Footprints of London

Celebrate selflessness in the heart of the City of London! Photo: Plaque at St Stephen, Walbrook – © David Charnick 2023 The public image of the City of London is as a place of finance. We think of high-powered traders and financiers all putting profits before people. It might surprise you to learn that some…

Explore the inner workings of Legal London! Photo: Royal Courts of Justice (exterior) – © David Charnick 2020 The Inns of Court dominate Legal London. For centuries they have been preparing barristers for a life at the bar. Joined by Chancery Lane, they are rich with interest in their own right. But this tour also…

Explore Peter Ackroyd’s shadowy East End! Photo: St Anne Limehouse (detail) – © 2018 Alan Tucker Peter Ackroyd’s is one of the authentic voices of London: his novels, histories, biographies and so much more capture the rhythms of the city. This tour celebrates his portrayal of the riverside East End as a place of monsters…

Come explore the beginnings of London’s dockland story! Photo: The Virginia Settlers Memorial (detail), Blackwall – © David Charnick 2021 In 1802 the West India Docks opened, an unprecedented development which saw Poplar blossom to dominate the eastern side of the Tower Hamlets. Just downriver is Blackwall. It was an important embarkation point long before…

Celebrate the secret world in words! Photo: Cambridge Circus Sign – © David Charnick 2020 What’s your preference – George Smiley or James Bond? Both feature in this exploration of the shadowy world of secret agents in fiction. The tour features site-specific readings – some obvious, some much less so! Join me on a literary…

Celebrate the City through the words of Shakespeare and Co! Photo: Thomas Gresham depicted at the Royal Exchange – © David Charnick 2021 London’s Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights transported their audiences to strange, imaginary worlds. But they were ready also to hold a mirror up to the citizens of London. The reflections were sometimes less…

Celebrate the secret world in words! Photo: Cambridge Circus Sign – © David Charnick 2020 What’s your preference – George Smiley or James Bond? Both feature in this exploration of the shadowy world of secret agents in fiction. The tour features site-specific readings – some obvious, some much less so! Join me in a literary…

Explore the political career of one of Britain’s greatest statesmen! Photo: Churchill Statue by Ivor Roberts-Jones (detail) – © David Charnick 2021 In 1940 Winston Churchill became Britain’s Prime Minister, with the task of steering the nation through the nightmare of the Second World War. But what else do you know about him? Churchill’s political…

Celebrate how engineering helped shape the City of London! Photo: London Bridge – Underside © David Charnick 2020 London is an international city in a continual state of growth and development. Mechanical, electrical and civil engineering ventures have solved its problems and changed its appearance. This virtual tour celebrates the relationship between engineering and the…

Come celebrate a world of inns, hops and beer! Photo: Site of Barclay Perkins Brewery – © David Charnick 2020 Join me to celebrate a time of inns and brewing. Come see traces of the hospitality offered by the inns of Borough High Street. Learn how central the hop trade was locally. And of course…