Logo
Modern London

Modern London

London Olympics 1948
Although London was still suffering the after effects of war, London hosted the 14th Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium. The prestige of staging the Olympics provided a welcome boost to morale.
 
  
Clean Air Act  1956
Fog was a feature of London life well into the 20th century. In the Great London Smog of 1952 a lethal combination of fog and smoke generated by domestic coal fires killed 12,000 Londoners. The 1956 Clean Air Act attempted to control domestic smoke pollution by introducing smokeless zones in which only smokeless fuels were to be burnt.
 
  
Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral 1965
Statesman Sir Winston Churchill died on 24 January 1965 and befitting his status as the Prime Minister during the Second World War he was given a state funeral. His body lay in state at Westminster Hall and was taken to St Paul’s Cathedral for his funeral service, before it went on Bladon Churchyard in Oxfordshire for burial.		  
 
  
Barbican Centre opens 1982
Designed by the architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. The Barbican was conceived to be Europe’s largest arts complex. It provides housing and includes a theatre, art galleries, cinemas, concert hall, restaurants, cafés, a library and The Museum of London, all within the City of London.
 
  
Lloyd’s Building opens 1986
In 1979, the Richard Rogers Partnership was commissioned to design a new building for Lloyd’s of London in Leadenhall Street on the site of the East India Company headquarters. The building subverts conventions by locating services such as lifts and emergency stairs on the building’s exterior. Ducts and utilities populate its structure, transforming the exterior surface of the building keeping the 12-storey atrium at its heart clear of unnecessary intrusion.
 
  
Guildhall Art   Gallery reopens 1999
The original Guildhall Art Gallery was established in 1885 to house and display works of art acquired by the City of London Corporation. Burnt down during an air raid in 1941, the gallery occupied temporary accommodation until the City Corporation decided to redevelop the site. The new gallery was designed by Richard Gilbert Scott and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.
 
  
Roman amphitheatre re-discovered 2002
Roman London’s long-lost amphitheatre was revealed by foundation work on the Guildhall Art Gallery site during its construction. It was opened to the public and preserved in the gallery’s basement.		  
 
  
The London Stock Exchange moves 2004
The London Stock Exchange moved to its present headquarters in Paternoster Square, adjacent to St Paul's Cathedral.		  
 
  
Temple Bar returns to the City 2004
Temple Bar was one of the gateways to the City. Designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1673, the gate was dismantled in 1878 to ease traffic congestion. Acquired by the brewer Sir Henry Meux In 1880, who re-erected it stone by stone at his mansion in Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire. Interest in the gateway was rekindled in 1976 by the Temple Bar Trust. They raised the funds to relocate it on the south side of Paternoster Square in 2004.		  

© 2009 Cheapside Initiative / content management by incontrolCMS.net
Picture Credits   Terms and Conditions
/Then_And_Now/Modern_London/