London

London Districts

See also: Inner London, Outer London.

Related Topics:
Inner London - Outer London

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Central London

City of London (the "Square Mile")

The City of London is the principal financial district of the United Kingdom, and is one of the most important in the world. It is governed by the Corporation of London, an ancient body headed by the Lord Mayor of London. The City also has its own police force, the City of London police. Once dominated by the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, it is now home to many tall buildings, including the tallest, Tower 42 (formerly, and popularly still, known as the NatWest Tower) and 30 St Mary Axe (popularly known as the "Gherkin", built in 2003).

Related Topics:
Corporation of London - Lord Mayor of London - Police - City of London - St Paul's Cathedral - Tower 42 - 30 St Mary Axe

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The Central district of Covent Garden is home to the Avenue of Stars, London's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Related Topics:
Covent Garden - Avenue of Stars - Walk of Fame

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The City has only a small (c. 7,000) resident population, but a daytime working population of more than 300,000. Its primacy as the chief financial district has been directly challenged in recent years by Canary Wharf in East London.

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The West End

The West End is the most popular shopping and entertainment district in London. Trafalgar Square is the most prominent landmark. Oxford Street is one of the best-known shopping streets in the world. Running from Charing Cross Road in the east to Marble Arch in the west, via Oxford Circus where it crosses Regent Street, it is home to many large department stores and shops (Selfridges, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer). Tottenham Court Road runs north from the eastern end of Oxford Street towards the north of the city-center, and is best known for its plethora of hi-fi, computer and electronics stores.

Related Topics:
West End - Trafalgar Square - Oxford Street - Oxford Circus - Regent Street - Selfridges - John Lewis - Marks and Spencer

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South of Oxford Street's eastern end is Soho, a network of small streets crowded with restaurants, pubs, clubs, smaller shops and boutiques, and theaters and cinemas, as well as media companies and film, advertising and post-production companies. Soho is also well known for its very lively club and bar scene, the notorious sex industry and as the major "gay quarter" of the city. Piccadilly is an elegant thoroughfare running from Piccadilly Circus in the east to Hyde Park Corner in the west. It is adjacent to Mayfair, and Green Park. Regent Street and Bond Street are important thoroughfares.

Related Topics:
Soho - Piccadilly - Piccadilly Circus - Hyde Park Corner - Mayfair - Green Park - Regent Street - Bond Street

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East London

East London saw much of London's early industrial development and much of it now is being extensively redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway. It was also key to London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics, and is now scheduled to undergo extensive regeneration in the run-up to the games. This is the second time in modern history that East London has seen large-scale rebuilding: it took the full force of the Blitz in World War Two, with post-war reconstruction leaving a legacy of bleak housing estates and tower blocks in several areas.

Related Topics:
East London - Thames Gateway - London's successful bid - 2012 Olympics - Blitz - World War Two - Housing estate - Tower block

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The East End

The East End of London is closest to the original Port of London, and tended for that reason to be the area of the city where immigrants arriving into the port would settle first. Successive waves of immigrants include the French, the Huguenots, Belgians, Jews, Gujaratis, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and many other groups.

Related Topics:
East End of London - Port of London - French - Huguenots - Belgians - Jew - Gujarat - Pakistani - Bangladeshi

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The East End extends from the eastern side of the City of London and includes areas such as Whitechapel, Mile End, Bethnal Green, Hackney, Bow and Poplar. The area has many places of interest including many of London's markets, (for example Columbia Road Flower Market, Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane Market, Petticoat Lane Market), and several museums, including the Geffrye Museum and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.

Related Topics:
Whitechapel - Mile End - Bethnal Green - Hackney - Bow - Poplar - London's markets - Columbia Road Flower Market - Spitalfields Market - Brick Lane Market - Petticoat Lane Market - Geffrye Museum - Museum of Childhood

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The East End is an area of uncertain delimitations. It abounds with legend, sentimentality and cockneys. It has a somewhat romanticised history of working class cheer, resilience, organised crime and gangsters such as the Kray Twins, and poverty, ameliorated by a spirit of British toughness. The somewhat harsher truth is that the East End contains some of the poorest areas in the United Kingdom, with all of the problems this entails.

Related Topics:
Cockney - Working class - Organised crime - Gangster - Kray Twins

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Docklands

Docklands, on the Isle of Dogs, has developed enormously since the early-1980s. For a period in the early-1980s, many warehouse buildings in Wapping had been occupied and used as artists studios and low-cost loft living spaces. This inevitably drew the attention of property developers who gradually (and then not so gradually) moved in to take over. The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was set up in 1981 to accelerate the process, and the first phases of major development started to reshape the area, culminating in Canary Wharf, whose best-known feature is the 1 Canada Square office tower (which is often incorrectly called "Canary Wharf"), which has been the UK's tallest skyscraper since 1991.

Related Topics:
Docklands - Isle of Dogs - 1980s - Wapping - London Docklands Development Corporation - Canary Wharf - 1 Canada Square - Skyscraper - 1991

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A massive-scale development within the last three or four years has added a great many more skyscrapers, and many large businesses (investment banks, law firms, etc.) have moved in. A new headquarters for HSBC and Barclays as well as the European headquarters of Citigroup, have now been completed, and are in use.

Related Topics:
HSBC - Barclays - Citigroup

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Attracted by this growth, restaurants, bars and nightclubs have opened, there are three interconnected shopping malls beneath the Canary Wharf structure, and a cinema complex has opened in the area. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) serves the area, connecting to the London Underground at Bank, Shadwell, Canning Town and Stratford stations.

Related Topics:
Shopping mall - Cinema - Docklands Light Railway - London Underground - Bank

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There has also been a great deal of gentrification and residential development in the area: North of the Thames around Limehouse Basin and toward Wapping, as well as south of the Thames in Rotherhithe where former wharfs and the old docks have been converted into high-priced loft apartments for a community of bankers, software developers and others working in the financial service industries in and around Docklands.

Related Topics:
Gentrification - Limehouse Basin - Wapping - Rotherhithe

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Further east in the London Borough of Newham are London City Airport and the ExCeL Exhibition Centre.

Related Topics:
London Borough of Newham - London City Airport - ExCeL Exhibition Centre

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West London

West London includes many of the traditionally fashionable and expensive residential areas such as Notting Hill, made better known in 1999 by a film of the same name starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Within the district is the famous antique market at Portobello Road. Kensington and Chelsea are the most expensive places to live in the country. The area is also famous for the Kings Road, a distinguished and attractive shopping street and thoroughfare.

Related Topics:
West London - Notting Hill - 1999 - Film of the same name - Hugh Grant - Julia Roberts - Portobello Road - Kensington - Chelsea - Kings Road

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Further to the west, at White City, near Shepherd's Bush, is the principal operating centre for the BBC, while in the extreme west, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, lies Heathrow Airport.

Related Topics:
White City - Shepherd's Bush - BBC - London Borough of Hillingdon - Heathrow Airport

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Considered more south-west than West London on account of its being the only London borough to straddle the River Thames, Richmond upon Thames includes the attractive riverside districts of Richmond and Twickenham. This corner of London is home to Richmond Park, London's largest, and Twickenham, the home of English rugby union.

Related Topics:
London borough - River Thames - Richmond upon Thames - Richmond - Twickenham - Richmond Park - Twickenham - Rugby union

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South London

South London contains such diverse districts as Wimbledon (famous as the home of the major tennis Wimbledon Championships), Bermondsey, and Dulwich. Redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle, a road intersection and district close to the centre, is due to start in 2006.

Related Topics:
South London - Wimbledon - Wimbledon Championships - Bermondsey - Dulwich - Elephant and Castle

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Greenwich is on the banks of the Thames where the river broadens into a wide meandering reach of muddy water. It is an historic neighbourhood and boasts a fine park and the Royal Greenwich Observatory. It is also has a popular market.

Related Topics:
Greenwich - Park - Royal Greenwich Observatory

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Brixton, Camberwell and Peckham are home to many families (and their descendants) who immigrated to London from the West Indies during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, sometimes known as Afro-Caribbeans.

Related Topics:
Brixton - Camberwell - Peckham - West Indies - Afro-Caribbeans

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North London

North London includes suburbs such as Hampstead and Highgate, which retain a village atmosphere. North London is more hilly than the south, and many of the hills give excellent views across the city. Large parks include Hampstead Heath, which includes Parliament Hill, noted for its fine views over the city, and the Hampstead bathing ponds; and Alexandra Park, site of Alexandra Palace. Many areas have significant minority populations including Stamford Hill, home to a significant community of Orthodox Jews, and the Green Lanes area of Harringay which has large Turkish and Greek communities. Islington is one of the more affluent areas in North London; it is also home to Arsenal football club. North London's other world-famous football team, Tottenham Hotspur, play in nearby Tottenham.

Related Topics:
North London - Hampstead - Highgate - Hampstead Heath - Alexandra Park - Alexandra Palace - Stamford Hill - Orthodox Jews - Green Lanes - Harringay - Turkish - Greek - Arsenal - Tottenham Hotspur - Tottenham

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