135-639: London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London . It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark , Tower Hamlets , Lewisham , Newham and Greenwich . The docks were formerly part of the Port of London , at one time the world's largest port . After the docks closed, the area had become derelict and poverty-ridden by the 1980s. The Docklands' regeneration began later that decade; it has been redeveloped principally for commercial and residential use. The name "London Docklands"
270-472: A Bronze Age bridge were found on the south River Thames foreshore, upstream from Vauxhall Bridge . Two of the timbers were radiocarbon dated to 1750–1285 BC. In 2010, foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4800–4500 BC, were found on the Thames' south foreshore downstream from Vauxhall Bridge. Both structures are on the south bank of the Thames, where the now-underground River Effra flows into
405-658: A Unilateral Declaration of Independence. They even applied to join the United Nations, warning that UN peacekeeping troops might be needed to keep the Greater London Council from evicting them. While successive Labour and Conservative governments proposed a number of action plans during the 1970s, it was not until 1981 that the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was established to redevelop
540-603: A decline. However, parts of the launching slipway and plate works have been preserved in situ and may be seen close to Masthouse Terrace Pier . The urbanisation of the Isle of Dogs took place in the 19th century following the construction of the West India Docks , which opened in 1802. This heralded the area's most successful period, when it became an important centre for trade. The East India Docks were subsequently opened in 1806, followed by Millwall Dock in 1868. By
675-668: A full London Underground line, but the Government refused to fund it. The LDDC also built the Limehouse Link tunnel , a cut and cover road tunnel linking the Isle of Dogs to The Highway (the A1203 road) at a cost of over £150 million per kilometre, one of the most expensive stretches of road ever built. The LDDC also contributed to the development of London City Airport ( IATA airport code LCY), opened in October 1987 on
810-638: A further sign of regeneration in the area, the Docklands now has its own symphony orchestra, Docklands Sinfonia ; which was formed in January 2009 and is based at St Anne's Limehouse . The offices of The Independent group of publications were at one time situated in the Docklands. In 2008, Independent News & Media announced that The Independent would be moving its offices to Northcliffe House in Kensington . London's Docklands has become one of
945-725: A large meander in the River Thames in East London , England, which includes the Cubitt Town , Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Hamlet, Parish and, for a time, the wider borough of Poplar . The name had no official status until the 1987 creation of the Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood by Tower Hamlets London Borough Council . It has been known locally as simply "the Island" since
1080-486: A large IRA bomb exploded at South Quay on 9 February 1996 . Two people died in the explosion, forty people were injured and an estimated £150 million of damage was caused. This bombing ended an IRA ceasefire. James McArdle was sentenced to 25 years of jail time but released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and royal prerogative of mercy officially signed by Queen Elizabeth II . In
1215-542: A larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are excluded and some just outside included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places. Further urban expansion is now prevented by the Metropolitan Green Belt , although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, producing a separately defined Greater London Urban Area . Beyond this
1350-712: A major exception is the Surrey Commercial Docks, which are now largely filled in. Although large ships can—and occasionally still do—visit the old docks, all of the commercial traffic has moved downriver further east. The revival of the Docklands has had major effects in other run-down surrounding areas. Greenwich and Deptford are undergoing large-scale redevelopment, chiefly as a result of the improved transport links making them more attractive to commuters. The Docklands' redevelopment has, however, had some less beneficial aspects. The massive property boom and consequent rise in house prices has led to friction between
1485-466: A number of tight-knit local communities with their own distinctive cultures and slang. Due to poor communications with other parts of London, they tended to develop in some isolation. Road access to the Isle of Dogs , for example, was only via two swing bridges . Local sentiment there was so strong that Ted Johns, a local community campaigner, and his supporters, in protest at the lack of social provision from
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#17327654014291620-403: A population density of 802 per acre (325 per hectare). In addition to the growing number of stores selling goods, such as Harding, Howell & Co. —one of the first department stores —located on Pall Mall , the streets had scores of street sellers . London's overcrowded conditions led to cholera epidemics, claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866. Rising traffic congestion led to
1755-573: A population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 11,760 inhabitants per square mile (4,542/km ). The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of 3,236 square miles (8,382 km ) has a population of 13,709,000 and a population density of 3,900 inhabitants per square mile (1,510/km ). Modern London stands on
1890-474: A practice of various watersports, like sailing , kayaking , windsurfing and standup paddleboarding . Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre is one of the main reference spots for watersports fans. The Duchess of Cambridge visited the centre in 2017. The Isle of Dogs was the title of an early play by Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe , briefly performed in 1597 and then thoroughly suppressed as slanderous . T.S. Eliot 's The Waste Land contains
2025-551: A temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew . At Kew, the most rainfall in one month is 7.4 inches (189 mm) in November 1755 and the least is 0 inches (0 mm) in both December 1788 and July 1800. Mile End also had 0 inches (0 mm) in April 1893. The wettest year on record is 1903, with a total fall of 38.1 inches (969 mm) and
2160-573: Is Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line . Key areas including Regent's Park , The West End , Westminster , South Bank , Millennium Dome and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park , are all within 20 minutes of Canary Wharf by Tube. The DLR runs north–south through the Isle of Dogs. Docklands Light Railway stations are Canary Wharf , Heron Quays , South Quay , Crossharbour , Mudchute and Island Gardens . Key areas including
2295-699: Is 1,049.8 millibars (31.00 inHg) on 20 January 2020. Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot. London's average July high is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F). On average each year, London experiences 31 days above 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 4.2 days above 30.0 °C (86.0 °F). During the 2003 European heat wave , prolonged heat led to hundreds of heat-related deaths. A previous spell of 15 consecutive days above 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) in England in 1976 also caused many heat related deaths. A previous temperature of 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) in August 1911 at
2430-459: Is a list of purchases, which includes: A hose for the Mary George, in dock at the Isle of Dogs, 10d The 1898 edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable attributes the name: "So called from being the receptacle of the greyhounds of Edward III . Some say it is a corruption of the Isle of Ducks, and that it is so called in ancient records from the number of wild fowl inhabiting
2565-562: Is agreed that the name came into these languages from Common Brythonic ; recent work tends to reconstruct the lost Celtic form of the name as * Londonjon or something similar. This was then adapted into Latin as Londinium and borrowed into Old English. Until 1889, the name "London" applied officially only to the City of London , but since then it has also referred to the County of London and to Greater London . In 1993, remains of
2700-542: Is directly connected to the National Grid , reducing transmission losses and improving power density and service continuity. 51°30′18″N 0°01′05″W / 51.50500°N 0.01806°W / 51.50500; -0.01806 London London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom , with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The wider metropolitan area
2835-545: Is formed of two tiers: a citywide, strategic tier and a local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components: the mayor of London , who has executive powers , and the London Assembly , which scrutinises the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject
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#17327654014292970-760: Is headquartered in Thames House on the north bank of the River Thames and the foreign intelligence service ( MI6 ) is headquartered in the SIS Building on the south bank. Crime rates vary widely across different areas of London. Crime figures are made available nationally at Local Authority and Ward level. In 2015, there were 118 homicides, a 25.5% increase over 2014. Recorded crime has been rising in London, notably violent crime and murder by stabbing and other means have risen. There were 50 murders from
3105-592: Is held by an independent . The ministerial post of minister for London was created in 1994, however as of 2024, the post has been vacant. Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London , is provided by the Metropolitan Police ("The Met"), overseen by the mayor through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The Met is also referred to as Scotland Yard after
3240-564: Is known as London . It is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England by convention rather than statute. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court , and thus the political capital of the nation. Greater London encompasses a total area of 611 square miles (1,583 km ) an area which had
3375-610: Is the largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea , and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre , the City of London , was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster , to
3510-523: Is the vast London commuter belt . Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London , and by the River Thames into North and South , with an informal central London area. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall , are about 51°30′26″N 00°07′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750 . Within London, both
3645-517: The 2012 Summer Olympics . London is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD, usually in the Latinised form Londinium . Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms found in early sources: Latin (usually Londinium ), Old English (usually Lunden ), and Welsh (usually Llundein ), with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It
3780-540: The Black Death in the mid-14th century, London lost nearly a third of its population. London was the focus of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. London was a centre of England's Jewish population before their expulsion by Edward I in 1290. Violence against Jews occurred in 1190, when it was rumoured that the new king had ordered their massacre after they had presented themselves at his coronation. In 1264 during
3915-533: The Canary Wharf development. This was born out of London's increasing role as an international financial centre in the 1980s. Located about 2 miles (3 km) east of central London, the Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea . The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, leaving London with no central administration until 2000 and
4050-492: The City of London , Tower Hill and Greenwich are all within 20 minutes of the Isle of Dogs by DLR. The Elizabeth line 's Canary Wharf station opened in 2022. Situated at the north of the Island, it provides high-frequency, fast connections to the heart of the West End , Paddington Station , Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood . Regular commuter boat services serve both Masthouse Terrace Pier and Canary Wharf Pier on
4185-672: The Corn Laws in 1846 was specifically aimed at weakening Dutch economic power. London then overtook Amsterdam as the leading international financial centre. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, an unprecedented growth in urbanisation took place, and the number of High Streets (the primary street for retail in Britain) rapidly grew. London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925 , with
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4320-518: The Georgian era , new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London . In the east, the Port of London expanded downstream. London's development as an international financial centre matured for much of the 18th century. In 1762, George III acquired Buckingham House , which was enlarged over the next 75 years. During
4455-634: The King's Road , Chelsea and Carnaby Street . The role of trendsetter revived in the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded in response to the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created. During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army . These attacks lasted for two decades, starting with
4590-627: The London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust , the largest free-at-the-point-of-use emergency ambulance service in the world. The London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required. Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames , which is under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority from Teddington Lock to
4725-534: The London Stock Exchange , London remains a European economic powerhouse, and one of the world's major financial centres . It hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions , some of which are the highest-ranked academic institutions in the world: Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences , the London School of Economics in social sciences , and
4860-727: The Mediterranean was normally through Antwerp and over the Alps ; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan . The reopening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 spurred a burst of commercial activity. The Royal Exchange was founded. Mercantilism grew and monopoly traders such as the East India Company were founded as trade expanded to
4995-613: The New Model Army entered London in 1647, and they were levelled by Parliament the same year. London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population. The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding took over ten years and
5130-564: The New World . London became the main North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from about 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605. In the 16th century, William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London during English Renaissance theatre . Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599 in Southwark . Stage performances came to a halt in London when Puritan authorities shut down
5265-612: The Old Bailey bombing . Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot . Greater London's population declined in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury , with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including
5400-584: The Pool of London . However, these gave no protection against the elements, were vulnerable to thieves and suffered from a lack of space at the quayside. The Howland Great Dock in Rotherhithe (built in 1696, and later to form the core of the Surrey Commercial Docks ) was designed to address these problems, providing a large, secure and sheltered anchorage with room for 120 large vessels. It
5535-464: The Port of London Authority took control of the docks. With the docks stretching across from East to West with locks at each end, the Isle of Dogs could now almost be described as a genuine island. Dock workers settled on the "island" as the docks grew in importance, and by 1901, 21,000 people lived there, largely dependent on the river trade on the Isle as well as in Greenwich and Deptford across
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5670-926: The Royal Victoria (1855), Millwall (1868) and Royal Albert (1880). The King George V Dock (1921) was a late addition. Three principal kinds of docks existed. Wet docks were where ships were laid up at anchor and loaded or unloaded. Dry docks , which were far smaller, took individual ships for repairing. Ships were built at dockyards along the riverside. In addition, the river was lined with innumerable warehouses, piers, jetties and dolphins (mooring points). The various docks tended to specialise in different forms of produce. The Surrey Docks concentrated on timber , for instance; Millwall took grain; St Katharine took wool, sugar and rubber; and so on. The docks required an army of workers, chiefly lightermen (who carried loads between ships and quays aboard small barges called lighters ) and quayside workers, who dealt with
5805-662: The Second Barons' War , Simon de Montfort 's rebels killed 500 Jews while attempting to seize records of debts. During the Tudor period , the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism . Much of London property passed from church to private ownership, which accelerated trade and business in the city. In 1475, the Hanseatic League set up a main trading base ( kontor ) of England in London, called
5940-526: The Secretary of State for the Environment , Michael Heseltine , formed the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) to redevelop the area. This was a statutory body appointed and funded by central government (a quango ), with wide powers to acquire and dispose of land in the Docklands. It also served as the development planning authority for the area. Another important government intervention
6075-753: The Security Express robbery and the Tonbridge cash depot robbery . The end came suddenly, between approximately 1960 and 1970, when the shipping industry adopted the newly invented container system of cargo transportation. London's docks were unable to accommodate the much larger vessels needed by containerization, and the shipping industry moved to deep-water ports such as Tilbury and Felixstowe . Between 1960 and 1980, all of London's docks were closed, leaving around eight square miles (21 km) of derelict land in East London. Efforts to redevelop
6210-585: The Stalhof or Steelyard . It remained until 1853, when the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck , Bremen and Hamburg sold the property to South Eastern Railway . Woollen cloth was shipped undyed and undressed from 14th/15th century London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries . Yet English maritime enterprise hardly reached beyond the seas of north-west Europe . The commercial route to Italy and
6345-495: The Thames , its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a flood plain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill , Addington Hills , and Primrose Hill . Historically London grew up at the lowest bridging point on the Thames. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands ; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width. Since
6480-428: The Tower of London ; the site featuring the Palace of Westminster , Church of St. Margaret , and Westminster Abbey ; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory defines the prime meridian (0° longitude ) and Greenwich Mean Time . Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace , the London Eye , Piccadilly Circus , St Paul's Cathedral , Tower Bridge , and Trafalgar Square . The city has
6615-414: The Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked , and many of its London tributaries now flow underground . The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding. The threat has increased over time because of a slow but continuous rise in high water level caused by climate change and by the slow 'tilting' of the British Isles as a result of post-glacial rebound . London has
6750-401: The 11th century, London was clearly the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey , rebuilt in Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor , was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England , but from this time London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton : "It had
6885-429: The 1880s, the casual employment system caused Dock workers to unionise under Ben Tillett and John Burns . This led to a demand for 6d per hour (2.5p), and an end to casual labour in the docks. After a bitter struggle, the London Dock Strike of 1889 was settled with victory for the strikers, and established a national movement for the unionisation of casual workers. The three dock systems were unified in 1909 when
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#17327654014297020-434: The 18th century, London was said to be dogged by crime, and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force. Epidemics during the 1720s and 30s saw most children born in the city die before reaching their fifth birthday. Coffee-houses became a popular place to debate ideas, as growing literacy and development of the printing press made news widely available, with Fleet Street becoming
7155-497: The 1980s and 1990s saw a huge area of the Docklands converted into a mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial space. The clearest symbol of the whole effort was the ambitious Canary Wharf project that constructed Britain's tallest building at the time and established a second business district (CBD) in London. However, there is no evidence that the LDDC foresaw this scale of development; nearby Heron Quays had already been developed as low-density offices when Canary Wharf
7290-404: The 19th century. The whole area was once known as Stepney Marsh ; Anton van den Wyngaerde 's "Panorama of London" dated 1543 depicts and refers to the Isle of Dogs. Records show that ships preparing to carry the English royal household to Calais in 1520 docked at the southern bank of the island. The name Isle of Dogges occurs in the Thamesis Descriptio of 1588, applied to a small island in
7425-410: The Canary Wharf Tower, is the second tallest habitable building in Britain at 244 metres (801 ft). The peninsula is an area of social extremes, comprising some of the most prosperous and most deprived areas of the country; in 2004, nearby Blackwall was the 81st most deprived ward in England out of over 8,000, while the presence of Canary Wharf gives the area one of the highest average incomes in
7560-420: The City of London and the City of Westminster have city status . The City of London and the remainder of Greater London are both counties for the purposes of lieutenancies . The area of Greater London includes areas that are part of the historic counties of Middlesex , Kent , Surrey , Essex and Hertfordshire . More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context
7695-482: The Docklands has more than doubled during the last 30 years, and the area has become a major business centre. Canary Wharf has emerged as one of Europe's biggest clusters of skyscrapers and a major extension to the financial services district of the City of London. Although most of the old wharfs and warehouses have been demolished, some have been restored and converted into flats. Many of the docks themselves have survived and are now used as marinas or watersports centres;
7830-429: The Greenwich Peninsula. Between 1986 and 1992 it enjoyed a brief formal existence, as the name Isle of Dogs was applied to one of seven neighbourhoods to which power was devolved from the council. The neighbourhood was later abolished. It was the site of the highest concentration of council housing in England but is now best known as the location of the Canary Wharf office complex. One Canada Square , also known as
7965-421: The Greenwich station was later disregarded as non-standard. Droughts can also, occasionally, be a problem, especially in summer, most recently in summer 2018, and with much drier than average conditions prevailing from May to December. However, the most consecutive days without rain was 73 days in the spring of 1893. Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula . It is bounded on three sides by
8100-481: The Isle of Dogs – Cubitt Town Junior School, Arnhem Wharf, Harbinger School and St Edmunds. There was also an independent primary school, River House Montessori, located near South Quay, but this closed in 2024. George Green's School is a secondary school and Specialist Humanities School at the southern tip of the island. Canary Wharf College is a free school on the Island which covers primary and secondary education. The nearest London Underground station
8235-511: The Isle of Dogs officially issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the UK as the “Republic of the Isle of Dogs”. They were protesting the lack of social services provided by the Greater London Council, as well as the mass unemployment among former dockyard workers. Led by Labour councilor Ted Johns, the inhabitants of the island barricaded the main roads, isolating it from the rest of London for ten days. On 10 March, Tower Hamlets Council presented plans for investment and improvement of
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#17327654014298370-415: The Isle of Dogs. Following the building of the Docks (especially the West India Docks and the adjacent City Canal ), and with an increasing population, locals increasingly referred to the area as The Island . This area includes Millwall , Cubitt Town , and Blackwall . The south of the isle opposite Greenwich was once known as North Greenwich , now applied to the area around the Millennium Dome on
8505-432: The Isle of Dogs. The Thames Clippers provides regular commuter services to Woolwich Arsenal Pier , Greenwich Pier in the east, and the City of London including St. Katherine Docks, Tower Bridge , HMS Belfast , Greater London Authority building, Tate Modern , Blackfriars , as well as the West End of London in the west on the commuter service. There is also a connecting shuttle service to Rotherhithe and
8640-438: The Isle of Dogs. It became part of an enterprise zone , which covered 1.95 km of land and encompassed the West India, Millwall and East India Docks. New housing, office space and transport infrastructure were built. This included the Docklands Light Railway and later the Jubilee line extension, which eventually brought access to the London Underground to the area for the first time. Since its construction in 1987–1991,
8775-411: The London Dockland area, such as: In the early 21st century, redevelopment is spreading into the more suburban parts of east and southeast London, and into the parts of the counties of Kent and Essex that abut the Thames Estuary . See Thames Gateway and Lower Lea Valley for further information on this trend. The numbers of several London Buses routes are prefixed D for Docklands; all run on
8910-435: The London area. This called for the Corporation of the city to extend its jurisdiction and administration over expanding areas around the city. Fearing an attempt by the Crown to diminish the Liberties of London , coupled with a lack of interest in administering these additional areas or concern by city guilds of having to share power, caused the Corporation's "The Great Refusal", a decision which largely continues to account for
9045-399: The Tate to Tate service from Tate Modern to Tate Britain via London Eye . From Summer 2007, the service has been enhanced with express boats from central London to the O2 Arena (former Millennium Dome ). The Thames Path National Trail runs along the riverside. At the southern end of the Isle of Dogs, the Greenwich foot tunnel provides pedestrian access to Greenwich , across
9180-490: The Thames estuary as inning . The reclaimed land was below high water, protected by earthen banks. These banks if not properly kept up were liable to be breached. This happened in 1448, drowning the land for 40 years. In 1660, the river started to break through the neck of the peninsula, initiating meander cutoff . This was arrested by human intervention, but it left a 5-acre lake called Poplar Gut , which appears on John Rocque 's 1746 Map of London and ten miles around in
9315-409: The Thames. Despite the evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans around 47 AD, about four years after their invasion of 43 AD. This only lasted until about 61 AD, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it and burnt it to the ground. The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as
9450-409: The UK. Lincoln Plaza was the 2016 winner of the Carbuncle Cup for the year's "worst new building" and The Times described it as "mediocre at best, ugly at worst". The Isle of Dogs is situated some distance downriver from the City of London . It was originally marsh, being several feet below water at high tide. In the Middle Ages it was made available for human habitation by a process known in
9585-415: The United Kingdom's population and over 16% of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe, with about 14 million inhabitants as of 2016, making London a megacity . Four World Heritage Sites are located in London: Kew Gardens ;
9720-620: The Viking incursions formally agreed by the Danish warlord , Guthrum and the West Saxon king Alfred the Great in 886. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Alfred "refounded" London in 886. Archaeological research shows this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls . London then grew slowly until a dramatic increase in about 950. By
9855-418: The administrative area of Greater London , governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority . As one of the world's major global cities , London exerts a strong influence on world art , entertainment, fashion , commerce, finance, education , healthcare , media , science, technology, tourism , transport , and communications. Despite a post- Brexit exodus of stock listings from
9990-552: The area has been dominated by the expanding Canary Wharf development with over 437,000 square metres (4,700,000 sq ft) of office and retail space having been created; 93,000 now work in Canary Wharf alone. The Island achieved notoriety in 1993 when Derek Beackon of the British National Party became a councillor for Millwall ward, in a by-election . This was the culmination of years when race
10125-521: The building of the Docklands Light Railway in 1987, the only public transport accessing and exiting the Island consisted of buses using its perimeter roads. These were frequently and substantially delayed by the movement of up to four bridges which allowed ships access to the West India Docks and Millwall Docks. The insular nature of the Island caused its separateness from the rest of London, and its unique nature. During World War II ,
10260-614: The centre of the British press. The invasion of Amsterdam by Napoleonic armies led many financiers to relocate to London and the first London international issue was arranged in 1817. Around the same time, the Royal Navy became the world's leading war fleet, acting as a major deterrent to potential economic adversaries. Following a fire in 1838, the Royal Exchange was redesigned by William Tite and rebuilt in 1844. The repeal of
10395-484: The city's metropolis. The City of London at its core once comprised the whole settlement, but as its urban area grew, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to amalgamate the city with its suburbs , causing "London" to be defined several ways. Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town , in which 'London' forms part of postal addresses. The London telephone area code (020) covers
10530-412: The city, to intimidate the inhabitants. In 1097, William II began building Westminster Hall , near the abbey. It became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster . In the 12th century, the institutions of central government, which had hitherto followed the royal English court around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed, for most purposes at Westminster , although
10665-600: The combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA). The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London, run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority . It is the third largest fire service in the world. National Health Service ambulance services are provided by
10800-458: The comprehensive University College London . It is the most visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system . The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system. London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2023 population of Greater London of just under 10 million made it Europe's third-most populous city , accounting for 13.4% of
10935-626: The creation of the Greater London Authority . To mark the 21st century, the Millennium Dome , London Eye and Millennium Bridge were constructed. On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics , as the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times. On 7 July 2005, three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus were bombed in a series of terrorist attacks . In 2008, Time named London alongside New York City and Hong Kong as Nylonkong , hailing them as
11070-559: The creation of the London Underground , the world's first urban rail network . The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion in the capital and some surrounding counties; it was abolished in 1889 when the London County Council was created out of county areas surrounding the capital. From the early years of the 20th century onwards, teashops were found on High Streets across London and
11205-586: The dock workers often made ends meet with petty and not so petty criminality, such as theft from the not yet containerized cargo, smuggling and fencing. As a result, the docks became "centres of excellence for criminal practice". Many of Britain's most proficient criminals learnt their trade here, including those behind the Hatton Garden heist , the Great Train Robbery , the Brink's-Mat robbery ,
11340-752: The docks began almost as soon as they were closed, although it took a decade for most plans to move beyond the drawing board and another decade for redevelopment to take full effect. The situation was greatly complicated by the large number of landowners involved: the PLA, the Greater London Council (GLC), the British Gas Corporation , five borough councils, British Rail and the Central Electricity Generating Board . To address this problem, in 1981
11475-539: The docks were a key target for the German Luftwaffe and were heavily bombed. A number of local civilians were killed in the bombing and extensive destruction was caused on the ground, with many warehouses being destroyed and much of the dock system being put out of action for an extended period. Unexploded bombs from this period continue to be discovered today. Anti-aircraft batteries were based on Mudchute Farm; their concrete bases remain today. After
11610-713: The driest is 1921, with a total fall of 12.1 inches (308 mm). The average annual precipitation amounts to about 600mm, which is half the annual rainfall of New York City . Despite relatively low annual precipitation, London receives 109.6 rainy days on the 1.0mm threshold annually. London is vulnerable to climate change , and there is concern among hydrological experts that households may run out of water before 2050. Temperature extremes in London range from 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) at Heathrow on 19 July 2022 down to −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) at Northolt on 13 December 1981. Records for atmospheric pressure have been kept at London since 1692. The highest pressure ever reported
11745-553: The extract reproduced in this article. One road led across the Marshes to an ancient ferry, at Ferry Road. There was rich grazing on the marsh, and cattle were slaughtered in fields known as the Killing Fields , south of Poplar High Street. The western side of the island was known as Marsh Wall , and the district became known as Millwall with the building of the docks, and from the number of windmills constructed along
11880-609: The first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan , which was most recently revised in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation . They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, libraries, leisure and recreation, social services , local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management , are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010
12015-534: The first use of the term. Importantly, this type of official declaration did not require a formal agreement between the new state and the state it was seceding from. The daring feat of the Isle of Dogs would inspire other independence movements within London. This included the "Free and Independent Republic of Frestonia" in 1977. When squatters inhabiting two streets (Freston Road and Bramley Road) in West London were threatened with eviction, they officially issued
12150-478: The former dockyard workers and caused serious social deprivation. Ted Johns, a local community campaigner, and his supporters, in protest at the lack of social provision from the state, made a unilateral declaration of independence for the area from the United Kingdom as the Republic of the Isle of Dogs and set up an 'Island Council' with Johns himself as its elected president, and for a single day in 1970 blocked
12285-419: The goods once they were ashore. Some of the workers were highly skilled: the lightermen had their own livery company or guild, while the deal porters (workers who carried timber) were famous for their acrobatic skills. Most were unskilled and worked as casual labourers. They assembled at certain points, such as pubs, each morning, where they were selected more or less at random by foremen. For these workers, it
12420-415: The island, and with this, just ten days after the barricades first went up, the independence of the Isle of Dogs came to an end. The soil is alluvial and silty in nature, underlaid by clay or mud , with a peat layer in places. The first known written mention of the Isle of Dogs is in the ‘Letters & Papers of Henry VIII ’. In Volume 3: 1519–1523. 2 October 1520. No. 1009 – ‘Shipping’, there
12555-467: The largest ship of that time, the SS Great Eastern designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel , was launched from the yard of Messrs Scott, Russell & Co, of Millwall. The 211 metres (692 ft) length was too big for the river so the ship had to be launched sideways. Due to the technical difficulties of the launch this was the last big ship to be built on the Island and the industry fell into
12690-670: The last of the docks, the King George V, in 1921, as well as greatly expanding the Tilbury docks . German bombing during the Second World War caused massive damage to the docks, with 380,000 tons of timber destroyed in the Surrey Docks in a single night. Nonetheless, following post-war rebuilding they experienced a resurgence of prosperity in the 1950s. Before the later Docklands' redevelopment and gentrification,
12825-596: The lines "The barges wash / Drifting logs / Down Greenwich reach / Past the Isle of Dogs." In modern times the Isle of Dogs has provided locations for many blockbuster films, including the opening scenes of the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough , and more recently Batman Begins , The Constant Gardener , Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , and Love Actually . The Isle of Dogs featured heavily in
12960-640: The location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police . First worn by Met police officers in 1863, the custodian helmet has been called a "cultural icon" and a "symbol of British law enforcement". Introduced by the Met in 1929, the blue police telephone box (basis for the TARDIS in Doctor Who )
13095-610: The marshes." Other sources discount this, believing these stories to all derive from the antiquarian John Strype , and believe it might come from one of the following: Canary Wharf , located in the Isle of Dogs, took its name from sea trade with the Canary Islands , which were named in Latin as Canariae Insulae ("Dog Islands"). The Talbot dog in the coat of arms of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets represents
13230-409: The mayor's budget proposals each year. The GLA has responsibility for the majority of London's transport system through its functional arm Transport for London (TfL), it is responsible for overseeing the city's police and fire services, and also for setting a strategic vision for London on a range of issues. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall , Newham. The mayor since 2016 has been Sadiq Khan ,
13365-753: The most museums , art galleries, libraries, and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum , National Gallery , Natural History Museum , Tate Modern , British Library , and numerous West End theatres. Important sporting events held in London include the FA Cup Final , the Wimbledon Tennis Championships , and the London Marathon . It became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games upon hosting
13500-675: The most diverse cities in the world. In 1951, the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank . The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956 , which ended the " pea soup fogs " for which London had been notorious, and had earned it the nickname the "Big Smoke". Starting mainly in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for worldwide youth culture , exemplified by the Swinging London sub-culture associated with
13635-482: The new arrivals and the old Docklands communities, who have complained of being squeezed out. It has also made for some of the most striking disparities to be seen anywhere in Britain: luxury executive flats constructed alongside run-down public housing estates. The Docklands' status as a symbol of Margaret Thatcher 's Britain has also made it a target for terrorists. After a failed attempt to bomb Canary Wharf in 1992,
13770-626: The north bank of the River Thames as part of the London bus network, and act as feeder buses to the DLR. The D network was developed in the early stages of Docklands redevelopment; it was originally much larger, but as transport rapidly improved across east London, the need for the D routes reduced. Today only four remain, running primarily in Tower Hamlets and briefly into Newham and Hackney . Stagecoach London operate routes D6, D7 and D8, and Blue Triangle operate route D3. The population of
13905-467: The old Roman city. By about 680 the city had become a major port again, but there is little evidence of large-scale production. From the 820s repeated Viking assaults brought decline. Three are recorded; those in 851 and 886 succeeded, while the last, in 994, was rebuffed. The Vikings applied Danelaw over much of eastern and northern England, its boundary running roughly from London to Chester as an area of political and geographical control imposed by
14040-490: The principal city of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000. With the early 5th-century collapse of Roman rule, the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued around St Martin-in-the-Fields until about 450. From about 500, an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed slightly west of
14175-517: The resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital ." After winning the Battle of Hastings , William, Duke of Normandy was crowned King of England in newly completed Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. William built the Tower of London , the first of many such in England rebuilt in stone in the south-eastern corner of
14310-641: The rest of Britain, with Lyons , who opened the first of their chain of teashops in Piccadilly in 1894, leading the way. The tearooms, such as the Criterion in Piccadilly, became a popular meeting place for women from the suffrage movement. The city was the target of many attacks during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign , between 1912 and 1914, which saw historic landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral bombed. London
14445-469: The river to the south and west. The Isle of Dogs was connected to the rest of London by the London and Blackwall Railway , opened in 1840 and progressively extended thereafter. In 1902, the ferry to Greenwich was replaced by the construction of the Greenwich foot tunnel , and Island Gardens park was laid out in 1895, providing views across the river. The London and Blackwall Railway closed in 1926. Until
14580-428: The river. National Cycle Network route 1 runs through the foot tunnel (although cycles must not be ridden in the tunnel itself). The nearest airport is London City Airport , which is 25 minutes away from Canary Wharf by DLR. There is also a helipad situated on the west of the Island and next to Ferguson's Wharf, which is privately run by Vanguard. The presence of docks, some of a considerable size, has enabled
14715-401: The royal treasury came to rest in the Tower . While the City of Westminster developed into a true governmental capital, its distinct neighbour, the City of London , remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London . In 1100, its population was some 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000. With
14850-546: The sea. London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom . Many government departments, as well as the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street , are based close to the Palace of Westminster , particularly along Whitehall . There are 75 members of Parliament (MPs) from London; As of June 2024 , 59 are from the Labour Party , 9 are Conservatives , 6 are Liberal Democrats and one constituency
14985-647: The south-western part of the peninsula. The name is next applied to the Isle of Dogs Farm (originally known as Pomfret Manor ) shown on a map of 1683. At the same time, the area was variously known as Isle of Dogs or the Blackwell levels . By 1855, it was incorporated within the parish of Poplar under the aegis of the Poplar Board of Works. This was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar on its formation in 1900. In March 1970,
15120-588: The spine of the Royal Docks . The London Underground's Jubilee line was extended eastwards in 1999; it now serves Rotherhithe/ Surrey Quays at Canada Water station , the Isle of Dogs at Canary Wharf tube station , Greenwich at North Greenwich tube station and the nearby Royal Docks at Canning Town station . The DLR was extended in 1994 to serve much of the Royal Docks area when the Beckton branch
15255-424: The start of 2018 to mid April 2018. Funding cuts to police in London are likely to have contributed to this, though other factors are involved. However, homicide figures fell in 2022 with 109 recorded for the year, and the murder rate in London is much lower than other major cities around the world. London, also known as Greater London , is one of nine regions of England and the top subdivision covering most of
15390-460: The state, unilaterally declared independence for the area, set up a so-called "Island Council" with Johns himself as its elected leader, and blocked off the two access roads. The docks were originally built and managed by a number of competing private companies. From 1909, they were managed by the Port of London Authority (PLA) which amalgamated the companies in a bid to make the docks more efficient and improve labour relations . The PLA constructed
15525-698: The theatres in the 1640s. The ban on theatre was lifted during the Restoration in 1660, and London's oldest operating theatre, Drury Lane , opened in 1663 in what is now the West End theatre district. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, in the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605. In 1637, the government of Charles I attempted to reform administration in
15660-682: The top of the flood defence. In 1802, the West India Docks began to be developed on the Isle of Dogs. Beginning in 1812 the Poplar and Greenwich Ferry Roads Company installed tolls on the East Ferry Road. These proved to be unpopular and after many years of lobbying the Metropolitan Board of Works bought the company and abolished the tolls in 1885. The Docks brought with them many associated industries, such as flour and sugar processing, and also ship building. On 31 January 1858
15795-446: The two swing-bridges providing the only access to the area by road. On 10 March, Tower Hamlets Council presented plans for investment and improvement of the island, and with this, just ten days after the barricades first went up, the independence of the Isle of Dogs came to an end. The Isle of Dogs’ short-lived independence came in the wake of Rhodesia’s issuing of a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1965. This marked
15930-715: The unique governmental status of the City . In the English Civil War , the majority of Londoners supported the Parliamentary cause. After an initial advance by the Royalists in 1642, culminating in the battles of Brentford and Turnham Green , London was surrounded by a defensive perimeter wall known as the Lines of Communication . The lines were built by up to 20,000 people, and were completed in under two months. The fortifications failed their only test when
16065-561: The war, the docks underwent a brief resurgence and were even upgraded in 1967. However, with the advent of containerisation , which the docks could not handle, they became obsolete soon afterwards. The docks closed progressively during the 1970s, with the last – the West India and Millwall docks – closing down in 1980. This left the area in a severely dilapidated state, with large areas being derelict and abandoned. The Isle of Dogs' economic problems led to mass unemployment among
16200-504: The west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament . London grew rapidly in the 19th century , becoming the world's largest city at the time . Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which since 1965 has largely comprised
16335-400: The world's leading global internet hubs since the opening in 1990 of the carrier-neutral Telehouse campus, which hosts the vast majority of LINX 's internet peering traffic, occupying over 73,000 square metres. In August 2016, Telehouse Europe opened the $ 177 million North Two data centre of 24,000 square metres that became the only UK data centre to own a 132 kV on-campus grid substation that
16470-639: The world's three most influential global cities . In January 2015, Greater London's population was estimated to be 8.63 million, its highest since 1939. During the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK as a whole decided to leave the European Union , but most London constituencies voted for remaining. However, Britain's exit from the EU in early 2020 only marginally weakened London's position as an international financial centre. The administration of London
16605-957: Was bombed by the Germans in the First World War , and during the Second World War , the Blitz and other bombings by the German Luftwaffe killed over 30,000 Londoners, destroying large tracts of housing and other buildings across the city. The tomb of the Unknown Warrior , an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed during the First World War, was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920. The Cenotaph , located in Whitehall ,
16740-761: Was a major commercial success, and provided for two phases of expansion during the Georgian and Victorian eras . The first of the Georgian docks was the West India (opened in 1802), followed by the London (1805), the East India (also 1805), the Surrey (1807), the Regent's Canal Dock (1820), St Katharine (1828) and the West India South (1829). The Victorian docks were mostly further east, comprising
16875-453: Was a prominent issue in local politics, especially with regards to allocation of housing. Labour regained the ward in the full council election of May 1994, and held all three seats until a further by-election in September 2004. On 9 February 1996, the IRA detonated a truck bomb near South Quay DLR station on the Isle of Dogs that killed two people and injured more than a hundred others. There are four state primary schools located on
17010-410: Was addressed by the LDDC with the construction of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which connected the Docklands with the city. According to Transport for London, the owner of the project, it was a remarkably inexpensive development, costing only £77 million in its first phase, as it relied on reusing disused railway infrastructure and derelict land for much of its length. The LDDC originally requested
17145-407: Was effectively a lottery whether they would get work on any particular day. This arrangement continued until as late as 1965, although it was somewhat regularised after the creation of the National Dock Labour Scheme in 1947. The main dockland areas were originally low-lying marshes, mostly unsuitable for agriculture and lightly populated. With the establishment of the docks, the dock workers formed
17280-437: Was once a common sight throughout London and regional cities in the UK. The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail , London Underground , Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink services. The Ministry of Defence Police is a special police force in London, which does not generally become involved with policing the general public. The UK's domestic counter-intelligence service ( MI5 )
17415-500: Was opened. The Isle of Dogs branch was extended further south, and in 1999 it began serving Greenwich town centre—including the Cutty Sark museum— Deptford and finally Lewisham . In 2005, a new branch of the DLR opened from Canning Town to serve what used to be the eastern terminus of the North London Line , including a station at London City Airport . It was then further extended to Woolwich Arsenal in 2009. Further development projects are being proposed and put into practice within
17550-427: Was proposed, and similar development was already underway on Canary Wharf itself, Limehouse Studios being the most famous occupant. Canary Wharf was far from trouble-free; the property slump of the early 1990s halted further development for several years. Developers found themselves, for a time, saddled with property that they were unable to sell or let. The Docklands historically had poor transport connections. This
17685-406: Was supervised by polymath Robert Hooke . In 1710, Christopher Wren 's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral , was completed, replacing its medieval predecessor that burned in the Great Fire of 1666. The dome of St Paul's dominated the London skyline for centuries, inspiring the artworks and writing of William Blake , with his 1789 poem " Holy Thursday " referring to 'the high dome of Pauls'. During
17820-460: Was the designation in 1982 of an enterprise zone , an area in which businesses were exempt from property taxes and had other incentives, including simplified planning and capital allowances. This made investing in the Docklands a significantly more attractive proposition and was instrumental in starting a property boom in the area. The LDDC was controversial; it was accused of favouring elitist luxury developments rather than affordable housing, and it
17955-405: Was unpopular with the local communities, who felt that their needs were not being addressed. Nonetheless, the LDDC was central to a remarkable transformation in the area, although how far it was in control of events is debatable. It was wound up in 1998 when control of the Docklands area was handed back to the respective local authorities. The massive development programme managed by the LDDC during
18090-458: Was unveiled on the same day, and is the focal point for the National Service of Remembrance held annually on Remembrance Sunday , the closest Sunday to 11 November. The 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium , while London was still recovering from the war. From the 1940s, London became home to many immigrants, primarily from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making London one of
18225-412: Was used for the first time in a government report on redevelopment plans in 1971 and has since been almost universally adopted. The redevelopment created wealth, but also led to some conflict between the new and old communities in the area. In Roman and medieval times, ships arriving in the River Thames tended to dock at small quays in the present-day City of London or Southwark , an area known as
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