London

Philip Henslowe, Edward Alleyn and the invention of London theatre in the age of Shakespeare

The actor Edward Alleyn and his father-in-law Philip Henslowe built and expanded several London public playhouses, including the Rose, the Fortune, and the Hope. Named by King James VI and I as Joint ‘Masters of the Royal Game of Bears, ...
Leaders of British Empire Countries in London

The film opens with a title explaining what is happening, a gathering of leaders of the Empire to discuss a range of issues. This includes India, Canada, South Africa, Newfoundland and the Irish Free State. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin ...
Armistice Day Ceremonies

The film starts with titles explaining the Armistice Day ceremony. It then goes on to show the march past the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Context The Great War officially ended in July 1919 when Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles. Soon ...
London Church Completely Destroyed By Fire

The opening titles tell us that this is a church burned down by Suffragettes, causing £20,000 of damage. The scene then shifts to a church at New Cross that has been comprehensively destroyed by fire. We see the burnt out ...
Suffragist Rally in Hyde Park

The opening titles tell us that ‘Law Abiding Suffragists? from all over the country held a rally in Hyde Park. We then see a huge, orderly and very cheerful crowd of men and women waving and cheering for the camera. ...
Suffragette Pageant in London

The clip opens with titles telling us the pageant contains over 66,000 women and they are showing examples of famous women in history. We then see a very large procession with lots of banners watched by a very large crowd. ...
Lost in London

Tracing ancestors before civil registration and the census presents a real challenge to family historians. In London, the problems can be even greater, where the population doubled between 1801 and 1841 and boundaries were often redrawn. Administering the area was ...
The Metropolitan Police: an introduction to records of service 1829-1958

This talk provides a basic outline of the surviving records of service for Metropolitan Police officers, with examples from the records, and an overview of the origins of the service. This will be of primary interest to those with ancestors ...
The Festival of Britain

The Festival of Britain opened on 3 May 1951. It was a summer-long, nationwide festival celebrating Britain’s contribution to civilisation past, present and future, in the arts, in science and in industrial design. Events ranged from the London South Bank ...
The London Gazette: not just the brave and the bankrupt

Family History specialist Audrey Collins discusses how researchers can get the most out of the London Gazette, Britain’s oldest continually-published newspaper.
Lost London pubs

‘Lost London pubs’ looks back at the changing nature and purpose of pubs over the past 250 years, illustrated through speaker Jack Adams’ own collection of books about pubs published during this period. This podcast was recorded live as part ...
The Metropolitan Police: its creation and records of service

London’s Metropolitan Police service was formed in 1829. This talk provides an overview of how crime was dealt with before this date, and how to trace the records of our Metropolitan Police ancestors at The National Archives.
News from the London Family History Centre

This talk highlights new features of this popular South Kensington destination, including access to important new databases, more English church records on microfilm, a newly organised collection of resources for Mormon ancestors and significant additions to English probate records – ...
Hope and Glory

‘Hope and Glory’ tells the story of a young boy growing up in London during the Second World War. The film explores two themes that greatly affected the Home Front during the war, the Blitz and evacuation. This videocast is ...
Salvage with a Smile

A serious appeal in a light-hearted way to housewives to save paper, bones and metal which can ‘provide the raw material for tanks, battleships, guns…’ The film takes the form of a discussion between a professor, his housemaid, the local ...