The following is a timeline of the history of London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom.
Prehistory 120,000 BC – Elephants and hippopotami are roaming on the site of Trafalgar Square. 6000 BC – Hunter-gatherers are on the site of Heathrow Terminal 5. 4000 BC – Mesolithic timber structure exists on the River Thames foreshore, south of the site of Vauxhall Bridge. 3800 BC – Stanwell Cursus is constructed. 2300–1500 BC – Possible community on Chiswick Eyot in the Thames. 1500 BC – A Bronze Age bridge exists from the foreshore north of Vauxhall Bridge. This bridge either crosses the Thames, or goes to a subsequently lost island in the river. 300–1 BC – An Iron Age oppidum in Woolwich, which is possibly London's first port, in the late-Roman period reused as a fort.Saint, A., Guillery, P. (2012). Survey of London, Volume 48: Woolwich. Yale Books, London. . p. 2.
Early history to the 10th century
47 AD – Original settlement of Londinium founded by the Romans. 50 The original London bridge is constructed out of wood. Grim's Ditch (Harrow) is dug from this year onwards. 57 – 8 January: The earliest known handwritten document in the UK is created in London, a financial record in one of the Roman 'Bloomberg tablets' found during 2010–13 on the site of Londinium. Another dated to 65/70-80 AD gives the earliest known written record of the name of Londinium. 60 or 61 – Londinium is sacked by forces of Boudica. 122 – Construction of a forum in Londinium is completed; Emperor Hadrian visits. There is a major fire in the city at about this time. c. 190–225 – The London Wall is constructed. During 3rd century - London's population is around 50,000 due to the influence of its major port. c. 214 – London becomes the capital of the province of Britannia Superior. c. 240 – The London Mithraeum is built. c. 250 – Coasting barge "Blackfriars I" sinks in the Thames at Blackfriars. 255 – Work begins on a riverside wall in London. 296 – Constantius Chlorus occupies Londinium, saving it from attack by mercenary Franks. 368 – The city is known as Augusta by this date, indicating that it is a Roman provincial capital. 490 – Saxons are in power, and the Roman city is largely abandoned. By early 7th century – Settlement at Lundenwic (modern-day Aldwych). c. 604 – Mellitus is the first Bishop of London in the modern succession to be consecrated. 650 – A market is active. 675 An early fire of London destroys the wooden Anglo-Saxon cathedral, which is rebuilt in stone over the following decade. The Church of All Hallows-by-the-Tower is founded in the City by Barking Abbey. By 757 – London has come under the control of Æthelbald of Mercia and passes to Offa, who has a mint here. 798 – An early fire of London takes place. 838 – Kingston upon Thames is first mentioned. 842 – London is raided by Vikings with "great slaughter"; they besiege it in 851. 871 – Autumn: Danes take up winter quarters in Mercian London. 886 King Alfred the Great restores London to Mercia. The London Mint is established. 893 – Spring: Edward, son of Alfred the Great, forces invading Danish Vikings to take refuge on Thorney Island. 911 – Edward the Elder, King of Wessex, transfers London from Mercia to Wessex. 918 – Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders and daughter of King Alfred, donates Kentish lands, including Lewisham, Greenwich and Woolwich, to St. Peter's Abbey in Ghent. 925 – 4 September: Coronation of Æthelstan as King of Wessex at Kingston upon Thames. 978 – The coronation of Æthelred as King of the English takes place in Kingston upon Thames. 982 – An early fire of London takes place. 989 – An early fire of London burns from Aldgate to Ludgate.
The 11th to 15th centuries
1009 – August: Vikings attack London. 1014? Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway perhaps attacks London and burns the wooden London Bridge in support of Æthelred.. Although attested in Skaldic poetry, there is no reference to this event in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The origin of Borough Market is claimed. 1016 7 May: Cnut the Great lays siege to London. July?: Cnut lays siege to London a second time. Between July and October: Battle of Brentford: King Edmund Ironside defeats Cnut, who then besieges London a third time. 1065 – 28 December: Westminster Abbey is consecrated. 1066 6 January: Harold Godwinson is crowned as the King of England, probably in the new Westminster Abbey. Mid-October: William the Conqueror burns Southwark while attempting to capture London Bridge. 25 December: William the Conqueror is crowned as the King of England in Westminster Abbey. 1067 – The City of London is granted a royal charter by William the Conqueror guaranteeing the same rights as it enjoyed in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Around 1078 – Construction of the White Tower (Tower of London) begins; it is probably largely completed by 1088. 1087 – An early fire of London destroys much of the city, including the St Paul's Cathedral. 1091 – 17 October: The London tornado of 1091 destroys the wooden London Bridge and severely damages the church of St Mary-le-Bow and other buildings. 1099 – Westminster Hall is completed. 1100 5 August: The coronation of Henry I takes place at Westminster Abbey by Maurice (bishop of London). 15 August: Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham, becomes the first person imprisoned in the Tower of London, by the new king for supposed embezzlement. On 3 February 1101, he becomes the first person to escape from the Tower. 1106 – Southwark Priory is refounded by the Augustinians. 1109 – Kingston upon Thames is first chartered. 1114 – Merton Priory is established. 1123 – St Bartholomew's Hospital, St Bartholomew-the-Great priory and Smithfield meat market are established. 1127 – A royal charter creates the Liberty of the Clink in the Borough of Southwark. 1133 – A royal charter establishes the first annual Bartholomew Fair at Smithfield, which is later to become England's largest cloth fair. 1135 – 26 May (Pentecost): The Great Fire of 1135 destroys the wooden London Bridge and seriously damages St Paul's Cathedral. 1141 – July: The Anarchy: Matilda I of Boulogne, wife of the imprisoned King Stephen, recaptures London. By 1144 – Winchester Palace is completed in Southwark. 1147 – The Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St Katharine by the Tower is founded by Queen Matilda. 1155 – The Worshipful Company of Weavers (established by 1130) is chartered. 1163 – The new wooden London Bridge is built, with the construction of the first stone-built structure beginning in 1176. 1180 – The Guild of Pepperers, predecessor of the Worshipful Company of Grocers and the Apothecaries, is founded. 1185 – 10 February: Temple Church is consecrated. 1189 3 September: The coronation of Richard I takes place in Westminster Abbey. Rising against Jews in London. Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone becomes first mayor of London. A fair is active. 1196 – Spring: A popular uprising of the poor against the rich is led by William Fitz Osbert, who is hanged after being smoked out of his refuge in the tower of St Mary-le-Bow. 1199 – Shrievalty Charter: The new King John confirms that the City of London has the right to elect its own Sheriffs. c. 1200 – The royal treasury is transferred to Westminster from Winchester. 1205 – January is exceptionally cold. 1209 – Rebuilding of the stone London Bridge is completed. 1210 – c. November: 3 "leopards" (probably lions) are given to Henry III of England by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, making them the first creatures in the menagerie at the Tower of London. 1212 – 10 July: The Great Fire of 1212 takes place in Southwark and in houses on London Bridge, with fatalities; thatched roofs are prohibited in the City as a consequence. 1215 17 May: Rebellious barons occupy London. 15 June: Magna Carta provides that "The City of London shall have all the old Liberties and Customs which it hath been used to have." Mayoralty Charter: King John confirms that the City has the right to elect its own mayor annually. 1216 – 21 May: During the First Barons' War, Louis, Count of Artois, invades England in support of the barons, landing in Thanet. He enters London without opposition and is proclaimed, but not crowned, King of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral. 1217 – 12 September: Treaty of Lambeth ends the First Barons' War. c. 1219 – The first, timber, Kingston Bridge is completed. 1222 – 15 July: Rioting after London defeats Westminster in an annual wrestling contest; the ring-leaders are hanged or mutilated in punishment. 1232 – The Domus Conversorum ("House of the Converts"), a building and institution in London for Jewish converts to Christianity, is established by Henry III. 1234 – 2 December: A royal decree prohibits institutes of legal education within the City. 1235 – Famine in England; 20,000 people die in London. 1236 – Many people are killed in floods in Woolwich. 1237 – The Office of Chamberlain of London and status of Freedom of the City of London are both first recorded. 1240 – Old St Paul's Cathedral is consecrated. 1241 – The White Friars' monastery is founded. 1246 – The Liberty of the Savoy is created. 1247 Bethlem Royal Hospital is founded as the Priory of the New Order of St Mary of Bethlem. Romford Market is chartered as a sheep market. 1249 – The Crutched Friars settle in London. 1253 – The Austin Friars monastery is founded. 1255 – An elephant joins the royal menageries at the Tower of London. 1257 c. September: 1257 Samalas eruption: A volcano erupts on Lombok Island in Indonesia, and the resultant climatic changes combine with a second successive poor grain harvest this summer in Britain to produce famine. This kills an estimated 17,000 people in Britain, of which 15,000 deaths are in London. The Brothers of Penitence (Fratres Saccati, 'Brothers of the Sack') first settle in England, in London.Hunter-Blair, Oswald. "Boni Homines." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Retrieved 2021-05-30. 1262 – The first church of St Mary Abbots in Kensington is founded. 1263 16 July: Rebels occupy London. Savoy Palace built on the Strand waterfront by Peter II, Count of Savoy. 1264 – c. April: Targeting of Jews during the conflict with the Barons: One of Simon de Montfort's followers, John FitzJohn, leads a massacre of Jews in London. 1265 – Covent Garden market is established. 1267 – 9 April: During the Second Barons' War, Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, occupies London. Simon de Montfort's supporters kill 500 Jews. 1269 – 13 October: The rebuilt Westminster Abbey is consecrated. The tomb of Edward the Confessor is relocated to behind the high altar. 1271 – The tower of St Mary-le-Bow collapses. 1272 – The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and Worshipful Company of Curriers are granted rights to regulate the leather trade in the City, and the Fishmongers Company is chartered. 1282 – The Stocks Market is established. By 1290 – St Etheldreda's Church is built; after 1878, it will be the oldest Roman Catholic church building in London. 1291–4 – Eleanor crosses erected across England to mark the route of the funeral procession at the end of 1290 of Edward I's Queen, Eleanor of Castile, to Westminster Abbey. In London they are erected at Westcheap and Charing Cross. 1295 – The English Parliament constituency of Southwark is established. 1296 – Edward I brings the Stone of Scone from Scotland to Westminster Abbey; it will be returned in 1996. 1298 – The English Parliament constituency of the City of London is established. 1299 – A fire damages the Palace of Westminster. 14th–15th century – London's port develops as a European hub for the distribution of goods, particularly textiles. 1303 – Enfield Town market is chartered. 1304 – The Recorder of London is appointed.