London History Walks & Courses
From its Bronze Age beginnings to capital status, London has witnessed growth and destruction throughout its long history. Join us for lively classroom and online discussions as well as our 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:
- Archaeology of SouthwarkCourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jill HummerstoneOn this course we will explore some of the many exciting archaeological discoveries in the London Borough of Southwark: a borough full of great history and of strategic importance.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Dickens' LondonCourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Molly Rumbelow'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 £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - The lost town of Lundenwic: mid-Saxon London 600-900 CECourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stuart BrookesLook at the least known episodes in London's history, Lundenwic (AD 600-900) and Lundenburh (AD 900-1000).
Includes an introductory lecture and a guided walk.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Crime and Punishment in Old LondonCourse start date: Mon 12 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Diane BursteinTake a guided walk through the old City and its borders taking in beheadings and brutality at the Tower, tales of cutpurses and con men, the rise of prisons and the ghastly punishments that were meted out to wrongdoers. We go on a journey to Newgate Gaol, the Bridewell Prison and the places of execution including the notorious Tyburn Tree to hear tales of brutality, escapes and the bloodthirsty crowds who watched executions. Our tour includes London’s atmospheric legal quarter taking in the Old Bailey, The Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court to discover how London’s legal system developed .
Meet outside St Paul’s Cathedral by the Statue of Queen Anne.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £10.00 - London's East End in fact and fictionCourse start date: Sat 17 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WiseCovering the early 19th century to the early 20th century, we will examine the history of the East End, and we will analyse how it was portrayed in works of fiction.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Palaces, woods and trains: Tracks through the Northern HeightsCourse start date: Sun 18 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneThis tour starts at Modernist East Finchley Station and looks briefly as some of the buildings including the historic Phoenix cinema in the Hight Street before walking through parks and woodland towards Edwardian Muswell Hill Broadway on our way to Alexandra Palace. After taking in the amazing views of London, we return via the track of the former train line taken out of service in 1954 and Highgate Woods to Highgate tube and former deserted over-ground station.
Walk meets outside East Finchley Station, High Street exit ends Highgate Station. Walk meets outside East Finchley Station, High Street exit ends Highgate Station.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Further village LondonCourse start date: Wed 21 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Paul Sinclair
A further five walks around London's former villages - Hampstead, Highgate, Archway, Fitzrovia and Soho.
Why did these areas grow up as villages and how did they become swallowed up by the city of London?
First meeting place: Hampstead, meet at Hampstead tube.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £55.00 - Medieval London 1000-1350: the archaeology of a capital cityCourse start date: Sat 8 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Stuart BrookesThis one day course looks at a period that fundamentally shaped London as a city, from the laying out of a new town within the old Roman city wall to the rapid growth of the 11—13th centuries.
Includes an introductory lecture and guided walk.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Art Deco London walkCourse start date: Thu 22 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Diane BursteinTravel back to the 1930s to explore the Art Deco style that influenced a variety of designs, from radios and cutlery to places related to travel, entertainment and commerce. In addition to looking at the architecture of the period, your guide will tell stories of life in London from the time these buildings were being erected.
Meeting outside St James’s Park tube station (Broadway exit) and finishing at the coach station. Meeting outside St James’s Park tube station (Broadway exit) and finishing at the coach station.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £10.00
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