This virtual walk is about the amazing archaeological discoveries of Roman London, and an attempt to bring to life through archaeology and Roman literary sources what it was like to live in a provincial Roman Capital..
We begin with a walk around the circuit of the City Walls, and walk to the River to discuss the origin of the London Bridge before striking inland to explore Roman Government on the site of the Roman Town Hall or Forum. We walk to what has been called the ‘the Pompeii of the North’., past the Temple of Mithras, along the main Roman way to the Bath House & Amphitheatre before ending in the shadow of St Pauls.
Painting of the Roman Forum of London from the air
This is my schedule of Virtual Walks. One every Sunday at 6pm.
The Programme is:
Sunday 25th October 2020 The Archaeology and Culture of Roman London Virtual Walk. For more details click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Sunday 1st November 2020 The Decline and Fall of Dark Age London Archaeology Virtual Walk. For more details click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Sunday 8th November 2020 The Rebirth of Saxon London Archaeology Virtual Walk For more details click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Sunday 22nd November 2020 Flower of Cities All – Medieval London History & Archaeology Virtual Walk For more details click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Sunday 29th November 2020. The London of Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell Virtual Walk For more details click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Sunday 6th December 2020 The Financial City from Slavery to Hedge Fund Virtual Walk For more details click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Sunday 13 th December 2020 Myths, Legends and the Origins of London Archaeology Virtual Walk . For more details of this walk click here. To buy Tickets click here:
Bookings will be via Eventbrite and London Walks and links will be posted here.
This virtual walk is led by Kevin Flude, a former archaeologist at the Museum of London, who has an interest both in the archaeological evidence as well as the myths and legends of London’s origin.
A Walk for London Walks.
Archaeology in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries has revolutionised our view of the early history of London while its rich set of myths and legends have been largely forgotten. This walk is designed to set that right and give an insight into London’s legends, and how they relate to modern archaeological discoveries.
According to legend London was founded in the Bronze Age by an exiled Trojan called Brutus. He called the new City Troia Nova or New Troy, which became corrupted to Trinovantum. Around the time of Julius Caesar the name changed to Lud’s Dun and eventually to Londinium. Early archaeologists therefore looked for a prehistoric City, to add to the history they could read by classical authors of a City founded shortly after the Roman Invasion of 43 AD. When the Roman system broke down in 410 AD, historical and archaeological records become almost non-existent, until the foundation of St Pauls Cathedral in 604 AD. The two hundred year gap, sometimes called the Dark Ages, has another rich selection of legends. The walk will explore these stories and compare to the archaeology.
The route starts at Tower Hill, then down to the River at Billingsgate, along the River to London Bridge, up to the Roman Forum at the top of Cornhill, into the valley of the River Walbrook, passed the Temple of Mithras, along Cheapside to the Roman Amphitheatre, and finishing up in the shadow of St Pauls.
This is a London Walks Guided Walks. Look at their web site for a list of more of their amazing walks
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.
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
Victoria & Albert & Albertopolis March 28 2020
2.30 High Street Kensington Tube
All London Walks have been cancelled until further notice due to Social Isolation
If this is a disappointment please email me and I’ll send you a print out.
On this walk we discover the story of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the foundation of the one of the world’s Greatest Museums.
Led by Kevin Flude, who worked as an Assistant Keeper at the V&A, We begin in the new Victorian suburb of Kensington, prospering in the shadow of Kensington Palace, birthplace of Queen Victoria. We then explore the site of the Great Exhibition, and the great buildings inspired by Albert around the Albert Hall, before ending the walk with a tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The area was originally part of the lowly area of Brompton until the huge success of the Great Exhibition created by Prince Albert and his right-hand man Henry Cole, the first Director of the V&A. The area became known as Albertopolis,as a memorial to a remarkable man, and a testament to the energy and wealth of Victorian England.
Medieval London Walk. April 18th 2.30
Liverpool St Bishopsgate Exit top of escalator
All London Walks have been cancelled until further notice due to Social Isolation
If this is a disappointment please email me and I’ll send you a print out.
A walk which explores London in the Middle Ages. By 1400 London was dominating the affairs of the Kingdom and was growing into a sophisticated medieval Capital. We begin in the extra-mural area amongst the Monasteries and burial grounds before entering the City via Bishopsgate. and to the site of one of the few remaining medieval Churches at St Helens. We then look at everyday life in the City in the main markets streets of Cornhill, Poultry, Bucklersbury and Cheapside before visiting the Guildhall and ending at the City Wall. We will walk in the footsteps of Geffrey Chaucer, in the muddy City Streets, exploring the unhealthy conditions and poverty amidst great riches and pageantry. We will see where the Italians, the German, the Dutch, the Jews, and the French lived cheek by jowl with native Londoners and immigrants from the Midlands.
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.
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.
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.
