London's Entire History To Be Mapped By New Project

By Zoe Craig Last edited 98 months ago
London's Entire History To Be Mapped By New Project
17th century map of London. W Hollar after 1688

An exciting new heritage mapping project has received key funding from the lottery.

Layers of London is a huge, multi-partner project with a rather ambitious aim: to map London's history. The British Library, London Metropolitan Archives, Historic England, The National Archives and Museum of London Archaeology are all involved. The plan is to link up all their data on a website and mobile app: then Joe Public can access the info and delve into many different layers of London's history, from the Romans to the present day.

Imagine all the best historic London maps, images of London buildings and local films, from the institutions above, being collated together into one mega-website. It's a social historian's heaven.

This RAF photo overlaid on a modern map of London illustrates what Layers of London is all about.

And it's not just the official institutions who will be involved. Volunteers, interns and schools will be able to create and upload new content, including photos, film clips, personal memories and audio recordings.

Get involved, and you can learn new skills with the project partners, including digital techniques for studying historic buildings and places.

The people behind the venture, the Institute of Historical Research (part of the University of London's School of Advanced Study) hope the site will act as a hub for new and existing heritage projects across the city.

Work will kick off in Barking and Dagenham in May this year.

Find out more here.

Last Updated 20 January 2016

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