftsmen flocked to London in the eighteenth
century to meet the demand of the aristocracy and
the Royal Court for inspiration and patronage, sparking
a mini-Renaissance.
City of Empire
The consolidation of London as the pre-eminent city
in the world was completed in Victorian times, as
the British Empire expanded across the globe
to incorporate India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
and many other colonial outposts. Much of present-day
London is in fact Victorian - terraced houses became
common-place at this time, and previously outlying
villages such as Islington and Highgate were absorbed
by the rapidly expanding city limits. (The excellent
Museum of London 'World City
Galleries' and the V&A's
'British Galleries' showcase this great period
in London's history).
Victorian London was a place of great wealth and
poverty - the contrasts being vividly drawn by
writers such as Charles Dickens and playwright Oscar
Wilde. 19th century London was a city of Empire -
hosting the Great Exhibition in 1851, opening the
first underground train line in 1863, establishing
great museums such as the V&A and British, and
acting as the administrative and political heart of
an empire that at its peak was to include more than
a quarter of the world's population.
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