Welcome to our newsletter for May 2025, with walks for the coming months that explore the history of the borough, starting with:
Discovering the hidden gems of Hatton Garden
This fascinating area, located on the West bank of the now subterranean River Fleet, is home to so much more than gold and diamonds.
Once the site of medieval monasteries and noble estates, it later became the heart of the London Jewish diamond trade. The Italian community made this area their home in the 19th century, leaving an indelible mark on its streets.
From long forgotten palaces to ancient churches, from terrible poverty to beautiful jewellery, come and meet the characters, both real and fictional, criminal and charitable, who have made this unique and fascinating part of London their home.
If you are a lover of London’s hidden gems- both literal and figurative – this walking tour is for you!
This walk takes place on the 8th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
The Garretts of Gower Street
Doctor, decorator, prisoner, politician, militant suffragette and mathematical genius. Join Sue in Bloomsbury to explore the life and legacy of the extraordinary women of the Garrett family.
Millicent led the non-violent suffragists, Elizabeth was the first woman to qualify in England as a doctor, Louisa ran a military hospital in WW1, Agnes and Rhoda established a top interior design company, Fanny was a landscape gardener, Philippa a brilliant mathematician and Amy set up a progressive school.
See the places they lived and worked and the legacy they left behind.
This walk takes place on the 16th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
Historic Holborn
The River Fleet from King’s Cross to Farringdon
This walk traces the route of the now-subterranean River Fleet, which also marks the border between today’s Camden and Islington boroughs. ‘Beating the Bounds’ around the borders between parishes, land ownerships and similar is an ancient tradition, where the boundary was literally paced out and marked with stones each year. Our route also explores nearby signs of previous boundaries of parishes, vestries, water conduits and historic landowners.
Along the way, we’ll see varied architecture from pretty Georgian and Victorian terraces to old burial grounds, narrow passages that were once slums and restored industrial buildings; see if we can spot historic boundary markers; meet mediaeval monks, Tudor and Victorian philanthropists, a dynasty of 19C architects and builders; and hear of lost wells and pleasure gardens.
Secrets of St. Giles: a walk through London’s infamous past
Join Elena to discover the fascinating history of St. Giles.
We will delve into the darker chapters of London’s past as we uncover the secrets of this infamous neighbourhood.
We will wander through the alleys where tales of poverty and crime once echoed (Dickens will get a mention or two, of course…) and discover the remnants of centuries-old buildings that bear witness to St Giles’ tumultuous history.
As we wind our way from the ancient church built on the site of a leper colony to the site of the infamous rookeries and gallows, now replaced by some of the most striking modern architecture in London, we’ll talk music, pubs, executions and developers’ greed. There is something for everyone!
This walk takes place on the 15th of June and can be booked by clicking here.
Steam engines to search engines: a guided walk in King’s Cross
200 years ago King’s Cross was a rather desolate place, marked by brick kilns, rubbish heaps and slums. The arrival of the railways changed the area forever: join Elena’s walk to discover the traces of King’s Cross past – pioneering stations, model dwellings, splendid hotels and many historic building and structures which have been beautifully reimagined and repurposed for 21st century living. Today, King’s Cross is hailed as one of the great success stories of urban regeneration. Come and discover why!
This walk takes place on the 19th of June and can be booked by clicking here.
Cold Comfort Farm in Highgate
Discover the life of Stella Gibbons, who published over 20 novels as well as Cold Comfort Farm, her first novel, which achieved widespread success and is a satiric classic. She lived on the Holly Lodge Estate, Highgate, which had been built on land once owned by Angela Burdett-Coutt. John Betjeman and J.B. Priestley lived nearby, both of whom wrote about single professional women making their own way, often in flats like those on Holly Lodge Estate- described as Tudor towers visible on the Highgate landscape.
This walk takes place on the 21st of June and can be booked by clicking here.
Our next newsletter will be on the first Saturday of June, and we will be continuing the Camden at 60 series of blog posts on Sunday mornings during May.