London

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London (Latin: Londinium; Old English: Lunden) is a city in southern England, and the current capital and largest city of the United Kingdom.

History

Roman era

Ruins of the Londinium Amphiteatre in the 9th century

In 43 CE, the Romans settled the town of Londinium. The wall that ran around the settlement had six gates built into it; one of them was named after King Lud, who ruled pre-Roman Britain around 66 CE. The adjoining hill was also named Ludgate.

The Roman settlement became the bulk of what would be known as the City of London. From the 2nd to the early 5th century, Londinium served as host to one of the six bureaus of the Roman Hidden Ones in Britannia.

Middle Ages

Viking Age

Following the departure of the Roman legions from Britain, Germanic tribes of Angles and Saxons settled slightly west of Londinium, which eventually developed into a thriving and major port city named Lundenwic, shortened to Lunden. In 604, the first St. Paul's church was built but burned down 71 years later.

Lunden became subjected to Viking raids during the early 9th century and was eventually overran by the Great Heathen Army in the 860s. Under their rule, Lunden was governed by Viking jarls and prospered, particularly during the reign of three Great Jarls of Lunden including Bodil Bodilsson.

From 869, Lunden was governed by Tryggr, an ally of Ubba Ragnarsson, who ruled the city with Erke Bodilsson and Stowe as reeves. During this time however, the city was infiltrated by a sect of the Order of the Ancients who sought to take the city for themselves. Led by the Frankish sailor Vicelin, the Order used the Temple of Mithras as a hideout while two of its members, Avgos Spearhand and Frideswid, infiltrated the ranks of the military and monastery, respectively. Avgos became a marksman captain under Tryggr, while Frideswid conducted experimentations on human bodies before dumping them into the harbor to spread fear throughout Lunden.

After the Battle of Meretun, the Great Heathen Army, led by Guthrum and Halfdan Ragnarsson, stayed in Lunden under Tryggr's hospitality. Within the army, the Viking company known as the Hel-hides made a temporary life within Lunden, until a blood-feud emerged. The Hel-hides' leader Geirmund Hel-hide was attacked by Halfdan's warrior, Krok Uxiblóð, for his role in the death of Ubba's kinsman Fasti. As a result, Tryggr and Halfdan wished to judge Geirmund immediately as his fellow warrior Aslef was fatally injured. With Guthrum's counsel, Geirmund and five fellow Hel-hides left the town in order to save his other warriors from persecution.

Vicelin's fleet attacking Lunden

In 873, the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir, at the request of the Hidden One Hytham, travelled to Lunden to seek allies against the Order of the Ancients in the city. After Tryggr was killed by the Ancients, Eivor met Stowe and Erke and helped them rid the city of the Order's influence, killing both Avgos and Frideswid. Their deaths led Vicelin to invade Lunden in a last attempt at success, but he was struck down by Eivor. During her time in the city, Eivor also discovered the abandoned Londinium bureau, from which she recovered a page of the Magas Codex and the Hidden Ones' Mask.

In 878, the Hidden Ones set up a new Lunden bureau within a tavern, the Hawk's Nest, with Marcella of Rome installed as the bureau leader. Once they sent out invitations, Hytham welcomed their only respondent, Niamh of Argyll, who had travelled to Lunden to investigate the Hidden Ones at the request of The Lady of Avalon, the leader of the Women of the Mist. Under Hytham's direction, Niamh was tested throughout the city and learned the skills of hiding and blending. Niamh also uncovered the existence of the Order of the Ancients and discussed her findings with Hytham and Marcella, who garnered a list of remaining Order members operating in England for them to eliminate.

After their missions, Hytham and Niamh discussed matters around Lunden concerning the Order's plans, the Order's partnership with her clan's foe, the Descendants of the Round Table, as well as their obsession with Excalibur, a Sword of Eden. One conversation led Hytham and Niamh to meet in an abandoned home and talk about traveling to Caledonia to warn Eivor, who was in possession of Excalibur, about the Order's rising interest in the sword.

High Middle Ages

In the 10th century, King Edgar the Peaceful gave to King Kenneth III of Scotland a plot of land and the castle to serve as the residence for the Scottish monarchy whenever they visited London.

When Edward the Confessor successfully drove the Danes from England in the 11th century, he rebuilt a Saxon church in Westminster in the Romanesque style to show his gratitude to God and the Pope. Edward also built St. Margaret's church to accommodate the growing populace.

When the Normans conquered England in 1066, William the Conqueror was coronated on Christmas day inside the Westminster church, which became the personal church of the English monarchy and the site of all future coronations. In 1087, the chaplain to William the Conqueror built the St. Paul's Cathedral out of stone.

At the end of the 11th century, King William II built a palace in Westminster which became the royal residence.

In 1123, the Anglo-Roman monk Rahere fell ill while on a pilgrimage to Rome and vowed to found a hospital if he survived. His vow led to the construction of the St. Bartholomew's Hospital, the oldest of the city.

The Temple Church

In 1185, the Temple Church was built and was consecrated by Heraclius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem Vault. The church was originally part of a larger monastic complex that included residences, military training grounds, and places for recreation. The Knight Templars used the church for initiation ceremonies, which would be held in a crypt beneath the nave. The church also served as a bank for the nobility which, combined with an influx of gifts from the royal family, made the Knights Templar extremely wealthy.

In 1197, the hospital of St. Mary's Spittle was built in Spitalfields.

During the 13th century, Lambeth Palace became the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. The first Archbishop to take up residency in Lambeth Palace was Stephen Langton, a key player in the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.

When King Henry III took the throne, he rebuilt the Westminster church in a Gothic style as a tribute to Edward the Confessor. To pay for the project, Henry had to divert funds from the kingdom, which people at the time didn't appreciate.

In 1267, St. James's Hospital specialized in treating female lepers. The patients worked on the marshy land around the hospital as a part of their treatment, primarily raising hogs for the hospital to sell.

In 1286, a white chapel was built, giving the name of Whitechapel to the borough. It was reconstructed in 1329, when it was officially named St. Mary Matfelon.

Renaissance

King Henry VII

During the time of the Renaissance, London was ruled by King Henry VII of England. In the late 15th century, the British Templars made attempts to obtain the English throne. However, their plans were thwarted by Henry VII, as he imprisoned Lambert Simnel and had Perkin Warbeck hanged. In 1503, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Mentor of the Italian Assassins, sent a group of apprentices to London in order to aid King Henry VII. They subsequently killed Warbeck and Simnel's co-conspirator Margaret of York in November of 1503.

Afterwards, the apprentices killed several Templars instigating riots over Margaret's death. One such Templar revealed that their Order had infiltrated Henry's Star Chamber, to which the apprentices quickly searched for the infiltrators; they found a group of Englishmen signing Borgia documents and eliminated them. To show his gratitude, King Henry offered the Assassins a seat in the Star Chamber.

During the 16th century, the Ludgate was renovated and enhanced by sculptures of King Lud and his sons. The Tudor dynasty held extravagant jousting tournaments on the tiltyard of the Palace of Westminster that were reportedly attended by thousands of spectators. The tiltyard was also used for fireworks and bear-baiting matches.

In 1513, a horseferry owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury ran between Lambeth Palace and Westminster.

The reign of Henry VIII greatly modified the power of the King of England. In 1530, he moved the royal residence from Westminster Palace to Whitehall. Westminster became the permanent location for the country's two houses of parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Courts of Law were also established in Westminster. In 1532, Henry acquired the land of the former St. James's Hospital to use it as a hunting ground, making the oldest of London's Royal Parks. In 1534, when Henry severed ties with the Catholic Church and St. Paul's became a Protestant cathedral and in 1536, Henry seized Covent Garden which was tilted to Benedictine monks and the land was given to the Earl of Bedford. In 1542, Henry ordered the construction of St. Martin-in-the-Fields as he wanted to redirect the funeral processions of plague victims away from his home at Whitehall.

Henry's daughter, Mary I restored Catholicism in England, and St. Paul's went back to Catholic worship. In 1554, as Mary announced her impending marriage to Philip II of Spain, Sir Thomas Wyatt led a rebellion against the Queen. Wyatt's men met Mary's troops in Charing village, and the ensuing battle resulted in Wyatt surrendering. As Mary was back by the Templars, the British Brotherhood of Assassins killed the Queen in 1558.

Queen Elizabeth I

Mary's half-sister Elizabeth, who possessed an Apple of Eden, became the new Queen of England and St. Paul's became Protestant once again as Elizabeth restored the Protestantism. During her reign, Elizabeth used St. James's Park to host her lavish parties.

In 1570, Thomas Gresham invested in the construction of the Royal Exchange, a centre for trade was inspired by the Brouse in Antwerp in Belgium. As Antwerp was raided by the Spanish ten years later, losing the nation's wealth and allowing England to take over as the new financial power.

In 1581, Queen Elizabeth gave to Sir Thomas Knyvet a residence in the borough of Westminster.

In 1594, Queen Elizabeth's chief physician Roderigo Lopez was arrested after attempting to poison the Queen. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered in June of that year.

After the unification of the crown of England and Scotland, the palace of Great Scotland Yard was demolished and a series of government buildings and residences were built in its place.

King James invested in the St. James's Park, adding gardens and a menagerie of exotic animals.

In 1605, the Catholic extremist Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. He was arrested by Sir Thomas Knyvet and tried in the very place he tried to destroy before being executed.

In 1610, the Lambeth Palace opened its library to the public.

Since 1614, the House of Commons and the Speaker have attended mass at St. Margaret's and sermons were traditionally given by the Speaker's chaplain.

In 1622, Inigo Jones designed a Banqueting Hall for Whitehall Palace. The Hall was used by King James I to host receptions and performances that combined poetry, music, dance, and costumes. These performances, or masques, were a trademark of the Stuart dynasty and often promoted the divine power of the monarchy.

In 1624, George Villier, the first Duke of Buckingham, acquired the illustrious York House from the Archbishop of York. Two years later, he built the Watergate and he wanted his new home to be accessible from the river.

In 1627, the 4th Earl of Bedford hired Inigo Jones to design and build a piazza at Covent Garden. The project inspired by the piazzas of Italy and the first of its kind in England, was completed in 1631.

In the 1630s, King James I commissioned Lincoln's Inn Fields to improve the city. Robert Sidney, the Earl of Leicester, purchased from the government a portion of land where he built Leicester Square and the adjoining Leicester House.

In 1633, the Earl of Bedford commissioned architect Inigo Jones to construct the St. Paul's Chapel in Covent Garden, the first chapel since the Protestant Reformation.

English Civil War

Oliver Cromwell, a leader who overthrew the monarchy

During the English Civil War, London was the place of political turmoil between the King Charles I and the Parliament. In 1641, the tiltyard of Westminster Palace was closed and a building was constructed.

In 1643, parliamentarian Edmund Waller plotted to return King Charles to London, an act of betrayal to the Long Parliament. Waller's Plot was discovered by Long Parliament leader John Pym during a sermon at St. Margaret's. Pym immediately ordered the arrest of Waller and his co-conspirators from the church, and Waller was ultimately banished for his crimes.

The Archbishop of Canterbury was stripped of his possessions by the Parliament. The Lambeth Palace was damaged, and the horseferry became an important crossing for Parliament to control to keep supporters of the king out of Westminster.

In 1648, Charles was tried for treason at Westminster Palace. Charles made his final procession from St. James Park to Whitehall Palace, where he was executed by Richard Brandon.

As the Puritanism movement increased in the city, the heads of the statues of King Lud and his sons were chopped off by vandals.

By 1654, a market operated at Covent Garden.

Restoration era

Charles II's coronation in London

In 1660, Charles Stuart was invited to London to be crowned King after having been exiled by Oliver Cromwell for several years. At his crowning, Stuart noticed a man holding a sphere wrapped in a thick piece of cloth talking with his General, George Monck. During the first year of his reign, Charles II desired to be able to walk from Hyde Park to St. James's Park without having to take his feet off royal soil. He commissioned the creation of what he called Upper St. James's Park to bridge the gap between the parks. According to a legend, Queen Catherine ordered the flower beds in the park to be removed after discovering that Charles had picked flowers from the park to give to another woman, making the park entirely "green."

That same year, the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was founded as an assemblage of natural scientists who met weekly to discuss experiments and the promotion of the natural world. During his reign, Charles II made the Leicester Square public once again. The Square became a spot for many duels.

In 1663, the Theatre Royal was built on Drury Lane, associating Covent Garden with London's theatre scene, as King Charles had given it exclusive rights to hold spoken dramas within London.

In 1665, the first Horse Guards was built to serve as the official headquarters of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the squadron that makes up the Life Guard of the monarchy. Beginning that year, the poet and Surveyor General of Works, Sir John Denham, designed and paid for the construction of his house. As his wife had passed and his own health was failing, Denham sold the property two years later to the Earl of Burlington. The house was known as Burlington House.

The Great Fire of London

On 2 September 1666, the Great Fire of London began at a baker's shop on Pudding Lane. For four days, London burned to the ground which gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall. It threatened, but did not reach, the aristocratic district of Westminster, Charles II's Palace of Whitehall, and most of the suburban slums. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral and most of the buildings of the City authorities. It is estimated to have destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's 80,000 inhabitants.

The death toll of the Great Fire is unknown but traditionally thought to have been small, as only six verified deaths were recorded. This reasoning has recently been challenged on the grounds that the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded, while the heat of the fire may have cremated many victims leaving no recognizable remains. The fire cost the British government £10 million.

After the Great Fire, the architect Christopher Wren was commissioned to redesign London. He redesigned St. Paul's Cathedral. He also installed an organ and altar screen in the Temple Church, but more notably, he whitewashed the church's paintings and applied plaster to the marble columns in an attempt to fit aesthetic tastes of the time. In 1669, Wren's Royal Exchange opened to the public as the center of the city. Between 1671 and 1677, Christopher Wren built the Monument to the Great Fire of London on the site of St. Margaret's church to commemorate the tragedy.

In 1670, Charles II formally granted the Earl of Bedford market rights, officially allowing the landowner to profit from the business that occurred on Covent Garden.

In 1672, the Duke of Buckingham sold the York Watergate to developers and over the next few years, York House and the neighbouring mansions were torn down, with roads built in their place.

In 1675, Ralph Montagu commissioned the construction of the first Montagu House.

In the late 17th century, as Spitalfields became less of a field and more of a developed neighbourhood, a silk-thrower named John Balch acquired the rights to hold a market in the area every Thursday and Saturday. The market, which sold only fruits and vegetables, was a quick success. London experienced a wave of incoming French Huguenots who had just been expelled from France for their religious beliefs. Many of the French Huguenots who settles in Spitalfields were skilled silkweavers, and sold their wares at the Spitalfields Market. It wasn't long before the market became synonymous with its luxurious silk, and all of Spitalfields gained a very positive reputation as a result.

In 1685, St. Mary Matfelon was rebuilt despite the fact that it was one of only a few buildings to survive the Great Fire.

After the death of Charles II, St. James's Park gained a reputation for criminal activity and prostitution.

When Queen Mary II took the throne, the heads of the statues of King Lud and his sons were replaced at Ludgate.

At the end of the 17th century saw the nations of Europe pitted against one another in the Nine Years' War. It was an expensive war for England, and after suffering a significant naval defeat at the Battle of Beachy Head, King William III couldn't afford to rebuild their navy. Scottish merchant William Paterson who, with a handful of his colleagues, raised £1.2 million pounds from rich and poor alike in 11 days to finance the government, this was the Bank of England based in Mercer's Chapel, and those who donated were its first shareholders.

In 1698, the Palace of Whitehall burned down, with the Banqueting Hall as the only building to survive. The Hall was converted to replace the Chapel Royal of Whitehall.

In 1710, a scandal took place in St. Mary Matfelon, as the rector of the church set up an altarpiece depicting the Last Supper, and had the figure of Judas made to look exactly like a personal enemy of his, the Dean of Peterborough. That same year, Queen Anne urged Parliament to pass an act allowing for the construction of fifty new churches in London. The act was passed, but only twelve of what were called Queen Anne's churches were ever built. The first Queen Anne church was St. Mary le Strand, on the former site of the largest maypole in London.

In the early 18th century, reconstruction of St. Paul's Cathedral, which had been damaged by the great fire, was completed. Expecting a great number of visitors to celebrate it, pirate Edward Kenway, by way of his fleet, supplied the city with wine. This period was also marked by a great plague, which led to some food scarcity that was also solved with help of Kenway's fleet. Kenway also fulfilled the request of an old poet at London's port for some quality tobacco.

Georgian era

In 1721, James Gibbs designed a new St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The construction impressed King George I who paid a total of £100 to the men who built it.

In 1723, following his time as a privateer-turned-pirate in the Caribbean, the Assassin Edward Kenway moved into a spacious mansion on Queen Anne's Square, in Bloomsbury, with his second wife Tessa and his daughter from his first marriage, Jennifer. However, Edward initially did not spend much time in London as he travelled around the world in search of Isu sites and artifacts.

Edward Kenway at the London harbor

On 24 December 1724, Edward met with a West Indies Assassin in a tavern, who passed along information the Brotherhood had gathered about the lost city of the Khmer Empire, rumored to be one such site. Edward agreed to conduct an investigation and later departed London, sailing to Southeast Asia to search for additional leads.

During Edward's absence, the Assassins uncovered a conspiracy to have him killed and visited Tessa at the Kenway Mansion to warn her that her husband's life might be in danger. As Adéwalé had discovered, the Templars had laid a trap for Edward in Asia in the hopes of eliminating him, prompting Tessa to journey there herself to find her husband and warn him about the plot. Jennifer also secretly decided to follow Tessa and stowed away on her ship.

As Edward became co-leader of the British Assassins alongside Miko in his later years, the former pirate used his charm to make connections across London, in both high society and the criminal underworld, while Miko roamed all over Europe in search of Pieces of Eden. These actions greatly strengthened the British Assassins. At some point, Edward found a Shroud of Eden and placed it in a casket which was secreted in the Tower of London. The casket's key was hidden in a secret room in St. Paul's Cathedral, and Edward left some clues about its location in his journal.

In 1726, Thomas Ripley designed the office building of the Admiralty, which served the authority in charge of the Royal Navy. The U-shaped building contained a board room, state rooms, and apartments for the Lords of the Admiralty.

In the 1730s, the Bank of England was relocated at Threadneedle Street in the City of London.

In 1731, John Montagu sold the Montagu House which would become the British Museum. He bought up three adjoining plots of land in Whitehall. On these plots, he sought to build a larger, grander house than his father's of 4,300 square feet.

In 1732, King George II offered to the First Prime Minister Robert Walpole the 10 Downing Street as a gift, but Walpole only accepted the offer on the condition that the house became the official residence of the Prime Minister.

On 7 December 1732, the Theatre Royal building opened at Covent Garden. A year later, Edward Kenway attended a performance of The Beggar's Opera with his daughter Jennifer and his son Haytham for the latter's eighth birthday. Afterwards, the group was joined by Edward's wife Tessa and Reginald Birch, one of Edward's senior property managers and secretly the Grand Master of the British Templars. On their way to White's Chocolate House on Chesterfield Street, the group was attacked by a mugger trying to steal Tessa's necklace. Birch threatened to kill the man but was dissuaded by Edward, who was infuriated at Reginald's harsh vigilantism.

The Kenway Mansion in Queen Anne's Square

On 3 December 1735, mercenaries hired by Reginald Birch attacked the Kenway Mansion, murdering Edward and kidnapping Jennifer. Birch then recovered Edward's journal and took Haytham under his wing, training him to become a Templar.

Sometime after 1735, Lincoln's Inn Fields was closed to the public by the Parliament as the square attracted beggars and vagrants.

In 1739, the architect George Dance the Elder, then the Clerk of the City's Work, was hired to design and build what would be called the Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of London.

In 1746, Upper St. James's Park was officially renamed Green Park.

In 1748, the first House Guards was torn down after the building deteriorated to such a degree that soldiers and horses were in near-constant danger of being crushed by falling debris. In 1750, the construction of a new Horse Guards began, and the Queen's Household Cavalry moved into the building five years later. In the ensuing years, two areas of the Horse Guards gained a reputation for the non-military activities that took place there. The first was a cockfighting pit uncovered in the basement; the second was a public coffee house that attracted prostitutes.

In 1749, John Montagu died and the Montagu House became the property of his daughter Mary and his son-in-law George Brudenell.

In 1750, the horseferry of Lambeth Palace went out of business when Westminster Bridge was built nearby.

In 1752, the Lord Mayor Sir Crisp Gascoyne moved into the Mansion House while the House was still under construction.

Haytham Kenway leaving the Theatre Royal following Miko's assassination

In 1754, Haytham Kenway attended a performance of The Beggar's Opera at the Theatre Royal to find and kill the Assassin Miko, an act which saw Assassin influence in the city collapse entirely for the next century. Haytham recovered an artifact for Birch, who believed it was a key to an Isu site in North America. Haytham subsequently set sail for Boston on the Providence in order to investigate the site. Meanwhile, Miko's murder became public news and left many civilians wondering whether to leave the city or not.

In 1755, the MP Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh built his mansion in the Westminster district.

In 1758, Jennifer Scott returned to Queen Anne's Square after her Haytham had found and rescued her from a palace in Damascus. She decided to rebuilt the Kenway Mansion and to never leave the house. That same year, the Mansion House was completed.

By 1759, the city had widened the street in front of the Admiralty, which cut into their courtyard. The Lords of the Admiralty commissioned a new façade to run along the street.

In 1760, George III relocated the Royal Mews to Buckingham House and bought the Mansion as a gift for his wife. That same year, the Ludgate was demolished and replaced years later by a circular junction.

Between then and 1769, the Scottish engineer Robert Mylne built a bridge that connected the City of London and Southwark. This crossing was originally meant to be named Pitt Bridge in honour of the former Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder, but the name never caught on. It was named the Blackfriars Bridge.

In 1788, the French Templar Frederick Weatherall travelled to London to hunt down Bernard Ruddock, a rogue Assassin who was responsible for a failed assassination attempt on Julie de la Serre over a decade prior. His protégé and Julie's daughter Élise secretly followed him there, hiring the smuggler Byron Jackson to take her and her friend Hélène from Calais to Dover on his ship, the Granny Smith. From Dover, Élise and Hélène travelled to London to meet the Carroll family, a British Templar family whose help Weatherall had sought with his investigation. The Carrolls agreed to help Élise and Weatherall in exchange for Haytham Kenway's correspondence with Jennifer Scott.

Élise de la Serre meeting Jennifer Scott

After a month, Élise managed to gain access to the Kenway Mansion by posing as a member of the Albertine family and tried to get close to Jennifer in an attempt to obtain Haytham's letters, but the elderly woman saw through her act. However, feeling goodness in her heart, Jennifer ultimately gave Élise the letters, trusting her to put them to good use and bring an end to the Assassin-Templar War.

As Élise returned to the Carroll house, she found the family holding Weatherall hostage and he informed her that the Carrolls had found Ruddock and were attempting to silence him, as the Carrolls were the ones who had secretly hired Ruddock to assassinate Julie. Élise was able to warn the Assassin in time, saving his life, and ultimately escaped from London with Weatherall and Hélène after killing May Carroll, though Weatherall was injured in the process.

In the late 18th century, an opera house was built near Leicester Square, as well as a museum of natural curiosities called the Holophusikon, which featured many specimens collected by Captain James Cook, and Wyld's Globe, a large spherical attraction that allowed patrons to see a map of the Earth from the inside.

In 1783, Fetherstonhaugh's widow sold his house to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. The Prince renovated the mansion, giving the mansion its signature portico and circular hall, before trading the property for Lord Melbourne's home in Piccadilly in 1792.

During the 18th century, the Templars were able to gain complete control of the city and kept it under their thumb well into the 19th century. In 1805, after Jennifer Scott passed away, the Templars quietly purchased the Kenway Mansion to discovered its secrets.

In 1808, the Theatre Royal was destroyed in a fire.

In 1809, a second gallery was built onto the Chapel Royal in order to accommodate larger military services.

In 1811, a former employee of the Bank of England was found guilty of forgery and executed. His sister Sarah Whitehead was so traumatized by the death of her brother that she visited the bank every day for the next 25 years, asking to see her brother. This story gave to the Bank the nickname of "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street".

In 1812, Prime Minister Spencer Percival was assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons.

In 1819, Piccadilly Circus was constructed on the site of Pickadilly Hall, home of the famous seventeenth-century tailor Robert Baker on Regent Street.

Around 1820, the architect Edward Blore restored the Lambeth Palace, which he qualified as "miserably deficient." before his work was done.

When George IV took the throne in 1820 and set about converting Buckingham House into a palace, he commissioned John Nash to redesign the house and also the Royal Mews. Nash doubled the size of the original Buckingham House, adding a new suite of rooms, demolishing the north and south wings and rebuilding them larger than before, and installing a large Marble Arch in the courtyard. Nash also designed the White Drawing Room to serve as a reception area for guests of the royal family. Nash got so carried away with building the new palace that his budget ballooned to about half a million pounds. He was fired in 1829, and George IV died the following year, before the palace was completed. His brother William IV, oversaw the completion of Buckingham Palace but never lived there.

In 1822, the architect George Harrison built the eight houses of Richmond Terrace. They were opulent, Greek-influenced homes designed to attract only the elite of London homeowners. All eight homes were bought and occupied by 1825; one of the first eight homeowners was the former Secretary of State William Huskisson.

In 1824, George IV encouraged Parliament to buy the residence of a newly deceased banker and art collector John Julius Angerstein and to transform the building in the first National Gallery of England.

In 1825, on a rural site between the city of London and the nearby village of Knightsbridge, the Grosvenor family and landowners created Belgrave Square. The largely uniform houses that line the square have been occupied by many notable English people, including ambassadors, politicians, and most famously the Duchess of Kent.

Trafalgar Square

To honor the death of the Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the architect John Nash was commissioned to construct a monument on the former site of the monarchy's stables and carriage house. He built an open space for the public known as Trafalgar Square. Construction began in 1826, with improvements being made upon over the course of the nineteenth century, with fountains and statues giving the originally modest square some embellishment.

In 1829, Prime Minister Robert Peel created the Metropolitan Police Service. As their headquarters' rear entrance stood on Great Scotland Yard, therefore the police force became commonly known around the world as Scotland Yard.

In 1830, Melbourne House was purchased by George James Welbore Agar-Ellis. A year later, Agar-Ellis became the Baron of Dover, renaming the Mansion as Dover House.

In 1831, when the cholera epidemic hit London, St. Bartholomew's Hospital refused to admit cholera patients. Instead, cholera patients were kept in a nearby house which was demolished following the outbreak. A medical school was built as an extension of the hospital a few years later. The facilities were state-of-the-art, and featured a library, medical and chemical theatres, an anatomy museum, and dissection rooms.

In 1832, the National Gallery was relocated on Trafalgar Square. The building was designed in a neo-classical fashion by architect William Wilkins, and its location, equidistant to both the wealthy West End and the lower-class East End, meant that people of all socio-economic backgrounds could access the museum.

In 1833, Sir Francis Smith and Philip Hardwick built the Wellington Barracks which served as the home of the Grenadier Guards. The length of the barracks runs between Queen Anne's Gate and Buckingham Gate. The building is also home to the Royal Military Chapel.

In 1834, the Houses of Parliament burnt down.

In 1836, the London and Greenwich Railway opened the London Bridge station. Different companies were paying the LGR to use their line and access to London.

Victorian era

Industrialization of the city

"Whitechapel is riddled with crime. Child labor, despite regulations. A gang known as the Blighters overruns the streets. And Templars manipulating behind the scenes. As in all the other boroughs."

―Henry Green describing the state of London, 1868.

London during the Victorian era

By the 19th century, under Queen Victoria's rule, London became the global capital of invention with its technological advancement. It was divided into seven boroughs—the City of London, Lambeth, The Strand, Westminster, Southwark, Whitechapel, and the River Thames—each with a different culture but with a single commonality. As country folk moved in to the city for employment, however, it resulted in a sudden increase in population and decrease in wages, in addition to most businessmen abusing workers. These actions became a spark for the Industrial Revolution.

In 1837, when Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace, improvements were made to the Royal Mews. Prince Consort Albert had a new forge installed and additional cow sheds built onto the Mews. In 1847, he ordered the construction of a vault under the palace to secret the casket containing the Shroud of Eden that he had found in the Tower of London. In 1855, Queen Victoria used her own money to establish the Buckingham Palace Royal Mews School, which served to educate the children of the stable's servants. The Mews had nearly 200 employees at the time, and accommodations were built for them and their families in 1859.

On 10 January 1838, the Royal Exchange was destroyed in a fire.

In June 1840, Edward Oxford attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria as her carriage passed just outside Green Park. He fired twice on the carriage, missed, and was subdued.

In 1841, the Temple Church was restored by architects Sydney Smirke and Decimus Burton. Smirke and Burton's work gave the church a Victorian Gothic look that not only fit the tastes of the time but fit closely with the church's original design.

In 1843, Nelson's Column was built on Trafalgar Square, costing £47,000 and measuring 155 feet tall. In 1858, the sculptor Sir Edwin Landseer was commissioned to sculpt lions at the base of the column. His statues were unveiled in 1867.

In 1844, Charles Barry was hired to rebuild the Houses of Parliament. It was decided the new building should include a clock tower and Barry enlisted the reputable clockmaker Lewis Vulliamy for the clock itself. As the largest bell in the tower was called Big Ben, the clock tower received this nickname. Each clock dial was engraved at its base. The engraving reads, in Latin, "O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First". That same year, the London Brighton and South Coast Railway taking London Bridge station, was demolished and rebuilt all within the same year. On 28 October, a new Royal Exchange was opened by Queen Victoria.

In 1847, the young reporter Charles Dickens worked with the millionaire Angela Burdett-Coutts to found a safe house for Devil's Acre prostitutes called Urania Cottage. Missionaries worked the area constantly. The philanthropist Adeline Cooper, with help from Lord Shaftesbury, bought a pub in Devil's Acre and converted it into a school for the orphans who populated the area.

Waterloo station

In 1848, the London and South-Western Railway built Waterloo station to be a stopover between Southampton and the City of London. Waterloo became a high-traffic station, though, and as demand grew, additional platforms were built around the original building, which became known as the "Central station". Each new platform was built with its own entrance and booking office, and was either mislabelled or not labelled at all.

In 1849, the German sociologist and journalist Karl Marx arrived in London with his family after being exiled from Cologne. There he continued writing and developing his theories about social and economic activity and organizing meetings with like-minded individuals.

When St. Paul's was seen to have lost its luster, with Queen Victoria remarking that the cathedral was "dreary, dingy, and undevotional", Maria Hackett, William Weldon Champneys, and other philanthropists raised funds to improve the cathedral.

In 1850, the coffee house of the Horse Guards was finally closed. That same year, the eighth house of Richmond Terrace was purchased by the General Board of Health and became their main office. The same year, the architect Arthur Hayes designed the Lambeth Asylum. A year later, Hayes was killed by his son who believed his father to be the Antichrist. Arthur Hayes Jr. would later be admitted to Lambeth as a patient.

During the Great Exhibition, the Aurora Equestrian Troupe performed their set within the Crystal Palace. However, within their last act, their acrobat, Pierrette Arnaud, noticed and saved an endangered countess, Lady Ada Lovelace, from a group of thugs. After accompanying her home, Pierrette started a friendship with Lovelace. However, it was unfortunately brief as Lovelace's health began to deteriorate. Within one of their last interactions, Ada tasked Pierrette to stop a man named the "Magus" from using their invention and to find her long lost friend, Simeon Price. Despite some investigation at Ealing, Pierrette left London with her troupe to search for Price across Europe.

In 1852, the Parliament established the London Necropolis and Mausoleum Company to create a new burial ground outside the city and ship the newly deceased from inside the city. The former task was achieved by building a 500-acre cemetery in Surrey - the largest in the world at the time - and the latter by establishing the "Necropolis Railway", a private rail line that moved all those corpses directly from Waterloo station to Surrey. Waterloo was chosen as a departure point because its location by the Thames allowed bodies to be delivered to the station from all over London.

In 1853, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Duleep Singh, was exiled to London to assure British dominance in India. Duleep befriended Queen Victoria who became the godmother of several of his children.

The Alhambra Music Hall

In 1854, the British government acquired Burlington House which was granted to the Royal Society. That same year, the architect T. Hayter Lewis designed the Royal Panopticon of Science and Art, inspired by the Indo-Islamic architecture of British India. The institute went bankrupt two years later and the building was purchased by the famous circus proprietor E.T. Smith. He added a circus ring to the interior and for a short time, the Panopticon became the Alhambra Circus. Smith changed tactics in 1860, converting the circus to a theater and renaming the whole thing the Alhambra Music Hall, one of the first music halls to compete with what was considered "legitimate theatre" in London.

In 1857, the Theatre Royal was destroyed once again by fire. Later, a contest was held to find a design for the new Foreign Office which fell into disrepair. At the insistence of Prime Minister Derby, George Gilbert Scott was chosen for his Gothic style. However, when Lord Palmerston was elected Prime Minister, he demanded that Scott build the Foreign Office in a Classical style. The Foreign Office was finally built in 1868, in a Classical Italianate style.

In 1859, Walter Francis Scott demolished Montagu House. In three years' time, Scott had built in its place this French Renaissance-inspired mansion, which contemporaries called a "palatial residence." It was designed by the architect William Burn, known for the hospitals and castles he designed in his native Scotland.

In 1860, Peter W. Barlow designed the Lambeth Bridge, built on the site of the original horseferry. Constructed as a toll bridge, the steep approaches on either side inadvertently discouraged horse-drawn carriages from using Lambeth Bridge.

As the city growing many stations were built to receive workers and tourists. In 1861, an Act of Parliament allowed the construction Cannon Street station station by the South Eastern Railway and opened to the public September 1st, 1866. The station's hotel was built the following year, and was designed by E.M. Barry, the son of J.W. Barry, the architect behind the House of Parliament. The presence of the train station, and its proximity to the Thames, bolstered Cannon Street as a centre of trade.

By the autumn of 1861, both Simeon Price and his new apprentice, Pierrette Arnaud, searched for Oscar Kane, Price's former mentor whom they had deduced to be the Magus. Price soon concluded his location to be at the British Museum and confronted him there. However, it was an ambush as Kane escaped while Price was arrested for desertion. After watching Charles Blondin's performance, Pierrette found her former troupe cohort, Tillie Wallin, while walking through London and learned of the troupe's disbandment. She also learned of Price's arrest and incarceration. Luckily, Price was aided by his former brother-in-arms, Sawyer Halford, who helped him prepare for his trial and communicate with Pierrette.

After reconciling with her troupe family, Pierrette tried to find any information about the Magus by hosting a social gathering. However, this led to Pierrette being abducted by the Templar countess Konstanze von Visler and her henchman, Hennighan.

In early 1862, Price had his trial at the Horse Guards, during which he was released thanks to the quick intervention of Byron Ockham, Ada Lovelace's son. Meanwhile, Pierrette remain captured and tortured, until she escaped the Templars' grasp and took back Ada's notes. Soon, Price and Pierrette found each other at the Red Lion, in Mayfair, and Simeon told his apprentice that he had found out Kane was heading towards Bath for a possible artifact.

Circa 1862, London Victoria station was built and made up of two units run by two different companies: the western unit was owned and run by the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, while the eastern unit was operated by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway. Each had its own entrance and was inaccessible from the other side. In 1864, Sir John Hacksaw designed Charing Cross station which was built by the South Eastern Railway, one of many train stations to spring up in the core of the city. Despite being just two miles away from London Bridge, the train line took four years to build. A total of 17 bridges and 190 arches stand between Charing Cross and London Bridge.

After the Magus was killed, Pierrette stayed in London for a time and befriended the Frye family, especially Evie Frye. However, she was met with resistance by fellow British Assassin George Westhouse, who recommended she leave for Cairo to learn about the Assassins' origins and their tactics properly.

In 1864, the Blackfriars Bridge was torn down when the government determined it would be more cost-effective to simply replace the bridge than to keep repairing it. In 1869, the new Blackfriars Bridge designed by Thomas Cubitt was completed. In his Dickens's Dictionary of London, published ten years later, Charles Dickens Jr. describes Blackfriars Bridge as "one of the handsomest in London.

St. Pancras Station

In 1865, St. Pancras station was built by the Midland Railway Company on a disreputable slum. Landlords were happy to sell their property for a pretty penny, and inhabitants of the neighborhood were driven out of their homes without compensation. Building the station required moving a church and excavating its graveyard. The Midland Railway Company held a contest to find the best design for a hotel the company intended to attach to the station. The winner was the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, despite - or perhaps because - his submission was greater and more expensive than the specifications the MRC called for. The first train to leave St. Pancras in 1868 was bound for Manchester and did not stop until it reached Leicester, 97 miles away. At the time, it was the longest continual train run in the world. I bet it never stopped there again.

In February 1868, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli convinced Parliament to pay to renovate 10 Downing Street, although Disraeli had to pay out of his own pocket to refurbish the private rooms.

Liberation of London

Main article: Liberation of London

Grand Master Crawford Starrick of the British Templars

By 1860, London was under the control of the Templar Grand Master Crawford Starrick, who used his network of agents to oppress the working classes and keep the Templars in power. With Starrick Industries, the Templars had an influence on the industrial sphere of London, and through the Blighters gang led by Maxwell Roth, they effectively controlled London's underworld. That year, the Indian Assassin Jayadeep Mir was sent by his master Ethan Frye to the city to spy on the Templars' activities, without the sanction of the Assassin Council.

In 1862, Jayadeep infiltrated the Templars, becoming close to the Templar Cavanagh who planned to recover an Apple of Eden from the construction site of the world's first underground railway. Jayadeep ultimately failed to prevent the Templars from recovering the Piece of Eden and his friends at the Thames Tunnel died in the process, sending him into a deep depression.

In 1865, Jayadeep was convinced to return to the Assassins by his parents Arbaaz Mir and Pyara Kaur and took on the name of Henry Green. Over the next few years, he established a network of allies in London, including the street urchins of Clara O'Dea and Police Sergeant Frederick Abberline.

A gang war between the Rooks and the Blighters

By February 1868, the Templar Lucy Thorne had acquired Edward Kenway's journal and searched for the Shroud of Eden found by the Assassin. After Ethan Frye's death, his children Jacob and Evie relocated from Crawley to London to break the Templars' control over the city. They allied with Henry Green and established their own gang, the Rooks, to fight the Blighters. Liberating Whitechapel, the Rooks grew as many Blighters joined their ranks. Under the Fryes' leadership, the Rooks saved orphans from child labor, arrested Blighters, and eliminated high-ranking Templars.

While Jacob assassinated Starrick's henchmen throughout London, resulting in unforeseen consequences for the city, Evie fixed her brother's mistakes and helped Henry look for the Shroud, assassinating Lucy Thorne in the process. When Starrick planned to steal the Shroud and kill the heads of Church and State during a party at Buckingham Palace, the Assassins infiltrated the party, defeated Starrick and secured the Shroud. Jacob, Evie and Henry subsequently elected to keep the Shroud safe inside its vault and were inducted by Queen Victoria into the Order of the Sacred Garter for their actions.

After the death of their Grand Master, a new faction of the Templars arose, planning to bomb London. The Fryes stopped them before they could harm anyone. Later, the Assassins helped Duleep Singh in his quest to revendicate the throne of India, facing opposition from the British Indies Company, which allied with the Templars to crush India's independence.

The Templars also targeted Charles Darwin, trying to undo his scientific work in London. The Frye twins helped him as Jacob was in his debt after Darwin had helped him fight the Templars. They recovered the Berlin Specimen after it was stolen, and destroyed hallucinogenic pots that Templars spread through the parks of Westminster. When the Templars tried to defame Darwin's work through newspapers and posters, the Assassins destroyed the printing shop behind this propaganda campaign. Later, the Templars abducted Darwin but Florence Nightingale alerted Jacob and Evie to the kidnapping and they successfully rescued the scientist.

Evie Frye pursuing Spring-heeled Jack

The Fryes also joined the Ghost Club on the invitation of Charles Dickens. Together, they investigated several paranormal activities in the city, such as the apparition of Spring-heeled Jack, a string of robberies carried out by amnesic individuals, and the haunting of 50 Berkeley Square. Thanks to their actions, the Ghost Club greatly grew in popularity.

After Karl Marx was denounced by Simon, a member of the International Workingmen's Association, the police forbade him to organize a meeting. Marx contacted the Frye twins for help, and they escorted him as he met with his allies to give them details about a future meeting and confronted Simon.

Later, the twins helped Marx prove that a factory was abusing its workforce, and prevented Frank Morris, a friend of Marx, from bombing the Palace of Westminster using nitroglycerin stolen from the Templars. Morris was later killed by the Templars as he attempted to once again take their explosives. Lastly, Jacob and Evie prevented the Blighters from instigating a riot during one of Marx's rallies, ensuring the meeting remained peaceful.

Twenty years of peace

In January 1869, Lambeth Asylum closed its doors due to the death of its sole benefactor, Crawford Starrick. However, Lambeth was reopened a year later and partially rehabilitated to receive a growing number of violent criminals. The vast majority of these 'dangerous criminals' came from among London's most destitute populations in the borough of Whitechapel.

Lambeth Asylum

In 1870, a wing of Lambeth Asylum was converted for use as a maximum security psychiatric ward for violent criminals. It became known as the gaol wing, or the "G wing." Treatments such as the Rotary Chair, solitary confinement, and even the Electric Chair quickly became common practices in the G wing.

That same month, another train station named Waterloo Junction was built across the street near Waterloo station. In November, Queen Victoria officially unveiled the Holborn Viaduct which was built to span the length of the old Fleet River and work was put in to make the bridge not just a necessity of infrastructure, but an artful piece of city design.

After Elizabeth Siddal's exhumation, Pierrette Arnaud and Evie Frye investigated the matter and learned from Siddal's husband Dante Gabriel Rossetti that he had been convinced by Charles Augustus Howell to exhume the body, unaware of Ada Lovelace's notebook being hidden in the casket. While in London for a year, Pierrette helped clean up the city's streets and searched for Konstanze von Visler's whereabouts, to no avail. During a visit to her old troupe, she sadly witnessed her friend Tillie Wallin die mid-performance.

In 1872, the American Templar Alice arrived in London to steal pages of the Voynich manuscript from the British Museum. Pursued by the Metropolitan Police Service, Evie Frye, Henry Green, and the Pinkerton detective Tommy Greyling, Alice ultimately succeeded in her task, though as she boarded a ship heading back to the United States, she was confronted by Greyling. Rather than let the manuscript pages fall into the Assassins' hands, Alice threw them overboard before committing suicide by jumping into the ocean herself.

On 13 July 1870, the Thames Embankment was completed and its gardens were created around the York Watergate in 1874. That same year, a young boy known as Jack the Lad was sent to Lambeth Asylum after witnessing his mother's death at the Templars' hands, which traumatized him. During his time at the asylum, Jack suffered from poor treatment and negligence from the doctors, until he was eventually liberated by Jacob Frye, who inducted him into the Brotherhood.

In 1875, St. Mary Matfelon was rebuilt again in order to more closely resemble the church as it was in 1329. That same year, the Spitalfields market lease passed to a developer named Robert Horner. Horner fought regularly with the Whitechapel District Board of Works over how the market could be expanded without disturbing traffic around the market.

In 1877, the Metropolitan Board of Works bought the Lambeth Bridge which ceased to charge tolls.

In the 1880s, the shape of Piccadilly changed when Shaftesbury Avenue was created and cut through the circle. Around the same time, Pierrette Arnaud regularly met with Ada Lovelace's daughter Anne Blunt and discovered her new breed "Pegasi" was the product of the Templars' use of the Ankh back in Egypt to resurrect a dead horse and then use it to breed faster horses for their organization.

In 1883, an iron and glass roof was built over Spitalfields market, and the surrounding shops were built over the next century. By the nineteenth century, the silkmakers of Spitalfields market had long moved on, and overpopulation and poverty led to a rise in crime. The market remained an important fixture, providing the food needed to get through the day to those who could afford it.

In 1885, Dover House became the home of the Scotland Office, a government department under the umbrella of the Department of Justice dedicated to the needs of the Scottish people.

Whitechapel murders

Main article: Whitechapel murders

Jack the Ripper wandering the streets of Whitechapel

In 1888, an increasingly mentally unstable Jack became disillusioned with Jacob's leadership of the London Assassins and view of the Creed and decided to take control of the Brotherhood to reform it in his own extremist view. After Jack usurped control of the Rooks, Jacob sent several undercover Assassins after his renegade former apprentice, but they were all killed by Jack.

Once the Assassins' bodies were discovered, the general public began to fear the fact that an uncaught murderer was on the loose, earning Jack the nickname "Jack the Ripper" due to the gruesome nature of his murders and cementing him as the most notorious serial killer in history. As the situation got out of hand and risked to expose the Brotherhood's existence, Jacob sent a summons for Evie, who had relocated to India after marrying Henry Green, but he was defeated and captured by Jack shortly after.

Upon her return to London, Evie worked with Frederick Abberline to investigate the Whitechapel murders in the hopes of finding her missing brother. After killing Jack's lieutenants and liberating the prisoners he held, Evie eventually learned the Ripper's whereabouts: Lambeth Asylum. Following a final confrontation, Evie slew Jack and rescued Jacob while Abberline agreed to cover up the Ripper's death and identity to mantain the Assassins' secrecy.

In 1891, the Chapel Royal was converted into a museum with Queen Victoria's approval.

In 1893, the York Watergate was acquired by the London County Council as an object of public interest. Two years later, the Council also acquired Lincoln's Inn Fields which was opened for the public.

20th century

London during World War I

In 1916, during World War I, a German individual and Sage known only as the "Master Spy" infiltrated London, setting up a spy network near the Tower Bridge as well as a localized cult in service of Juno. Winston Churchill caught wind of his activities and enlisted the help of the Assassin Lydia Frye, who succeeded in repelling the enemy planes and eliminating the spy cell.

During World War II, much of London was razed by the Blitz, with buildings such as the St. Mary Matfelon and the Royal Military Chapel suffering significant damage. As witnesses of the first bombings of the Blitz, the American Assassins Boris Pash and Julia Dusk survived the attack while their new associate Eddie Gorm saw that one of the bombs had killed his family. Days later, in the East End, Pash and Dusk approached Gorm and asked him to become a double agent and counterspy to learn more about Otto Hammerstein, a Schutzstaffel spy working under Gero Kramer.

21st century

Search for Pieces of Eden

By the 21st century, Abstergo Industries, the front company of the Templar Order, had established a facility in London. On 25 September 2015, Abstergo learned about the Shroud of Eden hidden within the city from Henry Green's genetic memories, and subsequently began a search to locate the artifact.

Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane confronting Isabelle Ardant

In October, the Assassins Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane were dispatched by Bishop to infiltrate Isabelle Ardant's office at the Abstergo London facility to obtain information on Pieces of Eden. The pair were able to procure the genetic data of Jacob and Evie Frye, which was then sent to a Helix Initiate so they could synchronize with the twins' memories and find the Shroud before the Templars. However, Shaun and Rebecca decided to go off-book and wait for Ardant in her office. They were intercepted by Juhani Otso Berg and Violet da Costa but managed to escape after Rebecca detonated their pre-planted explosives.

Because of Sigma Team's presence in London, Bishop sent Galina Voronina to assist Shaun and Rebecca. After the Helix Initiate discovered the Shroud's location in the Buckingham Palace vault, the three Assassins traveled there to retrieve the artifact, arriving shortly before the Templars. The two groups subsequently fought for possession of the artifact and, during the struggle, Shaun killed Ardant, Violet escaped with the Shroud, and Rebecca was injured when she took a bullet meant for Shaun. With more Sigma Team agents closing in, Galina escorted Shaun and Rebecca to safety, their mission a failure. Later, Shaun and Rebecca were extracted from London by Eric Cooper.

In October 2016, the British Templar and head of Abstergo's Historical Research Division, Simon Hathaway, was inducted into the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order in London. Under the supervision of Dr. Victoria Bibeau, Simon used the Animus 4.3 to relive the memories of his ancestor Gabriel Laxart in order to find a way to repair the Sword of Eden. However, as the research progressed, Alan Rikkin grew more disillusioned with the project, fearing that Simon's research would interfere with how he wanted the modern Templars to operate.

After ten days, Simon was brought to trial for going behind the Order's back. However, all the charges brought against him were dropped after his speech, which claimed that his shady actions were, in fact, carried out for the benefit of the Templars. Displeased by this, Alan wanted to mobilize Omega Team, a clandestine task force that solely answered to Rikkin, to move against the other members of the Inner Sanctum. However, he was forced to delay this, as his presence was needed in Madrid to oversee the retrieval of an Apple of Eden.

Callum Lynch assassinating Alan Rikkin

In December 2016, numerous members of the Templar Order convened at the Grand Templar Hall in London to celebrate the successful acquisition of Aguilar de Nerha's Apple of Eden. However, as Alan prepared to deliver a speech before the assembled crowd, he was assassinated by Callum Lynch, who had infiltrated the Hall with the help of his fellow Assassins Moussa and Lin, as well as Alan's daughter Sofia Rikkin, who had become disillusioned with her father's methods. Callum then retrieved the Apple from Alan's body and escaped during the resulting confusion.

Later Assassin operations

In February 2017, Galina Voronina trained My'shell Lemair in combat and freerunning on the rooftops of London while Kiyoshi Takakura and Arend Schut-Cunningham commented on the new recruit's skills. Eventually, they were interrupted by an urgent phone call from Charlotte de la Cruz, who was on a mission in Hong Kong, China. Charlotte explained that the mission had gone awry and that she and Guernica Moneo were the only survivors after a sudden but fierce confrontation with an unknown group of assailants. She then requested an immediate extraction.

The following month, Charlotte met with My'shell in London at a local public house, where they got some drinks. During their conversation, Charlotte asked why My'shell wanted to become an Assassin, citing the fact that she now looked at ordinary people around her and immediately calculated multiple ways to kill them. The Bleeding Effect had turned her into a living weapon, and she began to wonder, after having spent so much time inside her ancestors' memories, if her own life was just a simulation; one that someone in the future was currently examining through her DNA.

Kiyoshi, Charlotte and My'shell at the London Assassin hideout

After Heinrich Hart's suicide bombing in Berlin, which claimed the lives of 170 people, became international news, the Assassins in London reviewed the media and noted that killing so many civilians in plain sight did not fit the Templars' ideals, suspecting another faction may be involved. My'shell then revealed that she had a list of Pieces of Eden recovered from the Abstergo facility in Hong Kong and pulled up an image of the Koh-i-Noor.

Charlotte realized that it was the 'mountain glimmer' Consus had mentioned in his message to her. With My'shell convinced that it was present in the Spanish Civil War, Charlotte strapped herself into a makeshift Animus. The machine appeared to malfunction, however, with Charlotte becoming trapped inside a simulation and unable to be awoken.

Guernica Moneo was called to fix the Animus, only to become surprised and angered when he learned My'shell had tried to do so herself using unvetted Abstergo parts. Fearing the machine was now compromised, Guernica told the Assassins to find Felix Oladele, an Erudito plant within Abstergo Montreal who was familiar with Animus extractions. Kiyoshi and Arend volunteered to retrieve Oladele and immediately left for Canada. While the two were away, Guernica, who was secretly an Instruments of the First Will spy, attempted to kill Charlotte, but was caught and stopped by Galina.

Shortly after Kiyoshi and Arend returned from their failed mission to Montreal, where they were attacked by the Instruments, My'shell returned to the London hideout with an injured Juhani Otso Berg. She explained that the Instruments had also attacked them in Geneva before Berg suggested that they have a conversation over breakfast.

Despite the Assassins' distrust of Berg, they agreed and the Templar told them about his findings on the Instruments, concluding that the mysterious group had infiltrated both the Assassins and Templars and were using them to further their goals. Unable to trust their respective factions, the Assassins and Berg reluctantly called a truce and worked together to explore the memories of Ignacio Cardona and Albert Bolden in search of the Koh-i-Noor, seeking to keep it out of the Instruments' hands.

After the Assassins and Berg found the Koh-i-Noor's whereabouts, they traveled to Spain to retrieve it. My'shell was left alone at the London hideout with a captive Guernica, just as the Instruments attacked the safe house to silence Guernica, whom they saw as a loose end. Working together, My'shell and Guernica managed to kill the Instruments, though the hideout was destroyed in the process and the latter was mortally wounded.

Layla Hassan's hideout in London

In October 2018, the Assassin Layla Hassan and her team were stationed in a loft apartment in London while researching the memories of the Spartan misthios Kassandra in order to locate more Isu artifacts before Abstergo could. Kiyoshi Takakura, a member of the team, kept watch from outside. Eventually, the cell's location was discovered by Abstergo and so they were forced to flee, though not before Layla left a USB drive at the apartment that could be remotely scanned and infect secure computer systems, such as that held by the Head of Operations at Abstergo.

A modern virus

In September 2019, the London School of Economics dropout Aliyah Khan was engaged in a street card game using sleight of hand to scam a socialite out of £100. Eventually, the police arrived and broke up her game, forcing her to flee. Finding a hiding place in a garbage dumpster Aliyah waited patiently for the police to pass. Hiding in the darkness, her claustrophobia began to overwhelm her, but she dealt with it using calming breaths until the police left.

Taking the underground subway home, Aliyah gave a homeless beggar her winnings, despite his objections to the high amount. After arriving home to her flat, her room-mate Bianca told her to clean up, as she still smelled like a dumpster, and reminded Aliyah that she still needed to repay Bianca's father for investing into their crypto company scheme, a joint-effort originally thought up with Jarrod Eubanks, a former business partner who had since run off with the investment. Bianca's father stood to lose his home if Aliyah did not pay him back, which she swore to Bianca that she would do as soon as she could.

Traveling to the enclave of Chinatown, Aliyah met the Assassin Gavin Banks while playing poker in an attempt to earn enough money to pay off some of her debt. Having lost all of her chips to him, Aliyah sought out Gavin after the match and demanded to know his identity. Gavin gave her an address, telling her to find it if she wished to know more. The next day, Aliyah was contacted by the registrar of the London School of Economics and learned that she had been given the chance to return, her funds having been paid by an "alumni." Later that day, after recovering from her shock and disbelief, Aliyah met with the registrar and the school officials and learned that it was indeed the truth. She surmised the mysterious "alumni" could be none other than Gavin.

Following the adress given, Aliyah found herself at an abbonded building at the London Docklands and was greeted at the door by My'shell Lemair. Inside, the two women were joined by Gavin, who explained himself to Aliyah, telling her that he knew where Jarrod had hidden her money. If Aliyah was to help Gavin and his associate, he would reveal the whereabouts of the money. Gavin then summarized the Assassin-Templar War for Aliyah and told her about her ancestor Omar Khaled, a 17th-century British Assassin who had served as an apprentice to Isaac Newton. After some hesitation, Aliyah agreed to enter the Animus in exchange for the promised return of her crypto funds. Using the Animus, Aliyah relived Omar's memories in order to find a rare Royal Mint coin on which was inscribed a code word to disable a modern computer virus.

Over the course of three days, and after multiple run-ins with the Templar Order and Agneta Reider, Aliyah and the two Assassins were able to stop the virus and even uncover the secret history of her family. Gavin offered Aliyah a chance to join the Brotherhood, as they needed someone with her street smarts to help bring justice to the people. However, Aliyah rejected the offer, as she wanted to find her own path in life.

Later that day, Aliyah arrived at her flat to find Bianca playing a video game. She dropped a bag on the floor and handed Bianca a cheque, returning the full amount that her father had invested plus some extra money as "interest". Bianca thanked her and asked if she had heard that Jarrod had been captured in the Channel Islands and brought back to London for assault charges by a "rogue group" who claimed that "Prince George sent them". Aliyah felt relieved at the news and, recognizing the password to the Chinese restaurant where she had first met Gavin Banks, decided to visit it.

She once more returned to the poker table, but was distracted whilst playing, lost in thought. The dealer asked for her blind, at which point Gavin appeared at the table along with My'shell. Aliyah remarked that she had heard about Jarrod and Gavin replied that "it must have been quite a group that brought him to justice." Gavin then revealed that apparentely there were other ties to other targets under Abstergo Financial, and the Assassins would likely need someone with street smarts to help bring them all to justice. The dealer asked again who was in. Gavin stated that he was in before My'shell looked to Aliyah and asked again if she was in. Aliyah paused for a moment, before she declared she was all in.

Districts

During the Industrial Revolution, London was divided into seven boroughs.

City of London

Main article: City of London

On the right bank of the Thames, with its high and elegant buildings, the City is the financial center of London comprising the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange. One of its most notable landmarks are the St. Paul's Cathedral and the Monument to the Great Fire of London.

Lambeth

Main article: Lambeth

The most rural borough of London, the district of Lambeth is composed of many small houses and market places in the south of London. Its most notable monuments are the Lambeth Palace and the Asylum.

River Thames

Main article: River Thames

The River Thames during the Victorian era

The River Thames has an economic value as many riverboats transported products and merchandise between the docks and markets of the city. The left and right banks of the Thames are connected by many bridges such as the London Bridge and the Westminster Bridge.

Southwark

Main article: Southwark

As the industrial heart of London, Southwark has many factories, docks and brick houses for the workers. One of its most notable landmarks is the Waterloo station.

The Strand

Main article: The Strand

The Strand is the cultural district of London where the British Museum and the Alhambra Music Hall are located. It is also an important place for shopping activities. It has an elegant architecture and many parks. The Metropolitan Police Service has its headquarters located at Scotland Yard.

Westminster

Main article: Westminster

One of the richest districts, Westminster is the political center of London with the Royal Residence of Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister house at the 10 Downing Street and the Chamber of the Parliament at the Palace of Westminster. Westminster has also many religious monuments such as Westminster Abbey and the Temple Church. The slums at Devil's Acre contrast with the green parks and the wealth of the district.

Whitechapel

Main article: Whitechapel

Named after the St. Mary Matfelon chapel, Whitechapel is the poorest district of London, where slums, prostitution and thievery are present at every corner. During the year 1888, the district became infamous for the murders of the serial killer Jack the Ripper. One of its most notable infrastructure is the Spitalfields Market.

Behind the scenes

In Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, there are light bulb advertisement signs on some buildings, though this is anachronistic as electric lighting was first used in 1883 in Holborn. The first light bulb advertisement signs didn't appear until at least the 1890s.

Many of the roofs of the buildings in Syndicate, are in the mansard style. This style spread to Britain from France in the 18th century. Some of the roofs are covered with metal tiles, either lead, corrugated iron, a method originally patented in England in 1829 or zinc galvanized metal, a method developed in France in 1837 and which became popular in Victorian times, because of its cheapness when compared with lead.

The sewers of London in Syndicate share the same model as the sewers of Paris in Assassin's Creed: Unity. ^{[citation needed]}

There are no prostitutes in the streets of London in Syndicate despite the fact they would be appropriate for the setting and they are present in most other titles. They appear later in the story of the Jack the Ripper downloadable content.

The city also lacks non-European people from all around the British Empire but those would probably be in their neighborhoods outside the open world borders.

London is one of three cities that were completely modeled twice for different periods in the series, with the other two being New York and Paris. The first model of London is the one featured in Syndicate, which is set in 1868 and 1888, and the second one appears in Valhalla, set in the 870s.

Appearances

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An image gallery is available for London

• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed III (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Forsaken
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Unity novel
• Assassin's Creed: Underworld
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
  • The Darwin and Dickens Conspiracy
  • Jack the Ripper
  • The Last Maharaja
  • The Dreadful Crimes
• Assassin's Creed: Underworld
• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus
• Assassin's Creed: Heresy
• Assassin's Creed film
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
• Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies
• Assassin's Creed: Uprising
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
• Assassin's Creed: Gold
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (as "Lunden")
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Sword of the White Horse (as "Lunden")
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Hidden Codex (as "Lunden")
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy
• Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only, as "Lunden")
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)
• Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed