The Olympic Games: A Collection for Layers of London
by Tomisin Delano During July, I worked with the IHR’s Digital Office, with a main task of researching a collection detailing the Olympics in London. Layers of London is an exciting project as the website aids in visualising London’s history. The web...
Layers of London Book Club!
“Bifil that in that seson on a day, In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay” “We met next day as he had arranged, and inspected the rooms at No. 221B, Baker Street, of which he had spoken at our meeting.”
Add your photographs of #LockdownLondon to the map!
Add your lockdown photos to Layers of London There are ...
Volunteer role: mapping the history of London’s shopping centres
The University of London’s Institute of Historical Research (IHR), in collaboratio...
We are hiring: Freelance GIS Officer
Layers of London Freelance GIS and Data Management Work Required: A freelancer who can work on the GIS technical aspects of the Layers of London website (
Volunteering Opportunity – Research Volunteer with Boston Manor House
Layers of London Research Volunteer Role Description We are looking for Layers of London Research Volunteers to support our work at Boston Manor House. Layers of London is a map-based history website developed by the Institute of Histori...
New Workshop! Mapping Corner Shop stories
Corner Shop Stories: A National Trust & Layers of London Volunteering Workshop
The Booth poverty maps crowd-sourcing application
Click here to help us trace Booth's London or read on to find out more about the Booth map project...
Student Placement Opportunity: Recording British & Irish Furniture Makers
Layers of London sits within the University of London’s Institute of Historical Research as does...
Layers of London Christmas Competition!
To celebrate Christmas we are running the first ever Layers of London competition. To be in with the chance of winning the new fantast...
#MapLondonsPubs – Join Us!
The Blind Beggar, Whitechapel. Image (c) Kevan Wilding, pubwiki.co.uk In Nove...
#HistoryOf MySchool – How to get involved
When was my school built? What did my school look like in the past? Did anyon...
#25DecLondon – How do you spend the day?
The 25th December, aka Christmas Day, is spent in many different ways depending on who you are, where you are and who you...
Help us uncover Charles Booth’s London
What are the Booth maps? LSE Library houses the incredible Charles Booth inquiry, a monumental survey of London which was carried ou...
Being Human 2019 – Feltham
Being Human 2019 For the Being Human Festival this year we will be in Feltham, walking, talking, taking over libraries, examining buildings, and more! Click below to book for each event. More information on the Being Human Festival is here.
New volunteer role: recording London’s pubs
We are looking for volunteers to help source information and images relating to London’s pubs. The role will involve researching websites and publications to gather data, taking new photos of pubs as appropriate, conducting interviews and creating records on the Layers of London website which...
My work experience with Layers of London
by Harry Taylor Reaching the end of my placement with Layers of London it is time to reflect on the experience. My brief was to use the Old Bailey Online database to map historic crime in the capital. For ease of use and to stop the project get...
On the map! Spotlight on Bloomsbury…
The Bloomsbury Festival is getting underway this month, with a programme packed with events exploring all aspects of the neighbourhood that Layers of London calls home. We are in the programme too, with a pop up during on Cromer ...
Comedy, satire, and artistry: a spotlight on unusual maps of London
Layers of London is, amongst other things, a project about maps – and for the vast majority of maps, including those on our website, objective geographical correctness is valued above all else. But there also exists a subset of maps which abandon this aim altogether, instead targeting anything...
Explore London’s Listed Buildings with exciting new data set!
Is there a listed building down your street? Using the new ‘London Listed Buildings’ layer, you can now find out! Simply activate the new layer here (click on ‘Use this Layer’ then ‘I’m done’) to explore all the li...
On the map! – Spotlight on Brent…
Ah fair Brent, the Ireland of Northwest London and the 2020 London Borough of Culture. We have had a big increase in records in the borough in the past few months, tha...
Volunteering Opportunity: Black History Month at Layers of London
Layers of London Black History Month Project Brief The University of London’s Institute of Historical Research (IHR), in collaboration with the National Archives, Historic England, the British Library, Museum of London Archaeology, London Metropolitan Archives, Birkbeck...
Call for papers – ‘Small steps, Big ideas’ for Bloomsbury festival
We are looking for anyone who has something to share on Bloomsbury's fascinating history that fits the theme of 'Small steps, Big ideas'. Guests might want to share their research, interest, work or experience on hidden histories, change or development in the Bloomsbury area, democratising the...
New comments feature on Layers of London
As of today, users on the website will be able to comment on records. Once signed in, you can add a comment on to any...
On the map! Spotlight on Haringey…
This month let's look up north to the history of Haringey, a beautiful part of town twinned with Koblenz in Germany and Clarendon in Jamaica! The Haringey First World War Peace Forum have mapped more than 200 r...
London County Council Bomb Damage Maps: exploring historic maps on my work experience placement by Feliks Scheich
During my time here at the Institute of Historical Research I have used the interactive maps, my favourite of which is the bomb damage map, which was published after the war and shows through the use of colour and a key, the amount of damage done to areas of London during the Blitz. The way t...
On the Map! Spotlight on Sutton…
Last month we looked at some of the wonderful contributions to Layers of London from users in Croydon. This month we are travelling up (or is it down?) the river Wandle to another of our favourite London boroughs... Sutton! Some highlights from the place that was in 2014 described by a senio...
New volunteer opportunity with Strandlines (KCL, 3 month placement)
Can you help add layers to the Strand? Compared to other parts of London, the Strand is somewhat under-populated with stories and photographs from across the ages. So Strandlines have teamed up with Layers of London to encourage you – yes, you reading this! – to ad...
Recruiting student placement for Summer to map Bexley histories!
We have an amazing student placement up for grabs Summer 2019 with Layers of London in collaboration with Bexley archives to document stories, research and histories from ...
Spotlight on Croydon…
The History of Croydon on Layers of London Layers of London is very lucky to have some very dedicated users in Croydon, some of whom we have had the pleasure of meeting at our community hub events. They have provided many fascinating and possibly unique insights into the history of Cr...
New volunteer opportunity researching the history of mental health in London
We have a new opportunity to research and explore the history of mental health and its provisions in London. This role will help to map this important historical research through oral histories, photographs, digitised texts and many more sources to bring this history to life on our digi...
New volunteer opportunity – mapping historic crimes!
We have an amazing opportunity to map historic criminal records in London with the research available on oldbaileyonline.org
LGBT History Month at Layers of London
As I am sure you know, February is LGBT History Month in the UK, a month long annual observance aiming to combat prejudice against the LGBT community, increase the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and celebrate their contribution to our society. We at Layers ...
New, free education resources from Layers of London
Layers of London brings you free teacher
Writing for Layers of London workshop
Join us at Senate House to find out the best ways for you to contribute high quality content to the map, make your con...
Whitechapel Bengali mapping project – volunteer opportunities for January 2019
Join us at Four Corners Gallery on the 24th January, 2019 to learn about an exciting new project in collaboration with the...
Layers of London working with Senate House Library: Nathaniel’s new role exploring 18th century London
My Name is Nathaniel Telemaque. I’m the new Senate House Library Intern/ Archival Researcher appointed to the Layers of London team. Usually, you’ll find me in the Senate House Library, tucked away in the special collections, in-between never-ending bookshelves or perhaps at a humble desk with...
Our next #getmapping event in Croydon 20/11/18
Calling groups, individuals and organisations in South London interested in their local heritage. Come to our #getmapping event to meet other groups in the area, learn about the Layers of London project and our free resources, training, volunteer management. We work with many groups all...
Student volunteer opportunity with UWL archives
We have a great opportunity in collaboration with UWL archives based in Ealing, West London. You will get access to their fascinating collection showcasing their varied and diverse histories.
The Lambeth Problem: How MOLA georectified London’s trickiest historic map
My name is Sarah Jones, and I head up the geomatics team at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). On a daily basis I deal with all kinds of high-quality survey, spatial, and location data recording the many historic buildings and archaeological sites we wo...
Calling all individuals, groups and organisations in South East London!
Connect with your local history - South East
New volunteer opportunity to map conscientious objection in Haringey
Haringey First World War Peace Forum https://hfwwpf.wordpress.com/ have worked on the project since its inception and have helped shape and develop the website and Layers of London programme. They use Layers of London to publish and map their f...
Consultation Event – Help us to develop our Layers of London ambassador programme
Want to help preserve little known histories in your local area? Are you the kind of person who knows everyone from the local shopkeeper to the manager of the local youth centre? Do you perform or manage community ambassador roles currently? We need your help engaging London with L...
New volunteer opportunity with Havering Museum!
We have a fantastic volunteer opportunity in collaboration with Havering Museum; applications open now! Help us to add fascinating stories, histories and memories about Havering borough onto the Layers of London map-based...
Student placement with the IHR library available
We have an exciting Student placement available between October-December 2018 in collaboration with the IHR Wohl library! You will be expl...
Free teaching resource to explore the topic of female memorials in London
Inspired by the recent unveiling of the Millicent Fawcett statue in Parliament Square and want to explore this topic with your learners? Download o...
No Woman Left Behind: Remembering the Stories of the East End Suffragettes
Hello, my name is Jessica, I am one of two students who have been doing research into “Feminist History in the East End - A Walk”.
My student volunteer experience on the project The History of the High Street.
Hi! I’m Mia, a student volunteer for the project ‘The History of the High Street’ run by Bexley Archives. This project actively engages research into the past of the High Street in Bexleyheath Broadway and Sidcup. When starting this project, I was interested in seeing how the High Street has ...
Commend and Append: Documenting the Feminist History of the Infamous East End
Hi I’m Lara and I’m currently working on a student placement with Layers of London! Since moving to the East End to study history two years ago I have become smitten with the wonderfully diverse, history, culture and individuals of the area (and, of course, the 24hour bagel shops). Ther...
My Layers of London experience by Isavella Voulgareli
Helping with Layers of London proved to be such an exciting experience. I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life sitting behind a desk being told what to do. Fortunately, I managed to develop strong academic background knowledge but – except a very few short-term volunteering experiences – it w...
Feminist history in the East End walk
This pamphlet is part of the Ron Heisler collection in Senate House and has been digitised by their special collections team, copyright of the pamphlet is held by its original creators Clare Manifold for the Rights of Women group and was originally created in 1979. One of the research l...
New discoveries through geo-referencing
Thamesmead's Tumps I signed up to start georeferencing the RAF 1940s photographs of the Barking and Dagenham area with great glee. Comparing old and present-day maps is something I’ve always found fascinating (check out maps.nls.uk), so I jumped at the chance to be inv...
New website launch training, all volunteers and potential volunteers invited
The website is being re-launched in June with extra map overlays, more user-friendly features, a new aesthetic and taking into account all of the comments, suggestions and feedback from users so far! Come and learn how the website has changed.
Student volunteer placement to record Greek experience in London!
We have 3 student volunteer placements this June at Layers of London: Our first placement documents
Leading women and Layers of London by Karina Flynn, Volunteer co-ordinator.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of women being admitted to the University of London, the first time in Britain that women had gained access to university education. Throughout 2018 the University is celebrating this with a range of events and activities, through their
Recruiting student placements for June. Help us document Feminist history in the East End!
We have 2 amazing Student placements up for grabs over the month of June 2018 this year with Layers of London in collaboration with Senate House Lib...
Free teaching resources from Layers of London!
Need help conquering GIS in the curriculum? Want an innovative and engaging way to explore local history in the your classroom? Do your learners need to refine their mapping skills? Our free
Free CPD training! How to become a Heritage School with Layers of London
Calling primary and secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham! Learn about how your school can achieve the Heritage Schools Award and how you can use
We need your help: recruiting Preserving Memories volunteers in Barking and Dagenham!
We are looking for help in Barking and Dagenham; do you want to help preserve memories and stories of Barking and Dagenham? Do you want to learn how to use scanning and photography equipment to digitise objects/photographs/documents/stories? Would you enjoy meeting people and hearing their...
Historical Research Beyond Essays: Layers of London as an Educational Tool
Each year, at IES Abroad London, I teach a history of London course. My students are first-year undergraduates from Skidmore College, a liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York State. The course is designed so that students learn to...
Hello from our Public Engagement Officer!
This week we welcomed our new Public Engagement Officer to the team. Amy will be working with schools, community groups and volunteers to promote the project alongside the Volunteer Co-ordinator who will be starting work on the project shortly...
Exploring Local Partnerships in Barking and Dagenham
One of the current activities of the Layers of London project is to explore the local partnerships that can be created to bring together a community of people who can test the Layers website as it develops and then start adding content in the form of images, film- and sound-c...
Unexpected Treasures in London archives
One of the rewarding parts of working on the Layers of London project so far has been having the opportunity to visit archives and libraries around London particularly those that may not be so well known. Arup is the internationally renowned architecture and civil engineering firm respo...