No musicals, but a fascinating walk with medical, industrial, and social history through one of London's most up & coming and vibrant areas

Our journey begins along St Thomas Street , where for over 150 years two of London’s most prestigious hospitals, St Thomas’ and Guy’s, had been sited on opposite sides of the street. Until, in 1862, when St Thomas’ left Southwark, eventually relocating across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament nearly a decade later.

We will discuss both the 900 year history of St Thomas’ , as well as that of its’ younger sibling Guy’s , a mere 300 years old. In so doing we will visit the site of part of St Thomas’ dating back to early 1700s, which lay untouched, forgotten in the attic of a church, for nearly 100 years after the hospital moved out of Southwark. This will give us the chance to discuss how medical care, and in particular surgery, had been delivered 200 years ago – not one for the squeamish.

Also along St Thomas Street we will find a 250 year old relic from the medieval London Bridge, an unlikely medical student, Western Europe’s tallest building ,and the site of London’s first permanent railway terminal.

We will walk, or perhaps more in keeping with the title for the Guided Walk stroll, to Bermondsey Street – a 1,000-year-old thoroughfare that evolved from a monastic medieval causeway through marshland, linking London Bridge and Bermondsey Abbey, into a gritty hub for the leather, tanning and other industries, and has finally transformed into one of London’s most fashionable creative and culinary districts.

We will also explore some of the social history required to support the residents of one of London’s poorest areas during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

We finish the walk close to London Bridge railway and underground stations, 5 minutes from Borough Market.

The walk is approximately 1.5 miles and relatively flat, there will be few opportunities for you to sit at any of the stops.

Our meeting spot is Thomas Guy’s statue in the Central Courtyard of Guy’s Hospital, St Thomas Street SE1 9RS; 5 minutes from both London Bridge’s railway and underground stations. Please arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the Walk.

The Walk should take 1 hour 45 minutes, but please allow for an extra 15 minutes