London History Courses & Guided Walks
From its Bronze Age beginnings to capital status, London has witnessed growth and destruction throughout its long history. Join us for lively classroom discussions and popular walks around the city and discover who and what has left their mark on the city.
Watch City Lit tutor Eleanor Jackson explore some of London's secret spaces:
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Crime and punishment in Hampstead from the 17th century to the present day
Course Date: Sun 20 Oct 2019
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteOver the centuries Hampstead and Hampstead Heath have witnessed many dramatic and horrifying events. From highway men and hangings, to murders, executions and fatal accidents, this walk explores some of the stories of people involved in horrible happenings in Hampstead as well as some of the places set up for policing law and order. We start at Hampstead Tube Station and finish by Hampstead Heath Over-ground Station.
London guide: Marilyne Greene. We start at Hampstead Tube Station and finish by Hampstead Heath Over-ground Station.
London guide: Marilyne Greene.Full fee: £19.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £10.00 -
Dickens' London
Course Date: Sat 23 Nov 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley Street'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Enjoy this introduction to Dickens' work and the London of his time. Morning lecture at City Lit followed by a walk in the area of the city connected to his work.Full fee: £59.00Senior fee: £47.00Concession: £26.00 -
Londinium: a tale of two cities (Roman London 47-457 CE)
Course Date: Sat 23 Nov 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetA look at the spectacular rise and fall of Londinium from c. AD 47 to its abandonment in c. AD 457. Includes an introductory lecture, a museum visit and a guided city walk.Full fee: £69.00Senior fee: £55.00Concession: £30.00 -
The City of London: the Square Mile
Course Date: Wed 8 Jan 2020 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the City of London after the Great Fire of 1666. Discover how London recovered from one of the great disasters and became a centre of commerce and the heart of a great empire. We follow in the steps of some of its best known characters like Doctor Johnson and Samuel Pepys and some lesser known including William Lilley and Thomas Chatterton.
London guide: Paul Sinclair. The course follows on from the HLW06 The City of London; the square mile, but new students are welcome.
The first meeting point will be Chancery Lane tube, outside number 150 High Holborn.
London guide:Paul Sinclair.Full fee: £159.00Senior fee: £127.00Concession: £70.00 -
City of words: further adventures
Course Date: Thu 9 Jan 2020
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteLondon luxuriates in literary references. We follow the footsteps of the authors, poets and playwrights, and some of
their creations, as we walk a brand new neighbourhood each week, exploring the literary connections.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson. First meeting point (10/1/19) at Green Park tube station, street level, Piccadilly South side.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson.Full fee: £129.00Senior fee: £103.00Concession: £57.00 -
London's quartiers
Course Date: Fri 10 Jan 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetThrough one introductory session and seven walks, explore some of London’s quartiers – Soho, Mayfair, Covent Garden, Spitalfields, Clerkenwell, St James and Bloomsbury and understand how their very distinct characters were formed. Entrance fees not included. Initial lecture held at City Lit.
London guide: Sue Jackson In. Initail lecture at the City Lit.
London guide: Sue Jackson.Full fee: £149.00Senior fee: £119.00Concession: £66.00 -
Archaeology of London
Course Date: Mon 13 Jan 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the archaeology and history of London through its cultural monuments, topography and material remains to more fully appreciate the rich archaeological evidence of the capital.
Tutor: Jill Hummerstone. Tutor :Jill Hummerstone.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £88.00 -
Unreal city: the history of London through literature from 1800 to today
Course Date: Tue 14 Jan 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetFiction writers are often the first to identify and analyse a social phenomenon. We will examine two centuries of London history through the eyes of novelists and poets, from William Blake to Zadie Smith.Full fee: £119.00Senior fee: £95.00Concession: £52.00 -
London: the late 1960s and 1970s
Course Date: Tue 14 Jan 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the effervescent and tempestuous decades of the 1960s and 1970s, when the hopes and
aspirations of the post war generation ran up against the harsh realities of London’s declining status as an imperial
metropole.Full fee: £179.00Senior fee: £143.00Concession: £79.00 -
Early London: an introduction to the primary sources
Course Date: Wed 15 Jan 2020
Location on this date: International HouseHow do we study London’s past? This course will introduce the methods and tools of historical analysis: what different types of primary source exist, and what research skills are required to make sense of them?Full fee: £159.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £70.00 -
Plagues of London: 1348-1665
Course Date: Fri 17 Jan 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the impact of plague on London during the years 1348-1665. By the seventeenth century we can read eye-
witness accounts but medicine was no nearer to a cure.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £88.00 -
Riverside London
Course Date: Sat 18 Jan 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore some contrasting riverside districts from East To West. Former docks, industrial archaeology, beautiful 18th century terraces of houses, rowing clubs, breathtaking views, historic pubs and churches, luxury penthouses, parks and gardens all feature. Places visited include Richmond, Putney, Wapping, Limehouse, Barnes, Chiswick, Lambeth, The City and Battersea.
London guide: Diane Burstein. There will be an initial classroom lecture followed by a series of walking tours.
London guide: Diane Burstein.Full fee: £179.00Senior fee: £143.00Concession: £90.00 -
London regeneration: history, politics and architecture
Course Date: Sat 21 Mar 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the reconstruction of London after WWII, the decline of its infrastructure, population and economy in the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of a truly global city by the end of the century.Full fee: £59.00Senior fee: £47.00Concession: £30.00 -
Rescue Revealed Restored: the blitz and preserving History (city tour)
Course Date: Sat 28 Mar 2020
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteThis walks covers an area devastated in the Blitz explaining what happened in 1940/41, the efforts to rescue St Paul's, the Roman remains that were revealed as well as post war restoration and rebuilding of historic buildings. Meeting place Moorgate tube station outside Café Nero. Will finish at the Guildhall.
London guide: Marilyn Greene. Meeting place Moorgate tube station outside Café Nero. Will finish at the Guildhall.
London guide: Marilyn Greene.Full fee: £19.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £10.00 -
Alleys and lanes of Hampstead
Course Date: Sun 19 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteExperience the intricate network of alleys and lanes in the heart of old Hampstead and see how Hampstead developed from a fashionable spa in the 18th century to a thriving village with social amenities. Starts and finishes outside Hampstead tube Station (High Street entrance). Starts and finishes outside Hampstead tube Station (High Street entrance).Full fee: £19.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £10.00
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