There were no major changes to the layout or skyline of London since the time of the Norman Kings onwards with the notable exception of St Paul's Cathedral built in Gothic style around AD 1200 with an outstanding spire . (On the site of the earlier Saxon Church.) The magnificent spire was unfortunately struck by lightning in 1561 and was dismantled for safety. (Note this magnificent church was destroyed in the Great fire of London in 1666 and replaced by the present smaller domed structure designed by Christopher Wren.)

London was still basically contained within the old Roman city walls, with one bridge over the Thames south to Southwark and access west to the growing but separate town of Westminster. By about 1300 the road from the City of London to City of Westminster along Fleet street had properties on both sides of the road. Also a little to the south, the law courts of the Middle Temple (best now seen from the Embankment) and to the north Lincoln's Inn both dating from 1310. Other than this the land within a few hundred yards of the city walls was still green fields and cultivated to provide food for Londoners.

NOTE
[The Inns of Court were formed in England in 1310 at the time of Edward the 2nd who in general had an appalling record in office! Called "Inns" because as Oxford and Cambridge Universities did not teach law, students needed a place to stay and study. Where better than in rooms close to the law courts. These Inns, now some of the oldest buildings in London as they were not in the path of the Great Fire are:
·Lincoln's Inn close by the junction of High Holborn and Chancery Lane.
·Middle Temple and Inner Temple on the river side "Embankment" between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.
·Grey's Inn, north of Chancery Lane Tube station between High Holborn and Theobald's Road
The administrators had the exclusive right appoint Barristers who had, and still have, exclusive rights of representing clients in the higher courts of England. Today these wealthy Barristers occupy the original 700 year old Inns which because of their age and historical position are not allowed to include such modern comforts as central heating! And one is surprised to see rich men huddled over an old electric fire to keep away the winter chills.]

500 years ago Henry the 8th saw to many improvements. Initially he was a builder of fine Palaces (for himself) perhaps he needed some of them as both his Westminster Palace and his City Palace in the Tower of London suffered fire damage. He built:
Bridewell Palace just outside the city walls on the west bank of the river Fleet and the banks of the Thames and Baynard's Castle (actually built by Henry 7th) just inside the city walls also on the banks of the Thames. The position of this castle is marked today by the street called "Castle Baynard Street" to the east of the Mermaid theatre.

Henry also distributed the many fine London properties previously owned by the Church at the time of the Dissolution. This had a considerable impact because probably some 60% of the properties in London were owned by the church and releasing these onto the property market eliminated any over crowding in London and of course filled up the financial coffers managed by King Henry 8th himself.

Also around this time many of the old gates in the original 1000 year old Roman city wall were rebuilt notably Ludgate, Aldgate and Aldersgate. The buildings attached to the city gates tended to be used as prisons as was customary across all Europe.

Economic growth and the expansion of London
London was the largest trading centre in England with trade at that time being dominated by the sale of fine English wool (from Sheep) to Antwerp mainly where it was woven into cloth. Clothes were also made locally in Antwerp.

Then London was able to attract much of the manufacture of this cloth back into London because of the wars around Antwerp, (now in present day Belgium but then part of the Netherlands, which was split north/south through Antwerp between the Protestant north and the Spanish Roman Catholic south). This created a huge demand for labour and housing in London which was satisfied by the occupation of the previously religious buildings "acquired" by Henry 8th . This was coupled with a movement west into the Fleet street area by the wealthier peoples into the new green field areas. These included many wealthy traders who had fled from Antwerp to run their businesses from London.

Up to this time the population of London had not changed materially since Norman times at around 80,000 to a low of 40,000 at the time of the bubonic plague. In the next 100 years the population tripled to 250,000. Where did they all go? Expansion was as follows:
Westwards to Westminster both along the river bank and Fleet Street and the Strand.
An Expansion in the Westminster Area. Also expansion along present day High Holborn.

All these areas were inhabited by civil servants, the wealthy merchant classes and the growing educated elite like lawyers and doctors. North of the city expansion was limited to ribbon developments up the present day A1/ Aldersgate Street as far as present day Old Street and the medical college of St Bartholomew's hospital. There was also ribbon development to the north up Bishopsgate Street. Between these two ribbon developments, directly north of Moorgate, were still the green fields of the now drained swamps of Moorfields where Londoners used to skate in the winter.
To the east there was considerable ribbon development along the north bank of the Thames to service the new Docks of Wapping and Ratcliffe( see present day northern entrance of Rotherhithe Tunnel and on the river front, Ratcliffe Cross Stairs and Limehouse Basin). To the south the main developments centred round Southwark which, as in east London, housed the "working classes". The area around Lambeth Palace was still undrained marsh land.

It was in the south east of London that Henry 8th was born in the royal palace of Greenwich and he was brought up in a palace in Eltham until he was 15. Both these palaces, then surrounded by green fields can be visited today. While in this area it is worth taking the trip from Greenwich, south to the old Dover road across Blackheath, originally built by the Romans and as they normally did, using hills as landmarks to ensure the road was straight. There is probably not a better example of this than Shooters Hill on the old A2 just east of Blackheath where the Roman road makers took the old Dover road right up to the top of Shooters Hill and down again. The result on horse drawn coaches is well described in the first chapter of the Tail of Two Cities-the passengers had to get out and push. Eltham lies just south of this road and north of the A20.