This is a great find – very little neolithic pottery has been found in or near the City so this fills in a blank. It still doesn’t give us enough information to write authoritatively about the City before the Romans, but its a significant step forward.
Myths, Legends and the Origins of London
Myths, Legends and the Origins of London
2.30 Sat 2 May 2020 Tower Hill Tube (meet by the Tower Hill Tram)
Please check that the walks have not been cancelled.
The Head of Bran by John Everett Millais
The walk is led by Kevin Flude, a former archaeologist at the Museum of London, and it looks at the archaeological evidence for the origins of London and reconsiders London’s myths and legends.
London has a rich set of origin myths and legends which are not as well known as they should be. This walk is designed to set that right and give an insight into London’s myths and legends.
Worth knowing for their own right do these origin myths have anything to say about the actual origins of London? This is what this walk explores. It is split into two halves – the first reveals the myths and the second finds out where the ‘truth’ of the origins of London may lie.
This is a London Walks Guided Walks. Look at their web site for a list of other of their amazing walks
Southwark & Bankside Pub Tour. London Bridge Tube, 7.15 22nd Feb Tooley St Exit
Southwark & Bankside Pub Tour.
London Bridge Tube, 7.15 22nd Feb Tooley St Exit
Southwark has a unique historic and literary heritage and an authentic historic ambiance, with beautiful views of the Thames and the City of London. Plus some of London’s most famous Pubs!
Historic Southwark is chock-full of famous people, and we encounter traces of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dickens as we explore the history of London’s most famous suburb. Its location at the south end of London Bridge made it a key strategic and commercial site. This was where the great Medieval Inns were located, and from where Chaucer’s pilgrimage set off for Canterbury. Its independence from the City made it a haven for ‘undesirable’ elements and it became the home of the Medieval Stews (Brothels), and also the home of the Shakespearean Stage. On the walk we explore the sites of the Globe, the Rose, the Swan and the Bull and Bear Baiting Pits and Shakespeare’s role in the area. By the Victorian period its nature had changed completely into an industrial centre, home of notorious slums, of debtors prisons, and of charitable hospitals. It became one of the main inspirations for Dickens London fiction whose father was imprisoned here for debt when Dickens was a young boy. It was at the White Hart that Dickens introduced Sam Weller into the flagging story of the Pickwick Sporting Club – the character who saved Dickens literary career.
This is a London Walks Guided Walk by Kevin Flude
Bermondsey – Archaeology & History. 2.30 Feb 22
Bermondsey – Archaeology & History. 2.30 Feb 22 2020
Bermondsey Tube
Bermondsey has a fascinating history which can be traced back to important prehistoric discoveries. It was home to one of Britain’s leading Monasteries, and was, for a time, fashionable. But as London swallowed it up, it became a very polluted and over-crowded industrial area. It was an important part of Britain’s economy and saw the invention of the tin can. It also housed the largest hat making and leather working factories in the world. Of course it attracted the attention of Dickens and it is here that the devilish Bill Sykes met his end.
Although parts of Bermondsey have become fashionable again much of its heritage and charm remain intact which will make a pleasant afternoon stroll.
This is a London Walks Guided Walk by Kevin Flude
Bishopsgate Ward Walk. 2nd Feb 20 10.45.
Bishopsgate Ward Walk. 2nd Feb 20 10.45.
Liverpool St Tube. Bishopsgate Exit. Top of Escalator
The next in a series of occasional Ward Walks. This is a chance to explore a small area of the historic City of London in detail. The area in question Bishopsgate is split into 2 parts – Within Bishopsgate and Without the gate. This means that the Ward covers two of the most fascinating areas of the City of London – from the Gate to Leadenhall Street, and outside the Gate to the border of Shoreditch. The extramural section was an area of monastic settlements, burial grounds, grand housing, and on the periphery slums. Inside the Gate were prime business locations, important markets and Parish Churches. Along the way we will look at the archaeological discoveries and the historic and literary associations of the area, including local resident William Shakespeare.
This is a London Walks Walk by Kevin Flude
Tower to Rotherhithe Riverside Walk. Feb 1st 2.30
Tower to Rotherhithe Riverside Walk.
Tower Hill Tube. Feb 1 2020 2.30
This is a lovely walk along the River Thames from Tower Bridge to Rotherhithe Tube Station. We walk in the City, Southwark, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, through areas famous for Dickens. lived in by Gulliver, painted by Turner and Whistler, and we end where the Mayflower began its journey to the New World.
We will see great views of the River and its architecture and look at the history of the River Thames from the Roman period to the 21st Century. We will be. exploring old warehouses, old palaces, former tea gardens, churches, council estate and infamous areas of slums which are now much prized housing areas.
This is a London Walks Walk by Kevin Flude
Romans in London 2.30pm Monument Underground Sun 26th January 2020
Romans in London
2.30pm Monument Underground Sun 26th January 2020
This walk will investigate the ground breaking archaeological discoveries of Roman London. We will also try to reconstruct life in a provincial Roman Capital using archaeological and literary sources.
We begin at the site of the Roman Bridge, and then explore Roman Government as we walk towards the Roman Town Hall. We then walk to the site of the excavation called ‘the Pompeii of the North’. and the Temple of Mithras. We finish with a walk along the Roman High Street to end at the site of the Roman Amphitheatre.
This is a London Walks Walk by Kevin Flude
Blackfriars to Fleet St. Pub Tour. Jan 25th 7.15 Blackfriars Tube
Blackfriars to Fleet St. Pub Tour.
Jan 25th 7.15 Blackfriars Tube
We take a slice of London’s history as we explore the banks of the River Fleet. On the East Bank, the Roman Wall and Blackfriars Monastery in the shadow of St Pauls. On the West Bank, Fleet Street and Legal London. To reflect on our discoveries we stop in some of London most historic and beautiful pubs.
Our timespan will stretch from the Romans to the Present day, and we will discover Palaces, Monasteries, Roman Temples, and visit the home of Katherine of Aragon; the Street of Shame, the best modernist building in the City, and Wren’s best Spire. A feast of topography, history, architecture and literature not to mention the best pubs!
This is a London Walks guided walk given by Kevin Flude
Today’s word of the Day: ‘therianthropes’ –
‘Part human, part animal forms imagined in myth.’
See them in the Oldest Cave Paintings in the world recently discovered.
Myths, Legends & the Origins of London. Tower Hill Tube 5th Jan 2019
Myths, Legends & the Origins of London. 
Jan 5 2019 10.45
Tower Hill Tube (meet by the Tower Hill Tram |
London like Rome has its myths of origins, and its legends of Gods, giants and super-heros. They are mostly derided by modern archaeologists. But is there any truth in them or are they just really interesting stories?
This walk, led by Kevin Flude, a former archaeologist at the Museum of London looks at the archaeological evidence of the origins of London and reconsiders London’s myths and legends.