Social History
1-What sort of town was Roman Londinium?
Note: search under ?roman london? in the library catalogue. Give preference to books by the London archaeologists G. Milne and D. Perring. Use the Museum of London Roman gallery and website as a resource. I suggest that you don?t rely too heavily on John Morris? book Londinium: he wrote it in the early 1970s before the big wave of late 20th-century London archaeology (even though the library edition says ?1999?).

2-What was the role of religion in medieval London?
Note: you?ll need to think about the various aspects of religion in London: parish churches, popular religious belief, monasteries?. Read the first chapter of S. Brigden?s London and the Reformation: this introduces religious practice in medieval London (before the Reformation). The medieval chapter (2) in Porter?s London: A Social History is a good introduction. W. Besant?s Mediaeval London (volume 2, Ecclesiastical, p. 127 onwards) is still pretty good. And Eamon Duffy?s The Stripping of the Altars is the best book on medieval Catholicism and popular piety.

3- How did London experience the Elizabethan age?
Start with the Tudor/Elizabethan chapter (3) of Porter?s London: A Social History. The Museum of London galleries are good: they have material on the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the medieval gallery and you can move on to the next gallery, ?War, Plague and Fire?. There?s a good survey of Elizabethan London in the ?London? chapter (1) of J. Bate and D. Thornton, Shakespeare: Staging the World. For an emphasis on drama, look at J Bowsher?s Shakespeare?s London Theatreland: Archaeology, History and Drama.