London

(Greater London), capital of Great Britain and the nation’s principal economic, political, and cultural center. One of the world’s most densely populated cities, it is situated in the center of the London basin (at an elevation of 5 m above sea level) on a plain rimmed on the north, east, and south by chalk cuesta ridges. The city lies along both banks of the estuary of the Thames River, which empties into the North Sea. The climate is oceanic, with mild winters and cool summers. The mean temperature in the coldest month (January) is 5.3°C, and in the warmest month (July), 18.9°C. Annual precipitation averages about 645 mm. Frequent fogs combine with air pollution to form smog.

Since 1964, London proper together with the surrounding suburbs has constituted a separate administrative area known as Greater London, comprising 32 London boroughs and the City. Greater London, which absorbed parts of adjacent counties, has an area of 1,800 sq km and a population of 7.4 million (1971).

Approximately one-seventh of the population of Great Britain is concentrated within the conurbation of Greater London. The conurbation continues to expand within the suburban zone, referred to as the metropolitan area. Eight new satellite towns were built within the metropolitan area after World War II: Basildon, Bracknell, Crawley, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Harlow, Hatfield, and Hemel Hempstead. They were intended for the resettlement of part of the population and for the relocation of industrial enterprises from overcrowded districts in the conurbation. The population growth rate in these towns has been the highest in the country; the population increased by 53 percent between 1951 and 1971. At the same time, the population of Greater London has been declining since the middle of the 20th century, falling from 8.2 million in 1951 to 7.8 million in 1961. One-tenth of all immigrants to Britain live here. Greater London accounts for one-sixth of the nation’s work force (4.3 million in 1966), one-sixth of all industrial workers, and a considerable number of those employed in transport and communications (more than one-fourth), financial institutions and banks (more than two-fifths), commerce (more than one-fifth), and services (one-fifth).

Administration. The overall administrative body is the Greater London Council, consisting of 100 elected councilors and up to 16 aldermen, co-opted by the Council. Councilors are elected for three years and aldermen for six (every three years half the aldermen are replaced). The Council annually elects a chairman and vice-chairman and forms standing committees, which supervise the work of departments and other subdivisions of the Council’s administrative apparatus.

The London boroughs and the City have their own governing bodies. The councils of the boroughs also consist of elected councilors and aldermen. The focal government of the City consists of three subdivisions—the common hall, the court of aldermen, and the common council. The common hall includes the lord mayor, sheriffs, aldermen, and approximately 70 “guild elders,” registered as freemen (representatives of various companies based in the City). Aldermen and councilors are elected from 25 wards by permanent residents and taxpayers of the City; aldermen are elected for life and councilors for one year. The common council comprises the lord mayor of the City, elected by the court of aldermen, and 159 councilors.

Most administrative functions are carried out by the Greater London Council and by the borough councils. Some functions, for example, fire fighting and ambulance service, are wholly within the jurisdiction of the Greater London Council; the borough councils are responsible for such matters as social welfare, libraries, and health inspection. Special agencies not subject to city authorities have been created for management of the water supply and the port. The metropolitan police are under the direct control of the home secretary.

History. A Celtic settlement apparently existed on the territory of modern London prior to the Roman conquest of Britain (c. A.D. 40-70). Under Roman rule London was first a military camp and later a river port and seaport. In the mid-fourth century it became an important political center of Roman Britain. The city was destroyed during the Anglo-Saxon conquest (fifth and sixth centuries) but was soon restored, becoming an important commercial and political center by the early seventh century. On the eve of the Norman conquest of England, London’s population numbered about 20,000. Trade ties were expanded after the Norman conquest (1066), and craft and merchants’ guilds appeared. By the end of the 11th century London had become the capital of England, and it was granted self-government in the late 12th century.

Medieval London was frequently the scene of disorders and revolts of the townspeople against the rich urban elite and the royal administration, for example, in 1196. Some of the craftsmen and urban poor joined the revolts of Wat Tyler (1381) and Jack Cade (1450). In the mid-15th century London’s population totaled about 50,000; in the mid-16th century it rose to 80,000, and in 1666, to about 500,000. Large trading companies were founded in the 16th century with the development of capitalist relations, and the London exchange opened in 1571. The port of London, which handled two-thirds of England’s trade in the 17th century, began to acquire worldwide importance. The city’s popular masses played a major role in the English Civil War of the 17th century.

The industrial revolution and the conversion of Great Britain into a major industrial, trade, and colonial power helped make London the world’s largest seaport and trade and finance center from the late 18th century. During the industrial revolution the center of British industry shifted to regions rich in coal and iron ore. By the early 19th century London’s population exceeded 1 million, and in 1881 it totaled 4.7 million. At the outset of the era of imperialism New York displaced London as the most important seaport and trade and finance center. During and after World War I new industries developed, including metalworking, machine building, automotive, aviation, and electrical engineering. During World War II, especially in 1940 and the first half of 1941, London suffered numerous air raids in which 30,000 persons were killed and more than 50,000 wounded. This period saw the reorganization of London’s industry; war industries, particularly aviation, were greatly expanded, as were the chemical and other sectors.

London has been an important center of the workers’ movement. The London Corresponding Society was founded in 1792, and the city was one of the chief centers of the Chartist movement. The First and Second Congresses of the League of Communists were held in London in 1847, and the First International was founded here in 1864. On May 4, 1890, the first Sunday of the month, the workers of London held the first demonstration in commemoration of the Day of International Solidarity of Working People. In 1900 the Labour Party was founded in London.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries revolutionary exiles from many countries continued their work in London. K. Marx lived and worked here from 1849 to 1883 (his grave and monu ent are in Highgate Cemetery), and F. Engels lived here from 1870 to 1895. Other revolutionaries who found refuge here included participants in the Paris Commune of 1871, W. Liebknecht, L. Kossuth, and G. Mazzini. Among the Russian revolutionary emigres who came to London in the second half of the 19th century were A. I. Herzen, who together with N. P. Ogarev published Kolokol between 1857 and 1865, P. A. Kropotkin, and S. M. Stepniak-Kravchinskii. In April 1902, V. I. Lenin made his first trip to London, where Iskra was published for a time. Here in 1903 the Second Congress of the RSDLP completed its work under the guidance of Lenin, who also directed the Third (1905) and Fifth, or London (1907) Congresses of the RSDLP.

The movement of solidarity with Soviet Russia under the slogan “Hands Off Russia!” achieved considerable momentum in London. On May 10, 1920, London dock workers refused to load armaments intended for the war against Soviet Russia. The constituent assembly of the Communist Party of Great Britain was held here on July 31 and Aug. 1, 1920. The workers of London were active in the General Strike of 1926. After World War II, London saw numerous strikes (dock workers, city transport workers, railroad workers, machine builders, ship builders, municipal employees), which intensified in the early 1970’s. The workers of London held mass strikes protesting anti-union legislation between 1970 and 1973.

London is also the focus of Great Britain’s peace movement. For many years “peace marches” from the military atomic research center in Aldermaston to London have been held. Since 1949 national peace congresses and conferences have been convened in London. Numerous diplomatic meetings and international conferences have been held here.

Economy. Greater London is a major industrial center, providing one-sixth of the conventional gross product of the nation’s manufacturing industries. The growth of most sectors was stimulated by the need to provide for the capital’s population, by the processing of imported raw materials passing through the London port, by an abundance of manpower with diverse skills, and by research projects in advanced scientific fields.

Approximately four-fifths of London’s industrial workers (1966) are concentrated in five main industrial regions. The central region, bordering on the City to the north and west, accounts for 20 percent of London’s industrial work force. Here are large printing, garment, and furniture industries, jewelry concerns, and enterprises manufacturing scientific equipment, measuring instruments, machine tools, and equipment for the printing and garment industries. The chief industries of the Thames region (near the docks; 11 percent of the industrial work force) are food and chemical enterprises, nonferrous metallurgy, cable production, ship repairs, automotive construction (Ford plant), and petroleum refining and petrochemicals (downstream). The northern region (Lea Valley; 13 percent of the industrial work force) produces clothing, furniture, chemicals, and electrical products, including radio and television equipment and lamps. The northwestern region (along the roads linking Greater London with the Midlands; 23 percent of those employed in industry) has many new industries, mainly electrical engineering, electronics, and the manufacture of motor vehicles, aircraft, and machine tools. The southwestern region (in the Wandle Valley along the routes to Croydon; about 10 percent of the industrial workers) produces electrical goods, machine tools, scientific equipment, and measuring instruments.

Greater London is also the country’s transport junction. London Airport, at Heathrow, west of the city and Gatwick Airport to the south are important international airports. The port, one of the world’s largest in terms of freight turnover (66,700,000 tons in 1970), has been extended for 50 km down the Thames. There are five systems of closed docks (the first was built in 1669). Imports, which are five times greater than exports, include oil, foodstuffs, forest products, various raw materials and semifinished products, paper, and a variety of industrial products. Goods produced in the conurbation and other regions are exported through the port. It accounts for one-fourth of Great Britain’s cabotage shipments (the main cargo is coal). London has the world’s oldest subway, constructed between 1860 and 1863.

London is the headquarters of finance and banking institutions, commercial establishments, the boards of many British and international monopolies, and branches of foreign companies. There are stock and commodity exchanges. Important commercial, financial, and other business transactions are conducted here.

Architecture. Unlike other large cities, London did not develop from a single center but was formed through the merger of independent cities and settlements, and this accounts for its extremely diverse architecture. The historical centers of London are Westminster, the focus of London’s political life, and the City, the business section of London, in which are located banks, exchanges, and offices of the major monopolies. Westminster includes Westminster Abbey, Buckingham and St. James’ palaces (from the 16th century), the Banqueting Hall (1619-22; architect, I. Jones), the Palace of Westminster (Parliament), and Westminster Cathedral. Adjoining the City is the Tower Hamlets borough, in which is found the castle of William the Conqueror, known as the Tower, originally the residence of English kings and later a prison for political prisoners; the oldest part of the Tower, the White Tower, dates from about 1078-85.

The boundaries of the City basically coincide with those of the Roman town; the remains of Roman fortifications and the foundations of temples and towers have been preserved. Here are found the Romanesque Church of St. Bartholomew the Great (built from 1123), the Romanesque and Gothic Temple Church (Church of St. Mary, 12th and 13th centuries), and the town hall (Guildhall, c. 1411-40; rebuilt 1788-89 by the architect G. Dance, Jr.). In the western part of the City are the Inns of Court, known as the Temple, with a hall and frame gateway dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Notable old structures outside central London include the Southwark Cathedral, or St. Saviour’s Church (13th to 15th centuries) and Hampton Court Palace (from 1515; late Gothic hall, 1531-36; east and south wings, 1689-94, architect, C. Wren). The City was built up rapidly and without planning. From the 16th century unsuccessful attempts were made to develop the area according to a plan, for example, the designs proposed by Wren and J. Evelyn after the fire of 1666.

Westminster encompasses the West End, with private residences, hotels, major commercial streets, colleges, museums, and places of entertainment. East of the City lies the East End, an area of docks and workers’ quarters conspicuous for its monotonous buildings and an almost total absence of greenery. Examples of ensemble construction of earlier periods have been preserved mainly in the aristocratic West End. Groups of buildings in the classical style—distinguished by their grandeur and strict unity of design and sometimes integrated with park complexes—were built in Regent’s Park, Regent Street, Oxford Circus, and Park Crescent between 1812 and 1830 by the architect J. Nash. Of the Adelphi, Portland Place, and Fitzroy Square classical ensembles built between 1768 and 1800 by the architects R. and J. Adam, only parts have survived. Other examples of group design are the blocks of model “terrace houses” of the second half of the 19th century.

Individual buildings in the classical style include many churches designed by Wren, for example, St. Mary-le-Bow (1670-80), and the churches by J. Gibbs, notably St. Mary-le-Strand (1714-17) and St. Martin-in-the-Fields (1722-26); St. Paul’s Cathedral (1675-1710; architect, Wren); hospitals in Greenwich (1616-1728; architects, I. Jones, Wren, and J. Vanbrugh) and in Chelsea (1694; architect, Wren); Mansion House, the residence of the lord mayor (1739-53; architect, G. Dance the Elder); and Somerset House (1766-86; architect, W. Chambers). Outstanding examples of late classicism and neoclassicism are the Bank of England (1788-1833; architect, J. Soane; only sections of the original have been preserved), the British Museum (1823-47; architects, R. and S. Smirke), the Royal Exchange (1841-44; architect W. Tite), the London County Hall (1911-22; architect, R. Knott), and Britannic House (1924-27; architect, E. Lutyens). Neo-Gothic structures include the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, All Saints’ Church (1849-59; architect, W. Butterfield) and the church of St. Mary Abbots (1869-79; architect, G. G. Scott), and the Tower Bridge (1886-94; architects, J. Barry and H. Jones). An eclectic style marks King’s Cross Station (1851-52; architect, L. Cubitt) and St. Pancras Station (1868-74; architects G. G. Scott and W. Barlow).

Interesting examples of modern architecture include the Daily Express Building (1932; architects, H. O. Ellis and Clarke), the medical center in Finsbury (Messrs. Tecton, 1939), Royal Festival Hall (1949-51; architects, R. Matthew and L. Martin), the National Council of the Dockers’ Union and the Airways Terminal (both 1956; architect, F. Gibberd), the office building Castrol House (1959; architects, Gollins, M. Ward, and partners), the American embassy (1960; architect, the American E. Saarinen), Vickers House (1962; architect, R. Ward), the Economist Building (1964; architects, A. and P. Smithson), and the Arts Centre (1967; architect, H. Bennett). In the 20th century, housing developments were built in Greater London embodying the modern concept of the satellite city and employing innovative methods of landscape architecture. Among these are the experimental garden cities proposed by E. Howard (Welwyn Garden City, from 1920; architects L. de Soissons and others) and the satellite towns built in accordance with the plan for Greater London prepared by P. Abercrombie in 1944 (Stevenage, from 1946; Harlow, from 1946, architect, F. Gibberd).

The rapid growth of London, the unplanned manner in which the city was built up, transportation difficulties, and extensive damage during World War II necessitated city planning. However, such city planning projects as those of C. Holden and W. Holford for the center of the City (1947) and Holford’s project for the area around St. Paul’s Cathedral (1956) either were not carried out or were realized only partially. The overall development of London has not been affected by the construction of isolated residential projects combining apartment blocks and private houses, for example, the Highpoint blocks in High-gate (1933, Messrs. Tecton), the Hallfield district in Paddington (1949-56; architects, L. Drake and D. Lasdun), Churchill Gardens in Pimlico (1947-55; architects, P. Powell and H. Moya), Golden Lane Estate in the City (1957; principal architect, P. Chamberlin), and Alton Estate in Roehampton (1951-59; architects, H. Bennett and R. Matthew, among others).

Educational, scientific, and cultural institutions. London is the site of the University of London, City University, the City of London Polytechnic, Polytechnic of Central London, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Royal Academy of Music, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Royal Ballet School, Royal Academy of Dance, the London Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Academy, which brings together scholars in the humanities, and the Royal Institute of Great Britain, as well as a large number of learned societies and scholarly institutions in all spheres of science, technology, and art.

In addition to the British Museum Library, one of the world’s largest, there are the National Library of Science and Technology and large university libraries. Among the more than 30 museums are the British Museum, the Science Museum, the British Museum of Natural History, the Geological Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the London Museum, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Theatre Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, and the National Maritime Museum.

London has about 80 theaters (1973), which are leased by various companies. The principal companies are the National Theatre (leasing the Old Vic), a branch of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (Aldwych Theatre), English Stage Company (Royal Court Theatre), and the Mermaid Theatre. Theaters of opera and ballet include Covent Garden and Sadler’s Wells. The Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall are the largest concert halls.

a city in southern Canada in Ontario. Population, 224,000 (1971). London is a transportation junction and the commercial and industrial center of an agricultural region (fruit, vegetables). Food, textile, machinery construction (radio and electrical engineering, agricultural, and transportation machinery), and chemical industries, as well as a university, are located in the city.