Excavations beneath the Royal Opera House have revealed stunning evidence of early London, both the homes and workshops of the inhabitants and also the defensive ditches that may have been built to protect against Viking attacks before the area was abandoned.

St Olaf House stands on the site of an ancient church dedicated to St Olaf. It once stood at the southern end of old London Bridge – a bridge that may have been torn down by a Viking fleet: a fleet commanded by the very same Olaf…

St Paul’s was the heart of early London. It was the burial place of King Ethelred (‘the ill-advised’) and also of unfortunate Archbishop Ælfheah whose body was stolen from its tomb by King Cnut The graveyard was once home to the London runestone, a rare monument to a member of London’s Viking elite.

Although never officially a prison, the Tower of London has held hundreds of London’s most dangerous prisoners. Like the story of the Tower itself, its role as prison is a varied one.