Over 2,000 years of settlement give London its unique architectural
heritage. Unlike Haussmann's Paris, neither monarch nor politician
imposed their will; private ownership and enterprise shaped the city and
defined its parts. Elegant West End squares and crescents hallmark the
Classical townscape that emerged between 1600 and 1830, but medieval,
Tudor and Victorian enclaves identified by occupation, class or guild
make their own design statement, notably in the City and East End. From
its renewal after the Great Fire of 1666 as a centre of commerce,
culture, finance and as a railway hub, the seat of power and law, How
to Read London reveals through the built environment how London's
domestic, civic and commercial landscape has evolved and adapted from
imperial capital to global city.