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A History of London: 1066–1666 (Online)
Year course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Tickets available from 10.00 on Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Step back into the crowded lanes and sprawling spires of medieval London, and discover the material history behind one of Europe’s great cities, with exclusive access to V&A treasures and experts…
Medieval London was a walled city of crowded streets, open air markets and wooden and stone houses, its inhabitants living perilously and piously amid a skyline of a hundred church spires. Between 1066-1666, London went from being the prosperous capital of an emerging kingdom on the periphery of Christendom, to being one of the greatest cities of Europe. A centre of great learning and skilled crafts, London was made rich on trade and plunder but also besieged by plague, civil war and ultimately, fire. Join leading experts to immerse yourself in the city’s rich history, from the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire.
This course runs every Wednesday for 10 weeks online, plus you'll get an extra 10 weeks to catch up once the course ends. Not able to attend live? You can also follow the course on catch up. Want to enrich your learning experience with exclusive access to bonus sessions, such as gallery talks and object study? Check out the in-person version of this course at the V&A South Kensington!
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy FAQs.
Medieval London was a walled city of crowded streets, open air markets and wooden and stone houses, its inhabitants living perilously and piously amid a skyline of a hundred church spires. Between 1066-1666, London went from being the prosperous capital of an emerging kingdom on the periphery of Christendom, to being one of the greatest cities of Europe. A centre of great learning and skilled crafts, London was made rich on trade and plunder but also besieged by plague, civil war and ultimately, fire. Join leading experts to immerse yourself in the city’s rich history, from the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire.
This course runs every Wednesday for 10 weeks online, plus you'll get an extra 10 weeks to catch up once the course ends. Not able to attend live? You can also follow the course on catch up. Want to enrich your learning experience with exclusive access to bonus sessions, such as gallery talks and object study? Check out the in-person version of this course at the V&A South Kensington!
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy FAQs.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
V&A Academy Course Director
Mike Berlin
Mike Berlin is a Lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a specialist in the social history of early modern London and has published extensively on the history of London’s guilds. Before joining Birkbeck, he was a research officer at the Centre for Metropolitan History, Institute of Historical Research.
This was a fantastic course, one of the best I have done and I do a lot of them! Many thanks to Mike and all the team. Previous V&A Academy Course Attendee
Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 BST on on Wednesday 24 June 2026. General Booking will open at 10.00 BST on Wednesday 8 July 2026.
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Course overview
Experience medieval London, a city firmly locked into a nexus of trade centring on the North Sea, and the centre of a growing mercantile empire looking outward to the Atlantic and beyond.
Weekly lecture themes include:
‘Flower of Cities All’: Renaissance London
‘The unquiet city’: London and the Reformation
‘Sink of Ill humours’: London and the Kingdom
…and many more!
By the end of this course, you will have gained a deeper understanding of medieval London as a complex and ever-changing centre for art, trade and power. You will discover London through painting, map-making, textiles, architecture and more, and reveal the people and communities who shaped the capital.
Ready to dive deeper? Take a look at the full course programme by clicking 'download programme' below.
Ready to dive deeper? Take a look at the full course programme by clicking 'download programme' below.
Enrol now
Year course: A History of London: 1066–1666 (Online)
30 September 2026 - 2 December 2026
£300.00
Tickets not available yet
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
Related events
Header image: A View of London Bridge in the Year 1647, from an Engraving by Hollar. Museum Nr. 27895:5