50 Fun Facts About London

Under what name did the Romans found the settlement that became London?

It superseded Colchester as the principal city of Roman Britannia around the year 100.

Which queen led the Iceni to burn the first Roman settlement around AD 61?

The Romans had founded the town only about 14 years earlier, just after their invasion of AD 43.

What was the Anglo-Saxon settlement that grew up just west of the old Roman walls?

It was abandoned when life and trade moved back inside the Roman walls in the 880s.

Which king 'refounded' London in 886, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?

The revival involved moving back inside the old Roman walls after decades of Viking raids.

William the Conqueror was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day of which year?

He then built the Tower of London to intimidate the city's inhabitants.

London was the focus of which 1381 uprising?

The city had lost nearly a third of its population to the Black Death a few decades earlier.

The Great Plague of 1665–66 killed roughly what share of London's population?

Around 100,000 people died, and the Great Fire followed the very next year.

The Great Fire of 1666 started in a bakery on which street?

It broke out shortly after midnight on Sunday 2 September and burned for four days.

Which Lord Mayor's hesitation delayed the firebreaks during the Great Fire?

By the time demolitions were ordered, the east wind had turned the bakery blaze into a firestorm.

Which polymath supervised the decade-long rebuilding after the Great Fire?

The city was rebuilt on essentially the same medieval street plan, which survives today.

Who designed St Paul's Cathedral, completed in 1710?

Its dome dominated the skyline for centuries, and tall buildings are still restricted to protect views of it.

In which year did George III acquire Buckingham House?

The house would later grow into Buckingham Palace.

What were the Bow Street Runners, established in 1750?

Crime dogged 18th-century London, and the Runners were its first professional force.

London was the world's largest city from about 1831 until roughly which year?

Its density reached 132 people per acre as the Industrial Revolution drove urbanisation.

In which year did the world's first underground passenger railway open in London?

The Metropolitan Railway carried 9.5 million passengers in its first year despite coal-burning locomotives.

The Great Smog of 1952 led directly to which law?

It ended the 'pea soup' fogs that had earned the city its nickname.

What nickname did London's pea-soup fogs earn the city?

Coal smoke was the culprit until 1956 legislation finally cleared the air.

In which year was the Thames Barrier completed?

It sits 2 miles east of central London to protect against North Sea tidal surges.

Which body, created in 2000, restored citywide government after 14 years without one?

The Greater London Council had been abolished in 1986.

Who was elected Mayor of London in 2016?

He won the 2016 mayoral election; the mayor has executive powers, scrutinised by the London Assembly.

How many London boroughs sit alongside the City of London?

Together with the City of London Corporation they make 33 local authorities.

City Hall, the mayor's headquarters, is in which borough?

The authority moved east from its former riverside home in Southwark.

What is London's telephone area code?

It covers an area similar in size to Greater London.

How long is the M25 orbital motorway?

That makes it the second-longest ring-road motorway in Europe.

The nominal 'centre of London' is traditionally the site of which landmark?

The original Eleanor Cross stood there, where the Strand meets Whitehall.

How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites does London have?

Kew Gardens, the Tower of London, the Westminster ensemble and the maritime district around the Royal Observatory.

Which London settlement's Royal Observatory defines the prime meridian?

It also gives its name to Greenwich Mean Time.

What is the tallest building in the UK and Western Europe, at 95 storeys?

It stands 309.6 metres high in Southwark and was inaugurated in July 2012.

Which Italian architect sketched the UK's tallest tower on a restaurant menu in 2000?

He reportedly drew a spire rising from the Thames over lunch in Berlin with developer Irvine Sellar.

Tate Modern opened in 2000 inside which former industrial building?

The Tate's modern collection moved there from Tate Britain on Millbank.

Which of the city's great collections was established first, in Bloomsbury in 1753?

It was the UK's most visited attraction in 2024 with nearly 6.5 million visitors.

The National Gallery overlooks which famous public space?

It was founded in 1824 to house the national collection of Western paintings.

Which district was developed in the 19th century as 'Albertopolis'?

It holds the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.

Which author wrote The Mousetrap, running in the West End since 1952?

It is the world's longest-running play.

London's oldest theatre, Drury Lane, opened in which year?

It opened after the Restoration lifted the Puritan ban on stage performances.

The Notting Hill Carnival takes place on which bank holiday weekend?

It is the world's second-largest street party.

London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, is in which of the Royal Parks?

Nearby Primrose Hill is a favourite spot for viewing the skyline.

Which is the largest of London's eight Royal Parks?

Herds of red and fallow deer roam there and in neighbouring Bushy Park.

Crystal Palace Park is known for life-sized Victorian models of what?

They reflect the public enthusiasm for dinosaurs that took hold in Victorian England.

Heathrow Airport is in which London borough?

For many years it was the world's busiest airport for international traffic.

Which of the capital's airports is the most central and has the shortest runway?

Located in the east of the city, it focuses on business travellers and business jets.

Who designed the schematic Tube map in 1931?

It was voted a national design icon in 2006.

How many stations does the London Underground serve?

Only 33 of them are south of the Thames.

Roughly what share of the London Underground network is actually below ground?

Much of the outer network runs on the surface despite the name.

Who designed Tower Bridge, built between 1886 and 1894?

Bazalgette's own design was rejected for insufficient headroom for shipping.

Big Ben's nickname is thought to come from which tall official?

He oversaw the installation of the 13.5-ton Great Bell.

Big Ben's clock is fine-tuned by adding or removing what on its pendulum?

The pre-decimal coins nudge the rate by fractions of a second a day.

What was the London Eye originally called?

Husband-and-wife architects David Marks and Julia Barfield conceived it for a millennium landmark contest.

Which duo recorded 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' in the attic of their north London home?

It heralded a trend for home recording in synth-pop.

Which EMI engineer created stereo sound in London in 1931?

EMI itself had been formed in the city that same year.