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London Facts & Worksheets

London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, is a 21st-century city which dates back to Roman times.

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London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, is a 21st-century city which dates back to Roman times. At its center stand the imposing Houses of Parliament, the iconic Big Ben clock tower and Westminster Abbey, the site of British monarch coronations.

See the fact file below for more information on the London or alternatively, you can download our 19-page London worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

DESCRIPTION

  • London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea.
  • In satellite photographs London can be seen to sit compactly in a green belt of open land, with its principal ring highway (the M25 motorway) threaded around it at a radius of about 20 miles (30 km) from the city centre. The growth of the built-up area was halted by strict town planning controls in the mid-1950s.
  • Its physical limits more or less correspond to the administrative and statistical boundaries separating the metropolitan county of Greater London from the “home counties” of Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire (in clockwise order) to the south of the river and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex to the north.
  • The historic counties of Kent, Hertfordshire, and Essex extend in area beyond the current administrative counties with the same names to include substantial parts of the metropolitan county of Greater London, which was formed in 1965.
  • Most of Greater London south of the Thames belongs to the historic county of Surrey, while most of Greater London north of the Thames belongs historically to the county of Middlesex. The area of Greater London is 607 square miles (1,572 square kilometers). The population of Greater London was 7,172,091 in 2001 and 8,173,941 in 2011.

CHARACTER OF THE CITY

  • If the border of the metropolis is well defined, its internal structure is complicated and defies description. Indeed, London’s defining characteristic is an absence of overall form.
  • It is physically a polycentric city, with many core districts and no clear hierarchy among them. London has at least two (and sometimes many more) of everything: cities, mayors, dioceses, cathedrals, chambers of commerce, police forces, opera houses, orchestras, and universities. In every aspect it functions as a compound or confederal metropolis.
  • Historically, London grew from three distinct centers: the first is the walled settlement founded by the Romans on the banks of the Thames in the 1st century CE, today known as the City of London, “the Square Mile”, or simply “the City”; facing it across the bridge on the lower gravel of the south bank.
  • The second is the suburb of Southwark and the third, a mile upstream, on a great southward bend of the river, is the City of Westminster. The three settlements had distinct and complementary roles.
  • London, “the City”, developed as a centre of trade, commerce, and banking. Southwark, “the Borough”, became known for its monasteries, hospitals, inns, fairs, pleasure houses, and great theaters of Elizabethan London—the Rose (1587), the Swan (1595), and the world-famous Globe (1599).

THE VALLEY OF THAMES

  • The natural lay of the land can be appreciated from several public vantage points. Hampstead Heath offers the finest panorama over the central basin of the metropolis.
  • But from Shooters Hill, Upper Norwood, or Alexandra Palace. one has a choice of views: inward to the crowded skyline of the City and West End or out to the open expanses of the Home Counties, the Thames estuary, the South Downs, and the Weald. Such panoramas show that London, for all its immensity, resembles more closely the limited metropolises of the early 20th century than the amorphous and sprawling megalopolises of today, such as Tokyo or Los Angeles.
  • The line of the post-World War II green belt runs quite comfortably along the encircling hills of the London Basin—the long ridge of the downs to the south of London and, to the north, the more broken chain of heights running from Iver Heath (above Heathrow Airport) clockwise through Ruislip Common, Bushey Heath, Enfield Chase, Epping Forest, Hainault Forest, and South Weald.

CLIMATE

  • Continuous records of London’s weather extend back to 1659, with specific data for wind direction available since 1723 and for precipitation since 1697.
  • The fluctuations show a cyclic pattern, with troughs of hard winters and cold springs during the 1740s, 1770s, 1809–17, 1836–45, and 1875–82 followed by a long upswing after 1919, in which London’s climate became warmer, largely because of milder weather in the autumn months.
  • Modern London has the equable climate of South East England, with mild winters and temperate summers. The average daytime air temperature is 52°F (11°C), with 42°F (5.5°C) in January and 65°F (18°C) in July.
  • Statistics show that the sun shines, however briefly, on five days out of six. Londoners shed their winter coats in April or May and begin to dress warmly again in late October.

ENVIRONMENT

  • For years, London was synonymous with smog, the word coined at the turn of the 20th century to describe the city’s characteristic blend of fog and smoke.
  • The capital’s “pea-soupers” were caused by suspended pollution of smoke and sulfur dioxide from coal fires. The most severely affected area was the 19th-century residential and industrial belt of inner London, particularly the East End, which had the highest density of factory smokestacks and domestic chimney pots and the lowest-lying land, inhibiting dispersal.

London Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the London across 19 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use London worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, which is a 21st-century city which dates back to Roman times. At its centre stand the imposing Houses of Parliament, the iconic Big Ben clock tower and Westminster Abbey, the site of British monarch coronations.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • London Facts
  • Factbook
  • London Timeline
  • For Me…
  • Mix It Up
  • World’s Capital Cities
  • Creating Captions
  • London Trademark
  • Holiday in London
  • Breaking News!
  • London Essay

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Link will appear as London Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 22, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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