When was the most interesting time period for London?

Question

As far as events go, like the Great Fire, Jack the Ripper and [if true] Sweeney Todd, etc, which era pre-20th century was the most interesting, or most dangerous to live in?

Answer 1

I think definitly in the 1700's and 1800's

London was very much a lively and developing city. I think it was actually the biggest city in the world. im assuming youve watched Swenney Todd with Mr Depp in it. It was kind if llike that.

Of course no-one knows if he existed, although certainly at the time, a French barber was discovered to be doing the same thing Its possible he could of moved to London. That would explain the weird name.

And certainly Mrs Lovvatts pie shop existed (It was spelled Lovatt not Lovett)

It would of been certainly plausable that this crime was committed in a backstreet, most people wouldn't even realise the victims were missing.

Anyway, it was in this time that the police were invented, in the form of the Bow Street Runner (Its mentioned on the Sweeney Todd extras DVD)

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsit...

Answer 2

Great question!

London is so full of history and colour that it's difficult to choose.

Perhaps Chaucer's London, with its teeming warren of streets, taverns, street-criers, cut-throats, etc.  Or Tudor London, with the Tower looming above and its deadly threats.  Or early 1700s, with the town being rebuilt after the Great Fire.  Or Georgian London, with linkboys and torches.

London Bridge, the only bridge over the Thames for centuries, would have been a sight to see, with its shops and travellers crossing.  The structure impeded the flow of the river, so there were several Frost Fairs; the Thames froze over then, and there were fairs and skating and all manner of exciting things to see.  Imagine, in Tudor times,  the royal barges rowing up and down; there was a difference of level of the river on either side of the bridge, so you had to navigate the fall.  

Imagine Tudor London, still with its medieval streets, the air full of tasty smells from the taverns and pie shops; the sewage running down the middle of the streets; the acrid air of torches and firelight, and the men of the nobility mixing with the workers in the ale-houses.  There would also have been the appalling so-called pleasures of bear-baiting and other brutal entertainments which people would have flocked to see.

Then again, Victorian London would have been a mixture of the poor and rich, with its elegant buildings and slums.

A very good book you might to look at is "London, 2000 Years of a City and its People", by Felix Barker and Peter Jackson.

Answer 3

I think Tudor London would have been fascinating, albeit extremely dangerous given the political temperaments of that family!

Answer 4

From my own experience, I should say that WW2 was the most interesting, even if scary period of history of London.

Ed Morrow reporting direct from Trafalgar Square London to the people of the USA - 1940 The London Blitz. . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpOKriiNI...

Britain at War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nx2XLyJ9...

Rolls Royce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXSxhM1cg...

Rolls Royce - Avro Lancaster Bomber - The City of Lincoln

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-UFCyrun...

London  Blitz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwr0bUOti...

Answer 5

The Victorian/Industrial Revolution Period, for me at least -

The influx of people from all different areas

growth of the slums

growth of the economy

crime

disease

John Snow and cholera

public health

Prostitution

the campaign to raise the age of consent

The early hospitals, how they coped with industrial accidents.  

child labor - mudlarks, etc.

the literature, Dickens

Social reformers

Definitely very dangerous, especially for the poor, you were extremely lucky to get to 5 years old, most likely you would die at birth, be suffocated by a desperate mother, contract a disease (no antibiotics, if you could afford to see a doctor at all), be killed in an accident at the factory where you worked (or be crippled for life due to the terrible working conditions) even if you were only as young as 6 years old, if you're a woman then you've got the added risks of childbirth and domestic violence, if you avoided prostitution - many prostitutes had been working since they were 13, bad housing and sanitation meant you could expect to die pretty young, Victorian London was an extremely dangerous place to live!

There is just so much to explore, it fascinates me.

I'd recommend 'London in The 19th Century' by Jerry White - quite possibly one of the most interesting and detailed books I have ever read.  You get a vivid picture of life for all different types of Londoners.

Answer 6

The 1800's.The industrial revolution changed the world for ever.Enormous amount of inventions by Brits.London as a world capital,intellectual litrature and poetry and plays.Parliament becoming a force for the people.The earliest parliament to become stronger than the aristocracy.Slavery abolished.Beautiful architecture and monuments.Engineering excellance,with tunnels,bridges,metal ships,trains etc.Creation of public institutions like museums,galleries,hospitals and parks and gardens schools for everyone.Modern Britain was created by that centuary.

Answer 7

Sweeny Todd is fictional. And if I had to say a favorite time it would be the Victorian Era. It was a time of innocence, before the first World War and of constant change.

Answer 8

my favourite time would be when King Charles 1 was killed and the Puritans lead by Oliver Cromwell took over England. i would liked to have lived just before this during the fighting and civil war to find out what it was like.

my other one would be 1066 when there was like 5 people trying to take the throne of England and there was William of Normandy finally won the wars.