This area has been continuously occupied for several thousand years, beginning with the Celts and continuing on in an unbroken line through the Romans, the Saxons, the Normans, and up to the present day. Its identity as the City of the Tower dates to shortly after the Norman Conquest, when William I arranged the construction of the White Tower, which later became part of a larger fortress, the Tower of London.
London, or the City of the Tower, was for many centuries a small, densely-packed enclave known in modern times simply as "the City." Urban sprawl since the sixteenth century means that it has assimilated outlying suburbs and villages. The practice among fae has been to designate various areas as boroughs which come under the authority of the Tower, the government of the city. As the city expanded, more and more areas came to be termed boroughs. In modern times, the mortal boroughs are divided into two groups: Inner London, consisting of twelve plus the City, and Outer London, which comprises another twenty. Old neighborhood names are still in common use, though, and among fae, although the governance of the area required a simplification along mortal borough lines during the twentieth century, commoners who have long dwelt in the city still remember the smaller boroughs that once composed them. Since the Resurgence, London has been formally designated the County of the Tower, with various baronies within it. Commoner fae generally still refer to it as the City of the Tower, though, and the baronies as boroughs, their borders being drawn along the same lines as the mortal boroughs.
The following are the boroughs of Inner London, moving clockwise around the City itself. Inset entries indicate older boroughs or neighborhoods that have been assimilated by their larger counterparts.
The Borough of Coins (the City of London) -- this name, used from the eighteenth century onward, refers to both the area that lies within the city walls of London (approximately one square mile) and the "liberties" of London, which are those areas immediately outside the walls that are administrated as part of the City. Though in modern times the title Baron of Coins carries virtually no prestige or political clout, thanks to the tiny number of fae living within the borough, in centuries past it was the heart of the City of the Tower. Ruled in modern times by Cerenel Faleron ap Ailil.
Inns (Inns of Court) -- many fae newcomers to the City have erroneously assumed they can find lodgings in this district outside the walls on the western edge of London. In fact, the Inns reference are the Inns of Court, which for centuries have educated the barristers of England's legal system, and which are included in the City's liberties.
Gaols (Lower Fleet) -- immediately outside the western city wall lie three of the most notorious London prisons: Bridewell, Newgate, and the Fleet Prison. Positioned along the bottom stretch of the foul River Fleet, and location of many public executions, the area has a nightmarish reputation.
Meats (Smithfield) -- the visceral name of this district echoes its use through the centuries for jousts, executions, and a livestock market. Lying just outside the northwestern city walls, it is one of the liberties of London.
Books (St. Paul's) -- as the courtyard of St. Paul's Cathedral has long played home to booksellers, it's unsurprising that this western district should carry such a name. The freehold of Books was Cinderwall, whose hearthstone holder was the official liaison to the Borough of Graves.
Friars (Blackfriars) -- this district lies along the western part of the north riverbank. The district freehold was Dripping Hearth, whose hearthstone holder was considered the liaison to Father Thames, even after the ondine ceased to communicate with others.
Moots (Cripplegate) -- tradition says this area has been used for folk-moots since before there was a City. The district freehold was Rose House; commoner courts were always held at there, and the City's rulers long made a habit of coming there as a sign of goodwill toward the city's inhabitants.
Coins (Cheapside) -- this central city district is the heart of London's commerce, and in later times gave its name to the borough that encompasses the area. The district freehold was the Silver Door, and was generally been chosen as the residence of the City's ruler.
Roads (Bishopsgate) -- the major thoroughfare from London Bridge becomes Bishopsgate Street here and passes northward out of the City. The district freehold was the Traveller's Rest, whose hearthstone holder was the official liaison to the Boroughs of Angels and Ditches.
Fishes (London Bridge) -- the vicinity of London Bridge's northern terminus and the Billingsgate fish market is the District of Fishes. The district freehold was Bridgeside, whose hearthstone holder was the official liaison to the Borough of Stages, across the Thames.
The Borough of Graves (Westminster) -- named for the tremendous number of kings, queens, artists, and other famous individuals buried at Westminster Abbey. The Stone of Scone, which had been at Westminster Abbey for centuries, was recently returned to Scotland, which many Scottish fae take as a hopeful sign for their people. Ruled in modern times by Baroness Nianna Areforn ap Eiluned.
Fairs (Mayfair) -- this area began as a fair outside of London, and gradually shifted to become a wealthy residential district.
Greens (Marylebone) -- another wealthy residential area, north of Fairs, encompassing the area of Regent's Park, which was constructed in the early nineteenth century. The area, as the name suggests, has long been noted for its parks.
Hunts (Soho) -- east of Fairs, this area was once used as a hunting-ground; it later became urbanized and a center of prostitution, giving its name a new meaning.
Gardens (Covent Garden) -- for centuries, the "convent garden" in the easternmost parts of Graves maintained here provided food to Westminster Abbey. It incorporates the location of Charing Cross.
The Borough of Markets (Camden) -- home to a number of mortal market squares and the infamous Goblin Market of the fae, which is held once a month on the full moon. Originally the name referred only to the mortal neighborhood of Camden Town, but it has come to cover the entire area. Ruled in modern times by Baroness Ratria Nimarin ap Dougal.
Squares (Bloomsbury) -- located in the southern part of Markets, this area contains a high number of formal squares since its renovation during the eighteenth century.
Cripples (St. Giles-in-the-Fields) -- one of the poorest, most wretched districts in the city.
Wells (Hampstead) -- named for the medicinal wells, which enjoyed its height of popularity during the eighteenth century.
Daisies (Kentish Town) -- this name echoes the days when the area was a rural retreat from London . . . before London overran it.
Floods (St. Pancras) -- the propensity of the Fleet River to flood this area, even after it was buried, gives the area its name.
Strangers (Somers Town) -- a district which became a refuge for foreign immigrants to London, beginning in the eighteenth century.
Queens (King's Cross) -- though the mortal name refers to male monarchs, the fae name acknowledges the legend that Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni, is buried under what in the modern day is Platform 9 at King's Cross Station.
The Borough of Angels (Islington) -- though it has faded these days, there used to be a long-standing tradition among the pooka of this borough to make mortals think they'd seen angels. This led to the naming of the Angel Inn in Islington, which (though no longer there) had the dubious honor of becoming a property on the British Monopoly board. Ruled in modern times by Baron Alon Fidelu ap Gwydion.
Mysteries (Clerkenwell) -- clerks of the London Parish performed mystery plays in this area during the Middle Ages; a strange tradition of faerie "mystery plays," symbolic enactments of lost aspects of the Dreaming, still persists.
Straws (Highbury) -- Jack Straw, one of the leaders of the Peasants' Revolt of the fourteenth century, led an enormous mob which first burned the manor house in the area and then occupied the remains, which came to be known as "Jack Straw's Castle."
Nags (Holloway) -- the most northerly part of Angels, this was once a major route for travelers and cattle-drives, centered around the famed Nag's Head pub.
The Borough of Ditches (Hackney) -- this is the place to go for prostitution, whether mortal or fae, which some say is where the name came from. Ruled in modern times by Baron Jarrah Kenfeld ap Fiona.
Mistresses (Shoreditch) -- tradition says this area, the southernmost tip of Ditches, was named for Jane Shore, mistress of Edward IV.
Axes (Stoke Newington) -- lying in the northwestern part of Ditches, this area was used in prehistoric times for making axes. A reticent nocker usually just called the Axeman has stubbornly kept up the practice through lifetime after lifetime.
The Borough of Ravens (Tower Hamlets) -- site of the Tower of London. Every British schoolchild knows the superstition: so long as ravens stay at the White Tower, England is safe from invasion. The ravens of the Tower are the sleekest, most pampered ravens in the world (with their wing feathers clipped to make sure they don't vacate the premises). Ruled in modern times by Baroness Siari Andren nic Daireann.
Fists (Bethnal Green) -- noted for both its boxing champions and the fistfights common in its taverns and pubs.
Dogs (Isle of Dogs) -- a marshy peninsula of land along the Thames taken over during the nineteenth century for the construction of docks.
Docks (Wapping) -- another area along the Thames used for unloading the ships that supply the city, and through it the country, with materials and food.
Stinks (Whitechapel) -- this area has rarely been recognized as a formal borough, but lying downwind of many fragrant industries, and playing home to some of London's poorest workers, it has a reputation of its own.
Captains (Shadwell) -- like many areas in Ravens, this place is dedicated to the shipping industries of the Thames. A truly phenomenal number of sea-captains lie buried here, some of whom linger on as wraiths with colorful stories to tell.
Limes (Limehouse) -- the mortal name of this area technically refers to the lime-kilns that used to be common, but the popular imagination has attached it to the tendency of sailors to eat limes to ward off scurvy (hence the term "limeys").
Silks (Spitalfields) -- traditionally the home of the silk industry, since the seventeenth century.
The Borough of Clocks (Greenwich) -- named for the institution of Greenwich Mean Time, and for the Albion Temporal Experimentation Society, a nocker lab (now mostly defunct) dedicated to messing around with time. Ruled in modern times by Baron Odwin Toffenham ap Dougal.
Soldiers (Woolwich) -- the Royal Arsenal and various other military offices have been located here for centuries.
The Borough of Ashes (Lewisham) -- centuries ago, a Jute invader declared he was settling down in this area by burning his boat. Local fae claim to be honoring his memory when they light things on fire, which is a time-honored tradition of the borough. Ruled in modern times by Baroness Lydee Pivane ap Eiluned.
Pilgrims (Deptford) -- the pilgrimage road to Canterbury crosses the Thames at Deptford.
The Borough of Stages (Southwark) -- during the seventeenth century, when laws forbade the building of theatres in the city of London itself, many were built in Southwark, across the Thames from the city proper. The Globe was, of course, the most famous of these. In the past, the name referred only to the westernmost part of the borough, along the Thames. Ruled in modern times by Baroness Alicia Corson ap Fiona.
Ships (Rotherhithe) -- the easternmost part of Stages, lying along the Thames, and long a port and site of shipbuilding.
Monks (Bermondsey) -- central to Stages along the Thames, this is hardly the only place in the area that played home to a monastery, but the early establishment of Bermondsey Abbey, and the later influence of the Templars, made the name stick.
The Borough of Boats (Lambeth) -- these days, most travel across the Thames is via one of the many bridges, but historically, there was a thriving business in ferrying passengers to and from the city. Many of those boatmen made their home in Lambeth, and a host of chimerical craft keep up the trade. Ruled in modern times by Baroness Vigdis Einarsdottir Aesna.
Herons (Herne's Hill) -- the mortal name is a corruption of "Heron's Hill," the older name. This area crosses the border between Stages and Boats.
Gypsies (Crystal Palace) -- before the Crystal Palace relocated to this area, it was the Great North Forest, from which the timbers of Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind were supposedly cut. It also, as the name suggests, was a common haunt of gypsies who were not welcome within the bounds of the city.
Masks (Vauxhall) -- this area only began to be much inhabited during the eighteenth century, when it became notorious as the home of London's pleasure gardens, where the city's rich and idle would go to enjoy themselves. Prior to that, it was open gardens and farmland.
The Borough of Reeds (Wandsworth) -- you won't find any surviving in this area, but the name commemorates the reeds that used to line the banks of the river in this area. Ruled in modern times by Baron Geoffrey Tarfell ap Gwydion.
The Borough of Oars (Hammersmith and Fulham) -- home to a truly amazing proliferation of rowing clubs, and where the chimerical boatmen go to race each other when they get bored. Ruled in modern times by Baron Ky Dansor ap Fiona.
The Borough of Buns (Kensington and Chelsea) -- for such a posh residential district, it has a less than noble name, but the Chelsea part of this borough was famed for "Chelsea buns," made with currants and sugar. Resident boggans still compete for who can make the best buns, and the famously snooty modern-day baroness, Kethlinn Tywick ap Gwydion, pays top price for a tray.
Elms (Kensington) -- still a wealthy district in modern times, this was for a time in the seventeenth century the center of court life in London.
Earls (Earls Court) -- a favored place of residence for mortal and fae nobles alike.
The Borough of Shadows -- this borough is a figure of speech, not an actual barony. Extensive catacombs lie beneath London, composed of sewer systems from centuries past and playing home mostly to sluagh and some creepy-crawly pooka (and their chimerical friends). No sidhe has proved willing to sully himself by asking the Count for baronial authority over a bunch of sewers, and there are no known freeholds down there, so the underfolk are left to their own devices.
Unlike other parts of Albion, where many fae live their whole lives out in the same barony, residents of the City of the Tower often cross borders in their daily lives. It's entirely possible for a fae to have a mortal residence in one borough, a mortal job in another, a spot in a freehold in a third borough, and fae responsibilities in a fourth. For governmental purposes, a fae is considered a resident of a borough if he draws on the balefire of a freehold in that borough; if he lives outside a freehold, then residence is determined by the location of his mortal home. Aside from taxation and other matters of law, though, such matters are fluid.
The freeholds of Inner London are, almost without exception, held by nobility. Those non-sidhe who managed to maintain possession of their homes were given minor titles and bound in fealty to higher-ranking sidhe. Fortunately, though some parts of London are painfully banal, the city has a vibrant enough mortal population that most fae can find Dreamers enough to survive on. Few fae who don't enjoy the dynamics of city life live there, anyway.
The City of the Tower has a method of fae communication, in the form of chimerical ravens who will carry written or spoken messages. There is no fee for receiving messages -- the ravens will deliver to anyone, fae, chimera, or even mortal, not that the mortals would be able to see them -- but sending messages is not cheap. For one dross each quarter, a fae can send messages to a total of ten recipients per month (which could be ten messages to one person each time, five messages to two people each time, one message to ten people, etc). One dross per month buys unlimited messaging, but there is no broadcast service except for official personnel of the Court; the ravens will only deliver to specific, named recipients otherwise. The ravens accept payment only in the form of small, portable dross; a boggan banker in the Borough of Coins operates a trade operation, swapping out large and unwieldy dross for more suitable items.
