History of London
London is an old city. It grew up around the first point where the Roman
invaders found the Thames narrow enough to build a bridge. There has
been a "London Bridge” in the same area ever since. They founded a
Celtic settlement then known as Londinium and later they had turned it
into a large port and important trading centre with a long wall of stone
and brick. Inside the wall low houses were built with bright red tiled
roofs. The Tower of London was founded by JuliusCaesar and in 1066
rebuilt by William the Conqueror. It was used as a fortress, a royal
residence and a prison. Now it is a museum and also the place where the
Crown Jewels are kept. Time passed. London grew and became a great city.
The coming of the railway changed London for ever. The first
underground railway was opened in 1863 between Paddington and the City.
Today London is the capital of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is
one of the most beautiful cities in the world. There are many places of
interest in it and this city is well worth visiting.
London
London is the capital of the United Kingdom, its economic, political and cultural center. It is one of the world's most important ports and one of the largest cities in the world. London with its suburbs has a population of about 11 million people.
London has been a capital for nearly a thousand years. Many of its ancient buildings still stand. The most famous of them are the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral. Most visitors also want to see the Houses of Parliament and the many magnificent museums.
Once London was a small Roman town of the north bank of the Thames. Slowly it grew into one of the world's major cities.
Different areas of London seem like different cities. The West End is a rich man's world of shops, offices and theatres. The City of London is the district where most offices and banks are concentrated; the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England are here, too. The East End is a district where mostly working people live. The old port area is now called "Docklands". There are now new office buildings in Docklands, and thousands of new flats and houses.
By the day the whole of London is busy. At night, offices are quiet and
empty, but the West End stays alive, because this is where Londoners
come to enjoy themselves. There are two opera houses here, several
concert halls and many theatres, as well as cinemas. In nearby Soho the
pubs and restaurants and nightclubs are busy half the night.
London
London is the capital of Great Britain. More than six million people live in London. London lies on both banks of the river Thames. It is the largest city in Europe and one of the largest cities in the world.
London is not only the capital of the country, it is also a very big port, one of the greatest commercial centres in the world, a university city, and the seat of the government of Great Britain.
The most important parts of London are: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster.
The City is the busiest part of London. People do business there. Only about ten thousand people live there.
The West End is the richest part of London. You can find the best shops, theatres, cinemas, museums, fine parks and squares there. Its houses and streets are the finest in the capital. The rich people live in the West End.
The East End is the part of London where working people live. It is not so rich as other parts of London and there are fewer parks there.
Westminster Abbey is one of the most beautiful buildings in London. There are many monuments of great men there. Many great English scientists lie buried there; among them Newton, Darwin and Watt. In the Poets' Corner some of the famous English poets and writers are buried.
London
London draws people from all over the world. Some come on business, some
come to study, to work or on holiday. London is naturally a very
English city and it is very cosmopolitan, containing goods, food and
entertainment, as well as people, from many countries of the world.
London spreads its influence over much of the southern areas of England;
it gives work to millions of people who live not only in the inner city
areas but in surrounding districts. There is much in London which
fascinates visitors and inspires the affection of Londoners: the
splendor of the royal palaces and the Houses of Parliament, the dignity
of St. Paul’s Cathedral and many monuments and beautiful parks. London
shows examples of buildings that express all the different areas of its
history. Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the
Sovereign. The daily ceremony of the Changing of the Guards takes place
in its courtyard. The palace was built in 1703 by the Duke of
Buckingham. Piccadily Circus has become an important meeting point – for
as well as sightseers. At its heart is a bronze fountain topped by a
figure of a winded archer, known as Eros, the pagan god of love. This
area is now famous for its theatres, clubs and shops. Whitehall is a
street in central London running from Trafalgar Square to the Houses of
Parliament and containing many important buildings and government
offices, such as the Treasury, Admiralty and others, In the centre of
the roadway stands the Cenotaph, the memorial to the fallen of both
world wars. The Prime Minister’s residence at No. 10 Downing Street is
directly connected to Whitehall. London is always full of life. The
streets are crowded with traffic. High ‘double-decker’ buses rise above
the smaller cars and vans. The city of London today is the financial
powerhouse of the country and one of the chief commercial centers of the
western world. The city has its own Lord Major, its own Government and
its own police force. Here the medieval buildings stand side by side
with modern glass high-rise offices. The parks of London provide a
welcome contrast to the great built-up areas. St.James’s Park, Green
Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens are linked together. They form
313 hectares of open parkland in the heart of London.
London - The Capital of Great Britain
When we think of Paris, Rome. Madrid, Lisbon and other European capitals, we think of them as "cities'. When we think of the whole of modern London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, that great area covering several hundred square kilometres, we do not think of it as 'a city', not even as a city and its suburbs. Modem London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the centuries; it is a number of cities, towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.
London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames, it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.
London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.
London consists of three parts: the City of London, the West End and the East End.
The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometres in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.
The West End can be called the centre of Tendon. Here are the historical palaces as well as the famous parks. Hyde Park with its Speaker's Corner is also here. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St.James's Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace. Which is the Queen's residence, and the Palace of Westminster which is the seat of Parliament.
The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Government offices. Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where the Cabinet meets. Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others.
Trafalgar Square is named so in commemoration of Nelson's great victory. In the middle stands the famous Nelson Column with the statue of Nelson 170 feet high so as to allow him a view of the sea. The column stands in the geographical centre of the city. It is one of the best open air platforms for public meetings and demonstrations.
One of the "musts" for the sightseer are the Houses of Parliament, facing the Thames, on one side, and Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey, on the other. The House of Commons sits to the side of the Clock Tower (Big Ben), the House of Lords - to the Victoria Tower side.
Westminster Abbey is the crowning and burial place of British monarchs. It has its world famed Poet's Corner with memorials to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bronte's sisters. Tennyson. Longfellow, Wordsworth, Burns, Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, Kipling and other leading writers. Only a few however, are actually buried there.
Here too is that touching symbol of a nation's grief. The Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
The name "West End" came to be associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. It is the area of the largest department stores, cinemas and hotels. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.
It is in the West End where the University of London is centred with Bloomsbury as London's student quarter.
The Port of London is to the east of the City. Here. today are kilometres and kilometres of docks, and the great industrial areas that depend upon shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country's commerce.
In recent times London has grown so large. that the Government has decided that it must spread no farther. It is now surrounded by a "green belt" - a belt of agricultural and wooded land on which new buildings may be put up only with the permission of the planning authorities.