Publisher's Synopsis
London has been a witness to history for over 2,000 years. It has seen itself grow from a small trading centre founded by the Romans and growing to the large Roman town of Londinium. When they departed Britain in the 4th Century, London went through many changes until it reached the present day. It was severely damaged by the Great Fire of London in 1666, its population suffered and died in great numbers during the Black Death and the Plague. It has been host to public riots and uprisings. Royalty came, went and returned again. All of these events have left their mark in the fabric of London. But many of the reminders of such major events in London's history are mostly now gone. Well, almost. If you look hard enough and you know where to go, you can still find those objects and places that echo the stories of the past. And they do not mark just the big events of the past. There are also reminders of individual people whose stories reflect a more human insight of what life was like in the London of the past. All of the "secret" and "hidden" objects and places in this book have one thing in common. Whether they refer to famous events or to more individual affairs, their stories are fascinating and have the ability to take us back in time to once again feel a link to those Londoners that went before us. And finally, all of these places still exist and can be visited. If you cannot get to London, then you will find photographs of each of these places within the book.
