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Historical Walking Tour: Exploring Smithfield's Deathly Past in London
5.0
248 Ratings
Greater London
Uncover the dark and fascinating history of Smithfield in London on a historical walking tour. Explore execution methods, the Black Death, and the setting of Oliver Twist. Limited tickets available!
Uncover the dark and fascinating history of Smithfield in London on a historical walking tour. Explore execution methods, the Black Death, and the setting of Oliver Twist. Limited tickets available!
Duration:
2 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- The Charterhouse - A fourteenth century monastery and plague pit
- Smithfield Market - A one thousand year old meat market
- St John’s Gate - The home of the medieval Knights Hospitallers
- Cloth Fair - A quiet alley with a noisy history
- WIlliam Wallace Memorial - The memorial to William Wallace, aka Braveheart
- **Church of St….
- The Charterhouse - A fourteenth century monastery and plague pit
- Smithfield Market - A one thousand year old meat market
- St John’s Gate - The home of the medieval Knights Hospitallers
- Cloth Fair - A quiet alley with a noisy history
- WIlliam Wallace Memorial - The memorial to William Wallace, aka Braveheart
- Church of St. Bartholomew the Great - London’s oldest surviving parish church
- Golden Boy of Pye Corner - The site where the Great Fire of 1666 died out, and of eighteenth century ghost hysteria
- Holborn Viaduct - The site of the River Fleet, Victorian London’s largest open air sewer
- Ye Olde Mitre - A hidden gem of a pub, hidden down an alleyway
- Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital Museum - The oldest surviving hospital in the country
What's Included
- All entry fees to scheduled landmarks and parks
- Professional guide fluent in multiple languages
- Comfortable air-conditioned transportation
- Complimentary hotel pickup and drop-off
- Traditional local lunch included
- Free bottled water throughout the tour
- Ample time for photos at every stop
-
Limited group size for a personalized experience
-…
- All entry fees to scheduled landmarks and parks
- Professional guide fluent in multiple languages
- Comfortable air-conditioned transportation
- Complimentary hotel pickup and drop-off
- Traditional local lunch included
- Free bottled water throughout the tour
- Ample time for photos at every stop
- Limited group size for a personalized experience
- Headsets provided for clear live commentary
- Insurance coverage for the duration of the tour
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Travel through a thousand years of history, meeting medieval knights, body snatchers, Charles Dickens, an eighteenth century ghost, and William Wallace - aka Braveheart (and learn how he was in no fit state to shout “Freeeedoooommmm!” whilst being executed!)
On our walking tour we’ll visit the areas around Smithfield, for centuries London’s site of both…
Travel through a thousand years of history, meeting medieval knights, body snatchers, Charles Dickens, an eighteenth century ghost, and William Wallace - aka Braveheart (and learn how he was in no fit state to shout “Freeeedoooommmm!” whilst being executed!)
On our walking tour we’ll visit the areas around Smithfield, for centuries London’s site of both animal and human slaughter. We’ll learn about how the city disposed of the tens of thousands of Black Death corpses in the fourteenth century, the execution methods used in the Middle Ages, and how the area became a notorious slum which Dickens used as the setting for Oliver Twist.
The walking tour begins outside Barbican Station, ends near to Farringdon Station, and will take around two hours. Total distance is about two miles.
Ticket sales will be limited to fifteen attendees, to ensure maximum enjoyment for everybody on the tour.
Location
Barbican
Aldersgate Street
We meet outside Barbican Station exit. Please aim to arrive five minutes early as the tour will start on time. If you aren't able to make the tour or you will be late, please message me on +44 7783 401 129 so that I know whether to send you our live location on WhatsApp.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(248 Ratings)
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J8337nkrobertw
Jun 14, 2025
Great insight into the past - Very interesting the guide was very knowledgeable about the area and open to questions and the weather was perfect no rain or fog
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chezza1868
Jun 7, 2025
Fascinating, informative & entertaining - Incredibly interesting, informative and entertaining. It did not feel like we had been walking for 2 hours (it felt a lot less than that). Tom was extremely knowledgeable and wove his way around the streets and back alleys of London with ease. We gleaned many nuggets of information that would otherwise have gone unnoticed had these not have been pointed out and explained to us. The highlights included seeing London's Oldest House which still stands today, a tour of the inside of the chuch of St. Bartholomew the Great, learning about the many layers of corpses underfoot in the concrete recreational areas, the hauntings at St. Bart's Hospital, St. John's Gate (built in 1504) and the colourful but gruesome history of Smithfield with the various past executions that took place there in the form of human Burnings, Hangings, Disembowellment, etc. I would highly recommend this tour with Tom!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P2328zgjuliek
May 29, 2025
Walking tour of London bloody past. - The tour was brilliant Tom was informative funny and polite . His knowledge was remarkable a great story teller. Will definitely recommend and hopefully go on another of his tours soon..
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Louisecx730ly
May 25, 2025
An excellent tour... - This was a great couple of hours wandering around the back streets of London with the wonderful Tom enlightening us to the history of the underbelly of the city. His friendly & jovial manner really made the history come alive. So glad we did this tour & would highly recommend 👌
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Onair37870807681
May 16, 2025
Great guide! - Tom was a great guide, lots of interesting stories and history of London’s past and present. We went to parts of the city that I have walked past and never noticed before! Highly recommended and we would do one of Tom’s tours again. Lovely small groups.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Leah_a
May 2, 2025
Great tour, highly recommended - Great tour. Tour guide was very informative (Tom) snd took us to some great places hidden amongst London streets. Well worth the cost
Review provided by Viator
Shaunlc66
Apr 4, 2025
Enjoyable and informative - A really informative small group tour allowing personal interaction with Tom, who was knowledgeable and able to answer questions from the group. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour, it was well paced, felt personal, and had some humour thrown in.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tjards
Apr 3, 2025
Engaging Tour of the City of London’s History, Buildings, and Famous Figures - The guide offers an engaging mix of historical facts and legends, visits to ancient buildings and places, and points out locations where well-known films and TV series have been filmed. In addition, he shares a wealth of information about historical events and famous figures, quoting works by Dickens and Shakespeare to vividly bring past scenes to life. All of this is laced with a generous dose of British humor. An absolute must-do!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Birthdaygit
Mar 18, 2025
Kindness and customer service - We have not been on the tour yet, this review is about superb customer service at a difficult time for us. Our daughter bought my husband a voucher for a tour taking place on 22 March, but unfortunately a few weeks before we were due to go, he was booked for an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his kidney. I contacted Historic London and asked whether we could exchange the voucher for a different tour two days earlier on 20 March, which they did for us. Then on 18 March we had a call from the hospital bringing the operation forward to 19 March, meaning we couldn’t make the new date either. I messaged the company again, this time explaining why we needed to change things again, and they responded so kindly, expressing their sympathy and sending a voucher to cover the cost of a future booking. I thought it was a lovely thing for them to do and they deserve the credit for it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
548nickif
Mar 17, 2025
Do it if you want to learn about London and have fun at the same time. - Excellent tour thank you. This was our second tour with Tom and, as before, was really good. He kept us and the story moving on but at no point was it rushed and there was lots of time fif questions and just general chat. If you want a fun, interesting and informative tour of a part of London literally steeped in hundreds of years of history, then this is one for you! We will be back for another tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
