The City of London is roughly the 1 square mile area that constituted most of London from its settlement as Londinium by the Romans in the 1st century AD, to the Middle Ages. Modern London has since grown far beyond the City of London boundary. The City is now only a tiny part, and one borough out of the 32 that make up the sprawling metropolis of London, yet it retains the name “The City of London”.
The City of London Corporation, which administers The City, is headed by the ancient post of the Lord Mayor of the City of London. This is a completely different office from the Mayor of London, the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. Confusing, I know! The city has its own police force, the City of London Police, separate from the Metropolitan Police Service.
The City contains the historic Guildhall, St Paul’s Cathedral, Royal Exchange, Mansion House, Old Bailey, Smithfield Market, the Bank of England, The Monument, the Inns of Court and the London Stock Exchange. It is the home of a number of modern high-rise buildings including the Natwest Tower (Britain’s first skyscraper), The Gherkin, The Cheese Grater, the Walkie-talkie Building and the inside-out Lloyd’s Building.
It is responsible for Blackfriars Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Southwark Bridge, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. The Tower of London is not technically within The City but is on the boundary. The City still has small surviving sections of the London Wall built by the Romans to defend Londinium in c. AD 200.
Start of the walk
Started the walk at Blackfriars station.
The End
This completes my photo walk explorations of the City.
Getting there
The City of London has many tube stations and mainline railway stations: Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Cannon St, Liverpool St, St Paul’s, Mansion House, Monument, Tower Hill, Moorgate, Fenchurch St. There are also many bus routes. The Thames Clipper boat service also stops at Tower Millennium Pier.
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