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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Cesspools, latrines and drains: sanitation in London 1400-1650
Course Date: Wed 17 Jul 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetHow did Londoners access clean water and dispose of waste? How many public toilets were there before 1500? Explore the history of drains, sewage and latrines in pre-modern London.Full fee: £39.00Senior fee: £31.00Concession: £17.00 -
The Old Father-River: the poetry of the Thames from 1500 to the present day
Course Date: Sat 20 Jul 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetBeginning with an idealised, semi-pastoral Thames, the course progresses via satirical 18th. Century evocations to the complex responses of Romantic and Modern poets, concluding with a meditation commissioned for the inauguration of the Millennium Bridge.Full fee: £49.00Senior fee: £39.00Concession: £22.00 -
Constable's Hampstead
Course Date: Sun 28 Jul 2019
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteDiscover where Constable lived, the houses and landscapes he painted, as well as his family tomb. This talk is illustrated with pictures and quotes from his letters about his art and feelings for Hampstead.
Starts outside Hampstead tube (High Street entrance) and ends in Hampstead Churchyard (a short distance from the tube). It includes a short amount of walking on the Heath. Starts outside Hampstead tube (High Street entrance) and ends in Hampstead Churchyard (a short distance from the tube). The course will include a short amount of walking on the Heath.Full fee: £19.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £8.00 -
London at war
Course Date: Tue 10 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley Street
London has been shaped by war, conflict and unrest. It's buildings, monuments and even street names reflect our embattled past. These walks examine London's wartime legacy from mediaeval fortifications to the War on Terror.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson. First session will be a lecture at the City Lit.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson.Full fee: £159.00Senior fee: £127.00Concession: £70.00 -
In the footsteps of London's rebels
Course Date: Tue 10 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore London's places of protest and discover the stories of radicals, agitators and campaigners who fought for social justice, equal rights and better lives for all from the 1830s to the 1930s. The initial lecture will be held at City Lit followed by 10 walks. The final session will be held at City Lit.Full fee: £209.00Senior fee: £167.00Concession: £92.00 -
The City of London: the square mile
Course Date: Wed 11 Sep 2019 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the City’s development from Roman and medieval times through to the Tudors and Stuarts. Initial lecture at City Lit. Entrance fees not included.
London guide: Paul Sinclair. Initial lecture at City Lit. Entrance fees not included
London guide: Paul Sinclair.Full fee: £209.00Senior fee: £167.00Concession: £92.00 -
City of words: London's literary landscape
Course Date: Thu 12 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetLondon has been muse, magnet and mecca to writers for 400 years, home to Shakespeare's successes, Dickens' dramas and Wilde's witticisms. After an introductory lecture we walk a different London neighbourhood each week exploring its literary connections. Initial lecture is at the at City Lit. This is followed by 8 walks.Full fee: £159.00Senior fee: £127.00Concession: £70.00 -
The men who built London
Course Date: Thu 12 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetLondon was shaped by its architects, engineers, bricklayers, navies etc. Our lecture and walks examine London’s buildings and the men (and women) who worked throughout history to create this eclectic and wonderful city.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson. First session at City Lit, Keeley Street.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson.Full fee: £159.00Senior fee: £127.00Concession: £70.00 -
London: 1945-1965
Course Date: Tue 17 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExplore the rebuilding of post war London through and the impact the creation of the Welfare State had on Londoners.Full fee: £179.00Senior fee: £143.00Concession: £79.00 -
London society and space : from the Gordon Riots to fin de siecle
Course Date: Tue 17 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExamining London’s social history and built environment, from the destruction and chaos of the 1780 Gordon Riots to the dark, dangerous glamour and political turbulence of the 1890s.
There will be one field-walk lasting approximately 2 hours on Saturday 12 October, meeting at 11am in Lower Regent Street (under the Duke of York column, Waterloo Place).Full fee: £139.00Senior fee: £139.00Concession: £61.00 -
Tudor London
Course Date: Fri 20 Sep 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetBetween 1500 and 1600, London was transformed from a medieval city to an international trading centre. The population quadrupled resulting in overcrowding, poor sanitation, disease and crime. There will be a London walk around Southwark.Full fee: £219.00Senior fee: £175.00Concession: £96.00 -
Unlocking London's boroughs: inside Islington
Course Date: Thu 3 Oct 2019
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteBehind the busy road and river arteries of Islington lie a series of squares and quiet backstreets. This series of four walking tours will uncover the secrets of Highbury Fields complete with its inky and football links, the watery and entertainment background of The Angel, artistic and literary Canonbury and the tranquil and graceful squares of Barnsbury
First meeting 3 Oct 2019 - Angel - Meet outside Angel tube
London guide: Rachel Kolsky. First meeting 3 Oct 2019 - Angel - Meet outside Angel tube
London guide: Rachel Kolsky.Full fee: £79.00Senior fee: £63.00Concession: £35.00 -
In the footsteps of Fred Uhlman: art and refugees in Hampstead
Course Date: Sun 6 Oct 2019
Location on this date: OS - Off SiteFred Uhlman was a refugee lawyer turned artist who settled with his English wife, Diana, in Hampstead in 1938. Here they formed the artist refugee committee to rescue artists trapped in Czechoslovakia and their house became a refuge for artists. We discover the organisations that he was involved in; visit sites he was known to frequent; and consider other refugees who settled in Hampstead in the advent to the Second World War.
It starts at Hampstead Tube Station and ends near Belsize Park tube station.
London guide: Marilyn Greene. It starts at Hampstead Tube Station and ends near Belsize Park tube station.
London guide: Marilyne Greene.Full fee: £19.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £10.00 -
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 -
London society and space: from World War One to Brexit
Course Date: Tue 29 Oct 2019
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetExamining London’s social history and built environment, from the upheavals of the ‘Great War’ to our present-day attempts to (re)define ourselves, as exit from the European Union looms.
There will be a field-walk in the East End of London, lasting approximately 2 hours. We will meet at 11am at Liverpool Street Station on Saturday 16 November.Full fee: £139.00Senior fee: £139.00Concession: £61.00
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