Historical Walking Tour: Exploring Smithfield's Deathly Past in 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!

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….
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
    -…
What's Not Included
  • 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…

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.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(227 Ratings)
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Soraya_p
Nov 21, 2024
Excellent Tour 👍👍👍👍👍 - Tom was an exceptional guide. The tour was full of interesting information that was filled with intrigue, history - as well as snippets of information, as we passed filming locations. It was fascinating to hear the history of the Markets, bomb attacks during the blitz, Charterhouse, St. John Ambulance origins, William Wallace & heaps more riveting facts. Wow! The time flew by & it was truly a wonderful tour. I would reccomend this to anyone who has an interest in London history - totally mesmerising. It is amazing what you will discover 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Review provided by Viator
46jackiep
Nov 20, 2024
A definite must! - Tom was an exceptional guide. The tour was full of interesting information that was filled with intrigue, history - as well as snippets of information, as we passed filming locations. It was fascinating to hear the history of the Markets, bomb attacks during the blitz, Charterhouse, St. John Ambulance origins, William Wallace, historic houses & churches - & heaps more riveting facts. Wow! The time flew by & it was truly a wonderful tour. I would reccomend this to anyone who has an interest in London history - totally mesmerising! It is amazing what you will discover 👍👍👍👍👍
Review provided by Tripadvisor
226jaynee
Nov 5, 2024
Excellent - Out two hour tour was fascinating and entertaining. It was very well structured and presented and our guide knew his history and is an excellent story teller.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jokespoke
Oct 27, 2024
Very interesting and good guide! - Tom is an enthusiastic guide with a lot of knowledge about this area. The area is not large but with so much history that it is easy to fill 1.5 hours. Great!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adrianbi7567uh
Oct 13, 2024
Great Guide - Our tour guide Tom was extremely knowledgeable, affable and likeable. I would thoroughly recommend this tour (apart from the rain). Which Tom said he couldn’t control….
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jenelle_l
Oct 12, 2024
Very interesting tour! - Tom was a lovely guide who was knowledgeable, approachable, and fun to listen to. We got to explore a part of London we had never seen before and learn a lot of interesting history. All of the stories were new to us and didn’t rehash Jack the Ripper as so many tours do.
Review provided by Viator
Tour03660159026
Oct 10, 2024
Excellent Tour for anyone visiting London - The tour was taken at a comfortable pace making it interesting without bombarding us with too many facts. Tom was entertaining, very knowledgeable and he made history fun. Would definitely recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T4250izkathyl
Oct 10, 2024
Fun and Interesting. - Tom is a great tour guide, very knowledgable and fun. There were so many interesting places and facts on the tour. It was definitely bloody but Tom also shared lots of literature history and monarchy history. Definitely recommended!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shanec528
Sep 22, 2024
A tour for those looking for something different and interesting - Tom was an excellent tour leader, knowledgeable, informative, with a sense of humour and a great voice that was easily heard amongst London’s noise. We visited some interesting sights and learnt some new things about London’s varied history. Highly recommended if you are looking for something a bit different and interesting off the usual tourist trails.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alibagain
Nov 25, 2024
Interesting 2 hour tour - A great way to get to know more about this part of London. Very polished. We were lucky with the weather too, which helped!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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