Swan with Two Necks, London

The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the modern area named London has since grown far beyond the City of London boundary. The City is now only a small part of the metropolis of Greater London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, the City of London is not one of the Greater London boroughs, a status reserved for the other 32 districts (including Greater London's only other city, the City of Westminster). It is also a separate ceremonial county, being an enclave surrounded by Greater London, and is the smallest ceremonial county in the United Kingdom. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City (differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising City) and known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (716.80 acres; 2.90 km2) in area. Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. The name London is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the city. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 Greater London boroughs, in addition to the City of London itself. This wider usage of London is documented as far back as 1888, when the County of London was created.The local authority for the City, namely the City of London Corporation, is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council, such as being the police authority. It is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries. The corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London (an office separate from, and much older than, the Mayor of London). The Lord Mayor, as of November 2021, is Vincent Keaveny. The City is made up of 25 wards, with administration at the historic Guildhall. Other historic sites include St Paul's Cathedral, Royal Exchange, Mansion House, Old Bailey, and Smithfield Market. Although not within the City, the adjacent Tower of London is part of its old defensive perimeter. The City has responsibility for five bridges in its capacity as trustee of the Bridge House Estates: Blackfriars Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Southwark Bridge, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. The City is a major business and financial centre, and the Bank of England is headquartered in the city. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the world's primary business centre, and it continues to be a major meeting point for businesses. London came top in the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index, published in 2008. The insurance industry is located in the eastern side of the city, around Lloyd's building. A secondary financial district exists outside the city, at Canary Wharf, 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east. The City has a resident population of 9,401 (ONS estimate, mid-2016) but over 500,000 are employed there, and some estimates put the number of workers in the City to be over 1 million. About three-quarters of the jobs in the City of London are in the financial, professional, and associated business services sectors. The legal profession forms a major component of the northern and western sides of the city, especially in the Temple and Chancery Lane areas where the Inns of Court are located, of which two—Inner Temple and Middle Temple—fall within the City of London boundary.

Gresham Street in the City of London is named after the English merchant and financier Thomas Gresham. It runs from the junction of Lothbury and Moorgate at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham Street was created in 1845 by widening and amalgamating Cateaton Street, Maiden Lane, St. Anne's Lane and Lad Lane.The nearest London Underground stations are St Paul's, which can be reached via St. Martin's Le Grand to the south from its western end, and Bank, via Princes Street, a short distance to the south from its eastern end.

Wood Street is a street in the City of London, the historic centre and primary financial district of London. It originates in the south at a junction with Cheapside; heading north it crosses Gresham Street and London Wall. The northernmost end runs alongside The Postern, part of the Barbican estate, stopping at Andrewes House. Today Wood Street lies within the wards of Bassishaw (north of Gresham Street) and Cheap (south of Gresham Street). The street was originally the main north–south route through the Roman Fort, which was discovered after World War II bombing. The north gate of the fort became Cripplegate, the south gate of the fort was just south of the junction with Love Lane, and the road diverts slightly to the east suggesting that the gate was blocked up or in use, and they had to knock through the Roman fort wall to allow Wood Street to continue. It has been suggested that this was an early road after the so-called Alfredian restoration of the City in around 886 AD. The road led from the main port at Queenhithe (Bread Street) to the main market street at Cheapside and then on north to Cripplegate and out of London to the north. Wood Street is the location of the headquarters of the City of London Police, at its corner with Love Lane. There is a tower on a traffic island in the middle of the street, which is all that remains of the church of St Alban, Wood Street. Other notable buildings include 88 Wood Street, and the hall of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers on nearby Oat Lane.

The Wood Street Compter (or Wood Street Counter) was a small prison within the City of London in England. It was primarily a debtors' prison, and also held people accused of such misdemeanours as public drunkenness, although some wealthier prisoners were able to obtain alcohol through bribery. The prison was built and opened in 1555, replacing the earlier Bread Street Compter, from which many prisoners were transferred. Wood Street was closed and replaced by Giltspur Street Compter in 1791.The Compter was originally one of two prisons, the other, the Poultry Compter, located on the Poultry. Both were destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, although the Poultry Compter was rebuilt, and another compter, Giltspur Street Compter was constructed in 1791. The Wood Street Compter was still active in 1727 when The London Gazette (6 July p4) listed 13 insolvent debtors awaiting court on 25 August. During the closure of the compters, debtors were held in prisons in Southwark, including the Marshalsea and King's Bench Prisons, Borough Compter and Horsemonger Lane Gaol. Some wine cellars on Mitre Court were marketed as a party venue under the name of "The City Compter" but these appear to date from the mid 18th century; no sign of the prison was found during archaeological investigations of the site of a new office block at One Wood Street.

The John Heminges and Henry Condell Memorial is a memorial to the actors John Heminges and Henry Condell in the former churchyard of St Mary Aldermanbury on Love Lane, London EC2. The memorial is made from pink granite and topped with a bust of Shakespeare. It was built in 1896. It has been Grade II listed since 1972.

Milk Street in the City of London, England, was the site of London's medieval milk market. It was the location of the parish church of St Mary Magdalen which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and then of Honey Lane Market and the City of London School. The street was seriously damaged by German bombing during the Second World War and has since been completely rebuilt. Nothing remains of its former buildings.

The Guildhall Library is a public reference library specialising in subjects relevant to London. It is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical heart of London, England. The library was founded in the 1420s under the terms of the will of Lord Mayor Dick Whittington. Many volumes in store rooms were lost due to bombing in World War Two. The library was originally housed in the Old Library at the Guildhall, and moved to modern premises elsewhere in the Guildhall complex in the 1970s.

30 Gresham Street is an office building in Gresham Street in the City of London of 386,000 sq ft developed by Land Securities in 2002-03 and occupied by Commerzbank and Investec. When built, it was described as "the biggest speculative office development in the capital". The building is bounded in the south by Russia Row and Trump Street, in the east by Lawrence Lane, and in the west by Milk Street. It is on the site of the former Blossom's Inn as well as a number of other small alleys and courts such as Robin Hood Court, Russia Court, Mumford Court and Castle Court. It replaced an earlier building of the same name which became known as the "Night Club in the City".

St Mary Aldermanbury was a parish church in the City of London first mentioned in 1181 and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt in Portland stone by Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the walls standing. These stones were transported to Fulton, Missouri in 1966, by the residents of that town, and rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College as a memorial to Winston Churchill. Churchill had made his Sinews of Peace, "Iron Curtain" speech in the Westminster College Gymnasium in 1946. The footprint of the church remains at the junction of London's Aldermanbury and Love Lane, planted with bushes and trees; a memorial plaque has been placed by Westminster College in the footprint. The gardens also house a monument to Henry Condell and John Heminges, key figures in the production of the First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays and co-partners with him in the Globe Theatre. Condell and Heminges lived in the St Mary Aldermanbury parish and were buried in its churchyard. This monument is topped with a bust of Shakespeare. The remains of the church were designated a Grade II listed building on 5 June 1972. The monuments are separately listed.In the 1830s, the notable missionary William Jowett was a lecturer at the church.

St Alban's was a church in Wood Street, City of London. It was dedicated to Saint Alban. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt in 1634, destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt, this time to a Gothic design by Sir Christopher Wren. It was severely damaged by bombing during the Second World War and the ruins cleared, leaving only the tower.

Cheap is a small ward in the City of London. It stretches west to east from King Edward Street, the border with Farringdon Within ward, to Old Jewry, which adjoins Walbrook; and north to south from Gresham Street, the border with Aldersgate and Bassishaw wards, to Cheapside, the boundary with Cordwainer and Bread Street wards. The name Cheap derives from the Old English word "chep" for "market".The following roads run north to south across the ward: St. Martin's Le Grand, Foster Lane, Gutter Lane, Wood Street, Milk Street, King Street, and Ironmonger Lane. Within its boundaries are two Anglican churches: St Vedast Foster Lane and St Lawrence Jewry; a third church, St Mildred, Poultry, was demolished in 1872. Several Livery Halls are located in Cheap, including those of the Mercers', Goldsmiths', Wax Chanders' and Saddlers' Companies. A small part of the Guildhall lies within the ward's boundaries: the main entrance and main hall itself; the remainder is in Bassishaw. Also within Cheap are the Lord Mayor's and City of London Court and the southern end of Basinghall Street.

Bassishaw is a ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west. It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the courts and short side streets off it, but since a boundary review in 2003 (after which the ward expanded into Cripplegate Within) it extends to streets further west, including Aldermanbury, Wood Street, and, to the north, part of London Wall and St Alphage Garden. The ward was historically the City's smallest.