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The Secret City of London

The city you've never heard of.

By ApolloPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Sky view of City of London / Image by Colin and Kim Hansen from Wikimedia Commons

The great City of London is known for its historical landmarks, modern skyscrapers, ancient markets, and famous bridges. It is arguably the financial capital of the world, and is home to over nine thousand people!

Yup, that's right.

Though London is also known for its historical landmarks, modern skyscrapers, ancient markets, famous bridges, and is home to the government, the royal family, and over nine million people, it is different from the City of London.

Sky view of London / Image by liushuquan from Pixabay

You might wonder how the UK ended up with two Londons, one inside the other.

Short answer - Romans.

2,000 years ago, the Romans came to Great Britain, killed a bunch of druids, and founded a trading post on the River Thames and named it Londinium. Being Romans, they got to work doing what Romans do: enforcing laws, increasing trade, building temples, public baths, roads, bridges, and a wall to defend their work.

The Romans came, and the Romans went. Kingdoms rose, and kingdoms fell, but the wall endured protecting the City within. The City of London, governing itself and trading with the world, grew rich.

A thousand years after the Romans, yet still a thousand years ago, William the Conqueror came to Great Britain to conqueror everything and began modern British history. During his conquest, he found the City of London, with its sturdy walls more challenging to defeat than farmers on open fields. He decided to leave the City of London and recognize it as a special place as long as the City of London recognized him as the King of Great Britain.

This started a thousand-year-long tradition whereby Monarchs reconfirmed that the City of London is a special, unique place, as long as it recognized them as King.

Some of you might still be confused about how the cities are written on paper, so here is a gist. London is London. However, the City of London is not London. But, the city of London is London. When you write "the City," it isn't London. On the other hand "the city" is London.

To soothe your befuddled brain here is the easy way to recognize which city is written. Whenever a capital "c" exists, it's the City of London. In all other cases, it's London.

The differences do not end here. The two Londons have separate city halls and elect separate mayors, who collect separate taxes to fund separate police who enforce separate laws.

If you think that's all, prepare to be blown.

  • The mayor of the City of London has a fancy title, "The Right Honorable Lord Mayor of London," and wears a fancy outfit. He gets to ride in a golden carriage and work in the Guildhall. On the other hand, the mayor of London has to wear a suit, ride a bike and work in an office building.
  • The City of London has its own flag and coat of arms which is awesome considering that London lacks them.
The Flag and Coat of Arms of the City of London / Image by Greentubing and Sodacan from Wikimedia Commons
  • Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, can not enter the City of London on a whim. She requires the permission of the Lord Mayor at a ceremony.
  • The City of London has a representative in Parliament, the Remembrancer, whose job is to protect the city's special rights. Because of this, laws passed by Parliament sometimes do not apply to the City of London, most notably voting reforms.
  • Last but not least, the City of London owns and operates land and buildings far outside its border, making it quite wealthy.

Oh, and the corporation that runs the City of London is older than the United Kingdom by several hundred years.

The next time you go to London, look up a map of London crafted by a careful cartographer. That map will have a one-square-mile hole near the middle. It is here where the City of London lies.

Map view of the City of London in London / Image by TUBS and Nilfanion from Wikimedia Commons

And if you are still confused, ask a local where the city is. (Be sure to stress on the c!) Or, you can check their official website.

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About the Creator

Apollo

I read it, I like it, I write it

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