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Hi,
You're unlikely to need winter tyres in London at Easter, and they're not mandatory.
Drivers in London are certainly less understanding than in the rest of the UK, but the traffic moves slowly. Assume that you will make the odd mistake and that you will probably get people sounding their horns at you if you do, but also realise that there's nothing personal in it and the incident will be forgotten almost immediately. Londoners make enough of their own mistakes! Just take things slowly and keep a good lookout at the road signs and you should be fine.
You're quite a long way out of the centre of London at Thurrock. However, I'd leave the car behind, you'll be a lot happier travelling around on the trains. From your hotel it looks like a short walk to Purfleet station. There are trains every half an hour into London Fenchurch Street station, taking 30 minutes. From Fenchurch Street it's a short walk down to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, and Tower Hill underground station, which will give you access to the rest of the city by tube.
You won't be able to use Euro for travelling around, so get some Sterling. You will be able to get tickets using a credit card though. Londoners use Oyster Cards which they can just touch to a reader, but if you're just there for a couple of days you'll find it easier to buy a One Day Travelcard each day. You can probably get this as part of the return ticket you buy at Purfleet. This will then allow you to travel on any of the buses, trains and the tube within London.
There are so many Must See places... given where you'll come into London and your interest in history, I'll point you to the Tower, but grab a guidebook and see what takes your fancy. It's easy to get around on the tube. If you want to see one of the big musicals or plays at the National or the Barbican it's best to book in advance. You can usually get into other shows on the day. There's also a cheap ticket booth in Leicester Square where you can pick up tickets on the day of the show.
The best beer... you can get drinks from all over the world. My own preference in terms of beers brewed in London are those from Fullers, but we're talking bitters here, not blonde ales or lagers.
Have fun,
Graham
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