The Times London History Atlas

by Hugh Clout (Editor)

Examines the history of London from Roman times to the present, discussing its geography, geology, archaeology, economics, architecture, literature, and more

Genres: History, Nonfiction

191 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great graphics in this cartographical history of London. Now I not only know where Wapping is, but why it's called that.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting overview of all aspects of London and its society throughout time.
I craved for more illustrations, but those present were very interesting and beautiful.

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

While its nearly 200 pages are crammed with maps, this volume is considerably more than “just” an atlas. After several pages on surface land forms and geology, we go straight to Roman London, how and why the town was established where it was, and the location of the first bridge across the Thames. The six gates in the Roman wall are located and the commercial quarter is depicted in detail, as is the fort at Cripplegate. Then we move forward through Saxon and Norman London, the medieval, Tudor, and Stuart period, and so on, up to the aftermath of World War II. Subsequent maps and their accompanying text discuss industrialization and suburbanization, the construction of major new motorways connecting the city to the rest of the country, and plans for the future (as they were more than a decade ago). There are any number of fascinating birds-eye reconstruction of London at various early periods, before the first surviving representations of the town. There are also extensive pictorial discussions of building materials, parks and gardens, the underground, “agricultural London” (not a theme even most modern Londoners, probably, would consider), the effect of immigration, royal London, and more. Finally, there’s a series of overviews of each section of London with detailed maps, drawings, and photos, and an etymological dictionary of London place-names. This is a marvelous book for browsing as well as a useful reference work.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can learn more from five minutes spent perusing this book than an hour reading a traditional history. Open a page at random, for instance, and I find a page dedicated to Victorian London; specifically the great buildings and projects of that era. Here, for example, is an illustration showing the development of Whitehall. Just seeing how the Embankment was extended to allow the building of all those government buildings speaks volumes on how the Empire was expanding, moreso than if I'd read pages and pages of statistics on the mercantile and colonial growth of Britain.

Chronologically narrated, the atlas develops key themes that were important chapters in the city, such as the transport revolution (railways and trams), the Great Fire ("before" and "after" maps plus a discussion of post-fire building regulations), the suburban expansion of London, and many other fascinating topics.

There are succinct essays accompanying all the maps, charts, and illustrations. It's like an expanded version of the Museum of London, only as tiring an excursion.

The sole problem this book presents is that it's oversized and thus I shelve it sideways.