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Offered languages
- English
In the heart of London lies an island, a foreign land in a sea of Englishness. After the wealthy departed Soho in the middle of the 18th century, successive waves of refugees arrived creating a multi-cultural world that attracted artists, revolutionaries, writers and musicians.
Exploring Soho with Nick Black, you will see that some of the original health care buildings survive as a hotel, high commission, restaurant and theatre. Learn how the first hospitals in London for women, for ear diseases and for men with venereal disease came into being. Discover the extraordinary surviving façade of the first private anatomy school. The contrast between bohemian Soho and establishment London is well illustrated by two towering figures in the history of health care, Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.
The tour is ready whenever you are and the audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Starts at the station's Oxford Street exit. Before arrival, install the VoiceMap app and use the code provided on your ticket. This is a self-guided audio tour that you can start, pause, or restart any time and complete at your own pace. Directions to the starting point are in the app.
Itinerary
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Soho Square (Pass by)
We will walk round this small green oasis and see where Mary Seacole lived on her return from the Crimean war, the site of the first dispensary for children, the first hospital for women, the first home of the Royal Ear Hospital and the site of the original homes of the Dental Hospital of London and National Heart Hospital.
Admission ticket free -
Leicester Square (Pass by)
Sadly, little remains of the square's 18th century connections with health care which included displays of medicinal mud bathing aided by 'a bevy of belles' and the home of John Hunter, the founder of modern surgery. However, we can still see the old Royal Dental Hospital, now the Hampshire Hotel.
Admission ticket free -
Canada House (Pass by)
Hear how, in the 1820s, Robert Smirke designed the northern half of this building for the Royal College of Physicians and southern half for the Union Club, a gentlemen's club. After both left, it became the Canadian High Commission.
Admission ticket free -
Crimean War Memorial (Pass by)
Our walk ends here in St James', the heart of establishment London and world away from Bohemian Soho. This war memorial is unusual for not only honouring soldiers but also a remarkable nurse - Florence Nightingale - whose influence is still felt today internationally.
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
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Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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