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Offered languages
- English
This tour will cover a number of neighbourhoods, all of different characteristics & historical time periods. Starting in the East End where The Krays famously & violently ruled the roost in the heart of the old East End.
Not too far away you will go back in time almost a century and retread the footsteps of Jack The Ripper & his victims whilst visiting and learning about the feared Workhouses that so many lived in and so many were trapped in. Then towards Smithfields, home of many a famous & bloody execution. Stopping briefly at the beautiful St. Bartholomews church before visiting the shrine of William Wallace (Braveheart) where he was put to death in one of the most horrible ways imaginable.
Then to old Newgate prison where people awaited their trials & deaths for centuries before standing on the spot where many of the executions were enacted. The notorious Clink Prison awaits us... then the maze of alleys around Borough Market & the poverty stricken neighbourhood of Charles Dickens.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
We can meet you at any Central London hotel, not just those listed here.
Just outside the entrance!
Itinerary
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1Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Having visited an important site relating to early Communism, we next stop off here at the famous foundry which made Big Ben and the Liberty Bell and will learn how Big Ben got its name.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
2The Blind Beggar Public House Whitechapel
The scene of perhaps the most infamous London gangland shooting back in the 60's with the feared Krays.... Londons answer to Al Capone!
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
3The Ten Bells
The pub most closely linked with Jack The Ripper, possibly at the end of the street at which he lived.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
4The White Hart
This famous pub is one of a few closely associated with Jack The Ripper. After few minutes up the road we will visit the site of a potential Ripper killing.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
5Brick Lane
Now a trendy street and home to a thriving 1-mile stretch of curry restaurants, we will learn what life was like here in Victorian times when Jack was about.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6Brick Lane Jamme Masjid
Now a beautiful mosque, at the time of Jack The Ripper the building was a synagogue and a century earlier a Protestant church for fleeing French refugees. Learn about the history and heritage of this once poverty stricken part of London
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
7Golden Boy of Pye Corner
Why do we have a golden statue of a rather fat young boy in this quiet London Street? It's all to do with The Great Fire of London.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8Christ Church Spitalfields
This beautiful stone built church was the centre of Victorian life and just across the road from both the bustling market and brewery but also adjacent to perhaps the most dreadful street in London.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
9Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor
Here we can see the first and indeed one of the last Jewish soup kitchens in the East End of London
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
10Old Spitalfields Market
Once an industrial market, now a funky market where these is always something to see under the fabulous old Victorian roof.
5 minutes • Admission ticket included -
11Smithfield Market
Smithfields has long been the centre of the London meat trade. Centuries ago when food production was less ethical, it wasn't just dead animals that were butchered here.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
12WIlliam Wallace Memorial
See the site of where William 'Braveheart' Wallace was Hung Drawn and Quartered as well as quite a few other interesting histories just a few feet away.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
13Peasants' Revolt Plaque
Learn all about the infamous Peasants Revolt and how it helped shape life in modern day Western countries today.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
14Church of St. Bartholomew the Great
Visit this small but fascinating graveyards and learn of the secrets within.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
15St. Paul's Cathedral
From the outside see one of the most beautiful of buildings and learn of how it miraculously avoided destruction in WW2.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
16The Viaduct Tavern
This old pub is notorious for both being right next to the site of centuries of executions but also in the cellars beneath the streets being holding cells where condemned men would spend their last night on earth.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
17Holy Sepulchre London
Learn the often rather gruesome history of this fabulous old church.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
18Old Bailey
Perhaps the oldest court in the Western World. Still the place where the baddest of the bad are put on trial.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
19Christchurch Greyfriars Church Garden
This small garden and ruins is a memorial garden to The Blitz in WW2.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
20London Bridge
The modern incarnation of London Bridge with the large ceremonial spike on which the heads of the executed would be stuck as a warning to those entering the city.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
21The National Firefighters Memorial
This small memorial remembers those who gave their lives protecting London and other cities from the terrible bombings and fires of the WW2 Blitz bombings by the Luftwaffe.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
22Millennium Bridge
20 year old Millennium Bridge doesn't have any gore itself but from here we can see what was once one of the top suicide spots in London and decidedly sexist it was too!
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
23Shakespeare's Globe
Now one of the finest places to see a play but in the time of Shakespeare, this area was the absolute pits. Rather like the Amsterdam of its day... for good or for bad!
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
24The Clink Prison Museum
Not going in the museum itself but the outside is very authentic as it is. We'll learn why this part of London was just so bad.
10 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
25Winchester Palace
Winchester Palace, mostly destroyed in one of the many huge fires of London. Once the home to the Bishop and we'll find out about his terrible ways just a little bit further on.
5 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
26Borough Market
Now entering the heart of Dickensian London and the setting for much of Oliver Twist. There has been a market here pretty much since Roman times.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
27Marshalsea Prison South Wall
We finish the tour at the location of an old debtors prison that had such a terrible impact on Charles Dickens.
10 minutes • Admission ticket included -
28Crossbones Graveyard & Garden of Remembrance
Crossbones Cemetery if almost unknown even to Londoners, perhaps because of its grisly history. The resting place of criminals, prostitutes, plague victims and suicides for centuries. Learn the fascinating story this tragic but beautiful place.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
29Red Cross Cottages & Garden
Learn the story of one of the first attempts to improve the welfare of the poverty stricken in London.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
30Ye Olde England Tours
This tour is run by Ye Olde England Tours
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Additional info
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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