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:
- The City of London: the Square MileCourse start date: Wed 25 Oct 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Paul SinclairExplore the City’s development from Roman and medieval times through to the Tudors and Stuarts.
This course will comprise of 8 walks starting with Roman London. First meeting place at Monument station on the Monument side.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - The London of Bram Stoker and DraculaCourse start date: Tue 31 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Diane BursteinAlthough born in Ireland, Bram Stoker came to London to work with the great Actor Manager Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre and spent the rest of his life here. While working at the Lyceum he published his most famous and enduring novel “Dracula” in 1897. This virtual tour takes us to the London locations of that novel so we cover a wide range of ground from Hendon to Hampstead and Piccadilly to Pimlico tracing the footsteps of the fictional vampire and his creator. Learn about the places Stoker visited, the people he knew, the library where he researched and the history of the book on stage and screen.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Jews in London from the 1650s to the 1950s: a closer lookCourse start date: Tue 9 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David RosenbergThis course will provide an exploration of 300 years of Jewish life, culture and history in London from the small scale resettlement in the 1650s through to the 1950s when the borough of Hackney was home to London’s largest and most diverse Jewish community.Full fee £229.00 - London 1919-1939Course start date: Tue 9 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mike BerlinExplore in this interactive lecture course how did the 'Roaring 20s' and the Great Depression impact on London? What was the social and economic experience of Londoners as suburbs grew and modern buildings arrived, along with political and financial uncertainty? - Transports of delight: London's railway stationsCourse start date: Tue 9 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonLondon's stations see over 1 billion journeys annually, but the buildings themselves are often ignored. Explore a different station and environs each week, discovering the architecture, history, stories and future of these lifelines of London. The course starts with an initial zoom lecture followed by a series of walking tours.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - South Bank and the Festival of BritainCourse start date: Tue 9 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Diane BursteinOn this virtual tour we go back to 1951 when the Festival of Britain took Londoners out of post war austerity to marvel at the latest innovations in art, design, industry and technology at a festival to celebrate the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Find out how this event was a catalyst for the regeneration of the entire South Bank which is today famous for its arts centre. We trace the surviving remnants of the festival including a mural by artist Topolski, two sculptures and the recently restored Royal Festival Hall. We view the post festival arts centres such as the National Theatre and finish with a great riverside panoramic view from the Oxo Tower.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - The Stalin Regime: 1928-1941Course start date: Wed 10 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Nick MorganThis is an introduction to the history of the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1941. Students will learn about key events during the Stalin years and how historians approach them. - City of words: further adventuresCourse start date: Thu 11 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonLondon 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 at Green Park tube station, street level, Piccadilly South side.
London guide: Eleanor Jackson. - The making of Norman LondonCourse start date: Wed 17 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldThe course covers Norman history of London from 1050 to 1200, in the context of the wider history of England, drawing upon written sources, archaeological evidence, art and selected artefacts to understand the London’s development.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - London's quartiersCourse start date: Fri 19 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Sue JacksonThrough 1 lecture and 7 guided 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. The first session will be delivered via Zoom and other sessions will be guided walks.
London guide: Sue Jackson.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - From markets to malls: the history of shopping in LondonCourse start date: Tue 6 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Diane BursteinFrom the City markets and shops of Cheapside (Medieval London’s Oxford Street) we move via the historic specialist shops of St James’s to the grand department stores and London markets. Discover how Londoners changed their shopping habits through the years and learn about the history of some of our most famous stores. A shop founded by a royal footman, a 17th century hatter, the department store owner who went to jail for expanding his business and the store which was the scene of its owner’s murder all feature.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Diverse DocklandsCourse start date: Tue 6 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Rachel KolskyExplore the ever-changing face of east London through four different dockland neighbourhoods: Canary Wharf, Limehouse, Shadwell and Isle of Dogs.
Meeting Place - first walk only
Dockers to Wharfers: Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf, Elizabeth Line station, Canada Place exit.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - From the 1880s to the 1930s: how the new East End was bornCourse start date: Tue 23 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: David RosenbergIn an area branded 'the hell of poverty', libraries, theatres, art galleries and social housing were established. Workers went on strike and activists campaigned for better lives. Discover this history by taking actual, guided walks through six tumultuous decades of change. The first session is in the classroom at Keeley Street but all other sessions are guided walks. Full details of the meeting places for each walk will be given at the 1st session. 6 guided walks with 2 Zoom sessions.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - London 1939-1945Course start date: Tue 23 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mike BerlinExplore in this interactive lecture course how Londoners faced many challenges: bombing, fires, destruction, caring for the vulnerable while also dealing with work, rationing and blackouts. How did Londoners experience these things, and with what legacy?Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Stories of LondonCourse start date: Wed 1 May 2024
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonExplore London’s rich history in a series of guided walks. Each week we examine a different neighbourhood & era from the capital’s past. We look at its people, both rich and poor, & the events that shaped the city.
Initial lecture via Zoom followed by 6 guided walks.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
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