17th century map of London

Late 17th century view of London by William Hollar

The Institute of Historical Research has been awarded a first-stage pass and development funding of £103,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a new interactive online resource tracing London’s history from the Roman period to the present day. The Centre for Metropolitan History, working with the Victoria County History, is leading the development of this resource that will create a multi-layered map of London drawing upon a wide variety of maps and archival materials, currently held in different collections.

A major element of the project will be to engage the public at borough level and city-wide, through crowd-sourcing, volunteer, schools and internship programmes, inviting them to upload photographs and personal histories. It will present the most comprehensive snapshot of London’s diverse history in one resource, and is unique in enabling the creation of new content by online users and volunteers, who will learn new skills and be encouraged to start new local heritage projects of their own.

Waterlow and Sons 1937 Map of London

Waterlow and Sons 1937 Map of London

A number of prestigious partners are involved, including: London Metropolitan Archives, Historic England, Museum of London Archaeology, The British Library, Senate House Library, The National Archives and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The heritage assets contributed by the partners are incomparable sources of evidence and knowledge of all aspects of the history of London; they provide aesthetic, architectural, historic and scientific information on the city; and they have unique social and community value as records of everyday life, work and culture in the capital.

See the full Press Release about this project.