United Kingdom · europe
In London at Different Times
The same square mile, five hundred years apart.
The City of London has been a Roman port, a medieval walled town, a plague pit, a fire-scarred ruin, and a capital of empire — all inside the same two square miles. A tour across time of the most-rewritten place in Europe.
This story is still being researched by our editorial team. The published article will replace this placeholder shortly.
Stand on the steps of St Paul’s and look east. You are standing on top of three Londons: a Roman forum, a medieval market, and a 17th-century pile of ash. This is a story about the same ground, five centuries apart.
What the article will cover
- Roman Londinium — population 30,000 by 200 AD, forgotten for a thousand years
- Medieval London — narrow lanes, plague pits, and a wall that lasted until 1760
- The Great Fire of 1666 — why Wren’s rebuilt city is the London we still walk
- Victorian London — empire, sewers, and the first underground railway
- Today — finance, tourism, and a Roman amphitheatre hidden under Guildhall
Come back soon to read the full story.