The London Journal (@thelondonjournal.bsky.social)

@aidannorrie.bsky.social Sep 4, 2026, 1:51 PMReposted by @thelondonjournal.bsky.social

New LJ article!

And to w(h)et your appetite, Caroline has written a blog post on the plans to bring water back to the moat of the Tower of London.

(see what I did there? And who says academics aren't fun?!)

thelondonjournal.org/blog.html#Wi...

@thelondonjournal.bsky.social Sep 4, 2026, 11:45 AM

Dr Wilhelmsson, who is @hrp-palaces.bsky.social's Assistant Curator of Historic Buildings at the Tower of London, has also written an accompanying post for our blog about the Tower's moat - do check both of them out!

@thelondonjournal.bsky.social Sep 4, 2026, 11:42 AM

New research article: 'The Tower of London’s Forgotten Architects: Lewis Alexander Hall and the Royal Engineers, 1840–1847', by Caroline Wilhelmson: www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/...

@thelondonjournal.bsky.social Aug 21, 2026, 11:42 AM

It's time for another 🧵 on one of the articles from our 50th anniversary special issue, 'London's Past Today'. Today, we come onto the penultimate article of the issue: 'Layering London’s History: Digital Mapping and Spatial Technologies in Historical Research', by @justincolson.bsky.social.

tandfonline.comLayering London’s History: Digital Mapping and Spatial Technologies in Historical Research*The opening decades of the twenty-first century have seen an explosion of spatial approaches to urban history, which have allowed historians to combine analyses to gain new cultural and experientia...

@thelondonjournal.bsky.social Aug 11, 2026, 3:44 PM

Call for chapters: Made Municipal: the LCC through its everyday objects. All reposts much appreciated. x

Made Municipal: the LCC through its everyday objects
Background
Following on from the Sixty Years on from the London County Council: Legacy, Impact, Learning film screening and conference in spring 2025, we are keen to capture and build on some of the histories and research that were represented, which highlighted the need for further and increasingly diverse scholarship about the London County Council.
The Council is often held in a certain degree of reverence regarding the achievements delivered across - and beyond - the boundaries of London from the time of its conception in 1889, and as being emblematic of a type of governance which may no longer be possible in a contemporary context. Since the publication of Andrew Saint’s edited book, Politics and People of London: London County Council, 1889-1965 in 1989, more research has emerged on the LCC, with the increasing availability of unofficial archives and the release of previously closed records revealing more nuanced narratives that have the potential to open up more diverse, representative histories.
We appreciate that talking comprehensively about the Council’s broad and interconnected operations is a monumental task, and thus we’re keen to find innovative ways to throw light on the panorama of its work, rather than focus on discrete, dislocated entities. To do so, we were inspired by Professor Andrew Saint, whose unusual contribution to the film screening night at The London Archives was a foot-long bar of LCC-branded soap. This sparked a wide-ranging discussion spanning issues of care, industry, and education in parentis, as undertaken by the LCC, and prompted us to consider that the operation of the LCC could perhaps be best understood through its material culture and its presence in residents’ day-to-day lives.

Using a lens of material culture to explore the work of the LCC allows us to break out from the thematic silos which might otherwise be imposed upon its history, crossing between departments and people - whether LCC employees or those that used its services - that will result in some fascinating and revelatory perspectives.
We are particularly interested in how this might better contextualise some of the under-represented histories of the Council, to reveal their importance within the wider spectrum of its work. Unlike histories that focus on particular departments or typologies, this enables us to shift towards traversing siloed narratives to provide a richer, more rounded perspective on the LCC, which we feel is more authentic to its operation, whilst also challenging how objects are often documented in museums and archives.

Call for chapters
Using a material culture approach, the collected volume will present a history of the LCC through a significant physical manifestation of objects that denote its municipal authority across the County of London. Each chapter will start with an image of the everyday LCC object, setting the scene for a more diverse re-telling of its history. It will be edited by the organisers of the Sixty Years on from the London County Council: Legacy, Impact, Learning film screening and conference held in March 2025, Dr Ruth Lang, Dr Dawn Pereira and Dr Rosamund Lily West.
We invite 4,000-5,000-word chapters which use an everyday LCC object as a starting point. We encourage a range of methodologies for approaching how the objects will be used as catalysts for storytelling. We are particularly interested in including those covering the early LCC period (1889-1914) and the interwar period, which is often underrepresented in LCC histories. Suggestions of types of objects include:
Objects; heraldry, uniforms, school awards, furniture, cutlery
Ephemera; pamphlets, tickets, brochures, phonebooks
Documents; official publications, maps, memoranda and minutes,
We see this approach as offering a more accessible way to delve into complex discussions on topics that may, at first glance, seem less engaging, such as regulation, commissioning, deindustrialisation plans, procurement, etc. We’re also keen to identify controversial objects that open untold/silenced stories and to consider whether there are global implications for the different themes and subjects discussed.

This publication would build upon Andrew Saint’s 1989 edited book, Politics and People of London: the London County Council, 1889-1965, which was the last book on the LCC to offer a broad history, so this would be a timely and much-needed re-examination of the LCC and its legacy. The book will be academic and rigorous and will include good-quality images to complement the visual, object-based approach. The aim of this book is to be an academic/trade crossover, with an audience of both specialist academics and an interested public.
Please email LCC60yearson@gmail.com with your name, a 50-word bio and a 250-word abstract by 31st October 2026.
Please include a clear indication of the object your chapter intends to focus upon (including images and potential sources/locations of the object itself where possible), along with a summary of its purpose and relevance, and the outline of your intended scope of investigation.

@thelondonjournal.bsky.social Aug 10, 2026, 5:51 PM

...and of 'London’s ‘Big Bang’ Moment and its Architectural Conversations: The Built Environment as a Subject of Public Discourse', by Stephen Rosser.

tandfonline.comThe City in the City: Architecture and Change in London’s Financial District; London’s ‘Big Bang’ Moment and its Architectural Conversations: The Built Environment as a Subject of Public DiscoursePublished in The London Journal: A Review of Metropolitan Society Past and Present (Vol. 51, No. 2, 2026)

@thelondonjournal.bsky.social Aug 10, 2026, 5:51 PM

And rounding things off, we have a double review by @geraintfranklin.bsky.social: of 'The City in the City: Architecture and Change in London’s Financial District', by Amy Thomas...