1. VICTORIAN LONDON

2. The Victorian city of London was a city of startling contrasts
The Victorian city of London was a city of startling contrasts. New building and affluent development went hand in hand with horribly overcrowded slums where people lived in the worst conditions imaginable. The population surged during the 19th century, from about 1 million in 1800 to over 6 million a century later. This growth far exceeded London's ability to look after the basic needs of its citizens.

3. A combination of coal-fired stoves and poor sanitation made the air heavy and foul-smelling. Immense amounts of raw sewage was dumped straight into the Thames River. Even royals were not immune from the stench of London - when Queen Victoria occupied Buckingham Palace her apartments were ventilated through the common sewers, a fact that was not disclosed until some 40 years later.

4. Queen
Victoria

5. Upon this scene entered an unlikely hero, an engineer named Joseph Bazalgette. He was responsible for the building of over 2100 km of tunnels to divert sewage outside the city – 1875 – a system of sewers was built. This made a great impact on the death rate, and outbreaks of cholera dropped after Bazlgette's work was finished.

6. Architecture was also developing at that time John Nash designed the broad avenues of Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Carlton House Terrace, and Oxford Circus, as well as the ongoing creation of Buckingham transformation of Buckingham House into a palace.
Piccadilly Circus

7. Regent Street
Carlton House Terrace

8. Oxford Circus
Buckingham palace

9. In 1829 Sir Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police to handle law and order in areas outside the City. These police became known as "Bobbies" after their founder.

10. National Gallery Trafalgar Square
In 1830 the Place to create Trafalgar Square, and the new National Gallery sprang up there just two years later.
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square

11. The early part of the 19th century was the golden age of steam
The early part of the 19th century was the golden age of steam. The first railway in London was built from London Bridge to Greenwich in 1836, and a great railway boom followed.

12. In 1834 the Houses of Parliament at Westminster Palace burned down
In 1834 the Houses of Parliament at Westminster Palace burned down. They were gradually replaced by the Gothic Houses of Parliament designed by Charles Barry and A.W. Pugin.

13. The clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, known as Big Ben, was built in The origin of the name Big Ben is in some dispute, but there is no argument that the moniker refers to the bells of the tower, NOT to the large clock itself.

14. Prince Albert organized the Great Exhibition in 1851
Prince Albert organized the Great Exhibition in This was the first great world's fair, a showcase of technology from countries all over the world. The Exhibition was held in Hyde Park .

15. The year 1863 saw the completion of the very first underground railway (The Tube) in London, from Paddington to Farringdon Road. The project was so successful that other lines soon followed.