London

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The London Eye, site of the Nestenes' third attempt to invade Earth in 2005

London was the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England, on Earth. The former capital of a global empire, London was pre-eminent in the culture of its country, and had considerable influence worldwide. At the start of the 21st century, London was often listed among the four major cities of the Earth, alongside New York City, Paris, and Tokyo.

London was the home of many institutions, organisations and companies, and as such retained an important role in global affairs. It had a great number of important buildings, including world-famous museums, theatres, concert halls, airports, railway stations, palaces, and offices.

Geography and climate

London was a port on the Thames, a navigable river. The river had a major influence on the development of the city. London was founded on the north bank of the Thames and there was only a single bridge, London Bridge, for many centuries. As a result, the main focus of the city was on the north side of the Thames. When more bridges were built in the 18th century, the city expanded in all directions as the mostly flat or gently rolling countryside around the Thames floodplain presented no obstacle to growth.

The Thames had been extensively embanked, and many of its London tributaries flowed underground. The Thames was a tidal river, making London vulnerable to flooding. London had a temperate climate, with warm but seldom hot summers, cool but rarely severe winters, and regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year.

History

The name London came from the Latin name Londinium, as London was founded by the Romans during their reign over the island. This fortified settlement was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia. Barbara Wright's casual mention that she was from Londinium during a visit to first century Rome led to her and Ian Chesterton being abducted and sold into slavery, as the recently conquered Britons at that time were not yet Roman citizens ("The Romans").

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Londinium was abandoned and a Saxon town named Lundenwic was established approximately one mile to the west, in the 7th century; it would later become known as Aldwych. The old Roman city was re-occupied during the late 9th or early 10th century.

Westminster was once a distinct town, and has been the seat of the English royal court and government since the mediæval era. Eventually, Westminster and London grew together and formed the basis of London, becoming England's largest – though not capital – city (Winchester was the capital city of England until the 12th century).

London grew steadily over centuries, spreading in every direction. From the 16th to the early 20th centuries, London flourished as the capital of the British Empire.

In 1666, the Great Fire of London swept through and destroyed a large part of the City of London, caused by the destruction of a Terileptil base. ("The Visitation") Re-building took over 10 years, but London's growth accelerated in the 18th century and by the early 19th century it was the largest city in the world.

Probably the most significant changes to London in the 20th century were caused by the Blitz and other bombing by the German Luftwaffe that took place during World War II. The bombing killed over 30,000 Londoners and flattened large tracts of housing and other buildings across London. The rebuilding during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was characterised by a wide range of architectural styles and resulted in a lack of unity in architecture that became part of London's character.

London was evacuated several times during the 1970s, most notably during the activities of Operation Golden Age ("Invasion of the Dinosaurs"); however little lasting damage to the city occured during these evacuations.

The city was heavily damaged during the Dalek invasion and occupation in the mid-22nd century. ("The Dalek Invasion of Earth") Again, rebuilding took several decades.

By the 24th century, London filled most of the island of Britain. ("The Sensorites")

London circa 2000

During the 20th and 21st centuries, London attracted very large numbers of visitors; including tourists and alien invaders. The tourist attractions were mainly in Central London, comprising the historic City of London; they included the Royal palaces, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea with its museums (the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and Victoria and Albert Museum) and Hyde Park. Other important tourist attractions in London included the Bankside area of Southwark with the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern, and London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, Tate Britain on the Embankment, and the British Museum in Bloomsbury. There were many other museums and places of interest.

Transport and Infrastructure

The public transport network was one of the most extensive in the world, but faced serious congestion and reliability issues.

The Underground

London's Underground Railway was the oldest in the world, and possibly one of the busiest. It is thought that more than 3 million people used the Underground every day. By the end of the 20th century, the Underground had suffered from a lack of sufficient investment since the sums of money needed to keep it fully modernised (and repair it from the battles with Cybermen and Yetis) were very high.

Roads

Most of the streets of central London were laid out before cars were invented and London's road network was therefore often congested. There were attempts to tackle this as far back as the 1740s, when the New Road was built through the fields north of the city; but by the 20th century it had become just another congested central London thoroughfare. Some drastic plans for motorways in the heart of the city were put forward in the decades immediately after World War II, but they came to little due to the costs involved and objections to the mass demolitions required. By the end of the 20th century policy had swung towards a preference for public transport improvements.

Buses and taxis

London's famous red double decker buses were run by private companies, although it remained a requirement that the buses be painted red. However the iconic red "Routemaster" bus had almost disappeared by the end of the twentieth century. However, another icon, the famous London taxi black cab remained a common sight.

Air travel

The London region was served by six main airports. The largest and two smallest of these (Heathrow, City Airport and Biggin Hill Airport) were inside the boundary of Greater London, but the other three (Gatwick Airport, Stansted, and Luton) were outside Greater London. There were also a few small airfields and private airports.

Heathrow was London's principal airport and a major hub. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was the busiest international airport in the world, with five terminal buildings (one did not open until 2008).

Gatwick and Stansted airports were also large international airports, with approximately 30 million and 20 million passengers a year respectively. They were both outside the boundaries of Greater London. Dedicated direct rail services served Gatwick and Stansted, while the Heathrow Express and London Underground Piccadilly Line both served Heathrow.

Water transport

The River Thames was navigable to ocean going vessels as far as London Bridge, and to substantial craft well past Greater London. The river had been one of London's main transport arteries, prior to the 20th century.

Water

The Thames Water Ring Main supplied much of London with water. Sewage disposal was historically a problem, causing major pollution of the Thames and potable water supplies. London suffered from major outbreaks of cholera and typhus well into the mid-1800s. Indeed, the problem was so severe that Parliament was suspended on occasion due to the stench from the river. These problems were solved when Sir Joseph Bazalgette completed his system of intercepting mains to divert sewage from the Thames to outfalls east of London, where the tide would sweep the sewage out to sea.

Culture

Theatre

London had over three dozen major theatres, most concentrated in the West End. The subsidised or non-commercial theatres of London included the Royal National Theatre, which was based at the South Bank; the Royal Shakespeare Company which was based in Stratford-upon-Avon, but presented seasons in London; and The Globe, a 20th century reconstruction of the home of Shakespeare's troupe.

Art

The British National collection of Western Art to 1900 was held at the National Gallery. Other major collections of pre-1900 art were the Wallace Collection; the Courtauld Gallery at the Courtauld Institute of Art; and Dulwich Picture Gallery. The national collection of post-1900 art was at Tate Modern and the national collection of British Art was at Tate Britain. The National Portrait Gallery had a major collection of portraits of all periods. The Royal Academy's frequently changing exhibitions were also important.

Museums

There were over 240 museums in London. Among the more important were the British Museum (containing antiquities from all over the world), the Victoria and Albert Museum (covering applied and decorative arts), the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the Museum of London, and the Space Museum.

London tourist attractions

Places and buildings of interest

• Albert Memorial
• Alexandra Palace
• Bank of England
• Battersea Power Station
• BT Tower (Formerly known as the Post Office Tower)
• Buckingham Palace
• Bush House
• Cleopatra's Needle
• Covent Garden
• Downing Street
• Leicester Square
• London Eye
• Madame Tussaud's
• Millennium Dome
• Nelson's Column
• The Monument (to the Great Fire of London)
• Palace of Westminster (Parliament and tower containing Big Ben)
• St Paul's Cathedral
• Somerset House
• Tower Bridge
• Tower of London
• Trafalgar Square
• Westminster Abbey

Companions from London

Television

• Susan Foreman - attended school in Shoreditch; but was not actually from the city.
• Barbara Wright
• Ian Chesterton
• Dodo Chaplet
• Ben Jackson
• Polly
• Victoria Waterfield
• Sergeant Benton
• Liz Shaw
• Jo Grant
• Mike Yates
• Sarah Jane Smith
• Harry Sullivan
• Ace (prior to the timestorm)
• Rose Tyler

Novels

• Samantha Jones

Audio adventures

• Evelyn Smythe

Sources

• Wikipedia article on London