“Despite my 35 years in London” he says “I’m always amazed how you can find a new street that’s got an amazing story to tell. The thing I like best about London is how a tiny thing, like a decoration on a building can tell a big story. When you’re walking you are following in the footsteps of Londoners from the past, it makes the history come to life much more than just reading about it”
Rob is most interested in social history, and the way that inventions have changed people’s lives, but he always makes room in his walks to tell the stories of his London heroes.
Rob’s walks take him all over London, and beyond with a series of walks along the River Thames heading out East of London towards the Thames Estuary. You can also join him on day trips out of London to places like Rochester, Reading and St Albans.
He has worked on TV with The Hairy Bikers on The Pubs that Made Britain, featured in a film about Barking Power Station, and appeared on a programme about the East India Company for Iran International TV. Rob has appeared on the Radio 4 programme Screenshot and on
History Hit Podcast
When not out walking, Rob also teaches London History courses at Morley College, South Thames College and Bishopsgate Institute.
His current Footprints of London walks and online virtual tours are:
Description: A walk following the River Lea through Hertfordshire, visiting the site where Julius Caesar is claimed to have fought an epic battle against the Catuvellauni
Description: Tenth in a series of walks along the Thames, this walk looks at the Bauhaus inspired Bata shoe factory built in the 1930s with a surrounding village for workers. The walk then passes Coalhouse Fort for a walk along an isolated part of the Thames to Mucking Flats, where you’ll see many birds along the foreshore.
Description: A look at the best buildings in London Borough of Hounslow, including Osterley House, Syon House and Chiswick House as well as some impressive industrial buildings and modern business parks. Part of a series looking at the best buildings in each London Borough
Description: A virtual tour around the diamond shaped island that has everything from Roman mosaics to rare telephone boxes. You’ll see why the Isle of Wight is a favorite place for Rob, and some of the less well known places on the island to visit
Description: A walk along the Stour Estuary in Essex, looking at the links with Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, Mistley Quay a site of shipbuilding in the 18th century, and remains of a Robert Adams church.
Description: A look at the best buildings in London Borough of Brent including the domestic buildings of Metroland, old churches and Wembley Stadium. Part of a series looking at the best buildings in each London Borough
Description: Part of a series looking at the best buildings in each London Borough. Barking and Dagenham is home to the ruins of medieval Barking Abbey, historic Valence House and beautiful Eastbury Manor House and lots of other interesting buildings too.
Description: A virtual staycation in one of England’s largest counties. From the splendour of Lincoln Cathedral to the rolling hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds, visiting historic castles and pretty market towns on the way, you’ll see why Lincolnshire is such a great place to visit
Description: A walk through the West End looking at the lives of some of the people painted by the artist Thomas Gainsborough. You can see some of the paintings in the National Gallery – but who were the people in the paintings? And how did they fit into the complex world of Georgian politics and society.
Description: London owes so much to Joseph Bazalgette – the sewer system, bridges, roads. Hear about his projects and where you can find them in this virtual tour
Description: The pretty village of Otford in Kent is home to a mind blowing model of the solar system set out around the village. Come and walk the country footpaths on the way to Pluto, and see some historic medieval buildings on the way
Description: A walk around the Garden City that was built as a response to the ideas of social reformer Ebenezer Howard, and was a forerunner of many other schemes like Hampstead Garden Suburb
Description: This Virtual Tour hosted on Zoom is about Castles that you can visit that are a short journey from London. Some still have substantial remains, some are more like bumps in the ground, but all have a story attached. Rob will talk about the sieges, the royal residents and treacherous deeds that took place in them.
Description: Sixth in a series of walks East along the Thames, this walk looks at the industrial area of Dagenham Dock. Home to London’s first aircraft factory, the Ford works and a fertiliser plant, the area is now being transformed into Barking Riverside. The walk ends at the lost village of Creekmouth.
Description: A walk around what was once a huge military base, looking at the remaining historic buildings. The walk ends near the Chatham Historic Dockyard Museum
Description: A virtual tour about some of the people the artist John Singer Sargent painted – including, poets, generals, actresses, writers, politicians and womens suffrage campaigners
Description: Readings from the local newspapers of the 1870s illustrate how Christmas was reinvented by the Victorians. Hear about Christmas in islington from wealthy shoppers to Christmas Day in the workhouse
Description: A walk looking at how Christmas was celebrated between 1840-70 with readings from the Islington local newspapers of the time. What was on at Collins Music Hall? What did the Boot Black Brigade have for Christmas dinner? And what was Christmas in the workhouse like?