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1 A seven million city of contrasts, London’s urban look is enlivened by park land and commons, even right in the centre. It contains a mixture of the old and new. The skyline of the once densely populated ‘one square mile’ City*, the home of the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange*, used to be outlined by church spires and Christopher Wren’s* great cathedral of St Paul*. Now it also features office blocks, and its permanent population has decreased to some 4,000 people.
2. After their invasion of Britain in 43 AD, the Romans established London at the lowest point where the Thames* could be forded. Tidal as far as Teddington Lock, and opening out into a great estuary, the Thames was for centuries the mainstay of the city’s traffic and overseas trade. A new Thames Strategy is preserving many of the historic features along its route and providing continuous walkways and cycle routes.
3. Over the last 200 years, the growing population of the capital spilled out beyond the borders of the origi- nal settlement. Former outskirts, outlying towns and hamlets, were absorbed into the growing city, while retaining some of their village characteristics. Many of the tributaries of the Thames were buried under streets and houses, where some still run as part of the sewer system.