The city

From Londinium

The Romans founded Londinium around AD 47 beside a bridge over the Thames. In 1666 the Great Fire burned most of the old walled city in four days, and Christopher Wren rebuilt 51 of its churches. By the 1820s London was the largest city in the world.

“I'd cross the Thames where the Romans built their bridge.”

The landmark

The great clock tower

The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament was finished in 1859 and renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012. Big Ben is really the name of its great bell. To keep the clock right, its keepers stack old pennies on the pendulum: each one speeds it up by 0.4 seconds a day.

Neighbourhoods

Greater London is made up of 32 boroughs and the City of London, with about 8.9 million people in 2023. The City is known as the Square Mile, since it covers about 1.12 square miles. It has its own Lord Mayor, a post much older than the Mayor of London. The Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange are based there. Greenwich gave the world its starting line for maps: in 1884 an international meeting chose the meridian at Greenwich as zero degrees of longitude.

The river

The Thames is tidal all the way through London, up to Teddington Lock. Twice a day the river rises and falls by up to 7 metres. Tower Bridge opened on 30 June 1894, and its two halves still lift to let tall ships pass, about 800 times a year. Further east, the Thames Barrier was opened on 8 May 1984 to shut out storm surges from the North Sea.

The skyline

St Paul's Cathedral was finished in 1710. It stands 111 metres tall and was the tallest building in London until the 1960s. Today, protected views from places like Primrose Hill keep new towers out of the line of sight to St Paul's. The Shard, at about 310 metres, is the tallest building in the United Kingdom. It opened in 2012, and its viewing deck is 244 metres up. On the South Bank, the 135-metre London Eye has 32 capsules, one for each borough.

When to see it

Climb Primrose Hill at sunset, or ride the London Eye at dusk. A full turn takes about 30 minutes, long enough to watch the lights come on.

Two keepers

Who keeps the wish in London.

An Elite wakes first; the Boss guards the wish itself. Hit their weak points for a BONK!, land the last blow for a KO!, and each one grins and takes a bow.

The Elite
The Tower Raven

Fed and counted every day · Keeper of the Tower of London

Legend says that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Crown will fall, so at least six are always kept there, with one to spare, cared for by a Ravenmaster. A tale credits Charles II with the rule, but no one can prove it, and some historians think the legend is much younger.

The raven cocks its head, tips its hat and stares at the plane. The raven hops sideways, ruffles its feathers and stays put. The raven folds its wings and bows. The ravens are staying.

“I'd count them twice, just to be sure.”
The Boss
The Guildhall Giant

The City's oldest guardian · Keeper of the Guildhall

Old tales say giants guarded Britain before London was founded, and carved giants have led the Lord Mayor's procession for centuries. The Guildhall's pair, carved in 1708, burned in the Blitz of December 1940; new figures were carved in 1953 and still stand in the Guildhall, ready to march out again.

Steam hisses. The clock in the giant's chest starts ticking again. The giant rocks back a step. The clock in his chest skips, then ticks on. The giant lowers his spear, and his clock stops at the hour he woke.

“I'd ask him what London looked like at the start.”

Guards a relic: the Crown Jewels Sceptre. The sceptre of the Crown Jewels, kept in the Tower and watched over by the Guildhall Giant. It gives each strike the weight of a crown.