London History

Why study London History at Birkbeck?

The Department offers courses in London history at certificate, undergraduate and MA level and supervision to MPhil and PhD in London subjects. Our academic staff are active in research and writing on London's history and contribute to the Department's high research profile and ranking.

Certificate of Higher Education

The History Certificate in Higher Education offers a diverse range of short courses on London history from Roman times to the present day. Based in some of London's many archives and museums, these courses offer students hands-on opportunities to study London's rich history, often using primary materials, archives and exhibits. We also offer contemporary London Studies options alongside the History Certificate, considering many of the issues facing London today. If students choose, this can become a direct pathway to the London Studies strand of the BSc Social Science.

Undergraduate study

Our undergraduate course units of the BA History pay attention to the history of the capital city and metropolis of England, later Britain and the British Empire. A new course choice 'People and power in the making of a global city: London 1600-2000' gives a more focused study, tracing strands in London's history and development from the early modern period to the present time (this course is also available to students taking the Certificate in Higher Education, with a different mode of assessment).
Students following a medieval or early modern pathway in the BA History or BA History and Archaeology can take the advanced undergraduate course, 'Later medieval London: society, politics and culture, 1450-1560', which uses contemporary texts such as wills and chronicles to study London in a period of great political and social change, while those with more modern interests might choose one of several options on society and culture in 19th and 20th-century Britain. BA students may also choose to focus on a London subject for their 5,000-word dissertation, with help from one of several members of academic staff with interests in this area.

Postgraduate taught (MA)

Our particular focus at postgraduate level is the MA London, Cities, Cultures: urban and metropolitan histories, originally established as the innovative MA London Studies more than 20 years ago.
This MA offers in-depth study of London from the sixteenth century onwards, including thematic studies of health, transport and communications, or sex and gender in the city, and also introduces students to comparative urban history and to the wealth of writing about cities in past and present.
MA students write a 15,000 word dissertation, under supervision; recent topics studied have included parishes and plague in early modern London, the London Olympic Games of 1908, and Poplar Town Hall: the meanings of a building.

Postgraduate research

We welcome enquiries from postgraduate students wishing to research aspects of London's history from the later medieval period to the present.
Vanessa Harding, Jerry White, David Feldman, Matt Cook, Jan Rüger, Sean Brady, and Frank Trentmann all supervise research students working with a greater or lesser focus on London.
Prospective students should contact a potential supervisor with expertise in the area they wish to work on to discuss their proposed topic, and also check our web pages on research degrees.
Among the topics recently completed or currently supervised are gardening in later Stuart London, buildings and health in early modern London, the London Foundling Hospital in the 18th and 19th centuries, and brewers, temperance and the 19th-century drinking fountain movement.

Research collaborations and events

The Department has close links with leading London research institutions, the Raphael Samuel Centre and the Centre for Metropolitan History at the Institute of Historical Research.
Matt Cook is co-director of the Raphael Samuel Centre, which among other activities promotes research in London history, especially the history of east London and the Thames Gateway region. The Centre has a wide-ranging programme of events – from open archive workshops, film screenings, and themed seminar series, to outreach projects with schools and community groups.
Vanessa Harding co-directs funded research projects on early modern London, including 'People in Place; families, households and housing in early modern London' and successor projects, in collaboration with the Centre for Metropolitan History, and the London Hearth Tax project in collaboration with Roehampton University.
Several colleagues run research seminars at the Institute of Historical Research on the history of London and modern Britain.