The London Storyteller

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The London Storyteller Thomas Barclay Matchett is The London Storyteller offering bespoke private tours and experiences.

A few more shots from my recent trip to see the at UEA. It was a thrilling couple of hours delving into this Norman Fo...
02/03/2025

A few more shots from my recent trip to see the at UEA. It was a thrilling couple of hours delving into this Norman Foster designed masterpiece and it is a masterpiece. Closer to the era if the space age or the world of aeronautical design than an art gallery. Ofcourse, it is both.

Great to be back at Blenheim today with Kay and Kath from California. Beautiful weather out and these ladies were great...
01/03/2025

Great to be back at Blenheim today with Kay and Kath from California. Beautiful weather out and these ladies were great company. It’s always a thrill to visit Blenheim as every trip brings new light and perspectives depending upon the time and day of the year that you visit. Terrific. Great conversations about art and Notre Dame with ( you should check out her page as she’s a fellow alumni with a studio there and links including tennis!).

Terrific view of the Gherkin from The Leadenhall Building aka the Cheesegrater. Foster and Rogers, the respective archi...
27/02/2025

Terrific view of the Gherkin from The Leadenhall Building aka the Cheesegrater. Foster and Rogers, the respective architects of these modern marvels met at Yale and formed Team Four before splitting off in their own directions. Splendid, isn’t it?!

I’m nearing the end of a research process exploring Norman Foster’s work and biography for a new partner in London. Thi...
22/02/2025

I’m nearing the end of a research process exploring Norman Foster’s work and biography for a new partner in London. This led me to Ipswich to take a look first hand at the Willis Building which was an early commission for undertaken by Foster and his wife Wendy Cheeseman. Most thrilling was seeing the plant room from the exterior, it was like the window in the engine room of futuristic cruise liner or vessel. You get a sense of it being an incredibly light building, with the glass panels running upward in sets of six. I’m sure there are many reasons to visit Ipswich but this for me was the stand out thrill. It’s incredibly subtle in its relationship to its surroundings which and it showed real ambition. It curves, flows and reflects. Something special and worth the drive up to see.

I’ve been not so much on a witch hunt but a witchfinder hunt. Last October I started research into a spooky tour for a ...
22/02/2025

I’ve been not so much on a witch hunt but a witchfinder hunt. Last October I started research into a spooky tour for a frequently returning guest and it led me to looking into the terrible tale of Matthew Hopkins the notorious Witchfinder General of the 1640s. Finally I’ve had a chance to get up to Mistley where he retired to the Mistley Thorn (now a rather nice fish restaurant with boutique rooms). The Robert Adam designed Mistley Towers, sadly missing their nave came later but it’s in an interesting spot and I’ll be back to do a video I think.

Terrific fun spending three hours on a personalised swinging sixties tour all about The Beatles with Enrique and Emma fr...
18/02/2025

Terrific fun spending three hours on a personalised swinging sixties tour all about The Beatles with Enrique and Emma from Costa Rica. The joy on their faces when we popped out to see John Lennon’s flat and made it to Abbey Road was thrilling. Enrique is one of those guys who is just packed with great ideas and it was a pleasure spending time with them both. 👍

Great to meet Brian, Katie and family on our half day exploring London after a long flight for them all. I hope that we...
18/02/2025

Great to meet Brian, Katie and family on our half day exploring London after a long flight for them all. I hope that we sent them into their weekend over here with a top introduction to the city. Lovely folks!

Great to meet Bill and Amy from the east coast of the USA. They were great company and the tour was a blast. It was a l...
04/02/2025

Great to meet Bill and Amy from the east coast of the USA. They were great company and the tour was a blast. It was a layover tour so I met them off the Heathrow Express and they’d had a couple of delays but we still packed in maximum fun in the time we had to cover the highlights! ✈️✈️✈️

Great to have Daniel and his wife with me exploring some highlights and hidden gems in late January. I really enjoyed s...
04/02/2025

Great to have Daniel and his wife with me exploring some highlights and hidden gems in late January. I really enjoyed sitting down and chatting over a coffee too, it was pretty chilly and it was to find out more about their lives in Hawaii and Salzburg. Lovely folks! One of the most interesting aspects of storytelling is what you learn from other people’s lives👍

I’ve got a few insta posts to catch up on. A week ago exploring St James, Mayfair and Soho with Jeff and Eric from San ...
04/02/2025

I’ve got a few insta posts to catch up on. A week ago exploring St James, Mayfair and Soho with Jeff and Eric from San Francisco to dig into some swinging sixties and rock n roll stories. Thank you for the lovely lunch, chaps! 👍Swinging Sixties

Great to meet with Jérôme and his team from Belgium and .france today who are celebrating a successful year together wit...
04/02/2025

Great to meet with Jérôme and his team from Belgium and .france today who are celebrating a successful year together with a trip to London this week. Nice folks and good to make our way through Shoreditch. 👍🇧🇪🇫🇷 We covered markets, street arts and I enjoyed the irony of nearly bumping into Gilbert and George a couple of times while sharing background into their story (how about that for “immersive”?!), though sadly not a day for the excellent

I reckon it’s filming Slow Horses this morning across the road at the Barbican.
02/02/2025

I reckon it’s filming Slow Horses this morning across the road at the Barbican.

Saw these guys down in Highgate tonight. It was joyful. Greg and Greg are great fellas! 👍 apparently you can find them a...
31/01/2025

Saw these guys down in Highgate tonight. It was joyful. Greg and Greg are great fellas! 👍 apparently you can find them at

A joy today to spend a few hours with this curious crowd of international innovators exploring some selected spots and s...
27/01/2025

A joy today to spend a few hours with this curious crowd of international innovators exploring some selected spots and scenes from London’s story from history and the present. Covent Garden to via Jermyn Street and with a bit of Beatles and royal connections in between. 👍

Lovely family from New Zealand via Australia this morning for a Doctor Who themed tour with a junior yet superior aficio...
04/01/2025

Lovely family from New Zealand via Australia this morning for a Doctor Who themed tour with a junior yet superior aficionado of all things Gallifrey on board. A worthy connoisseur of all things Whovian. Most impressive. 👍🇬🇧🇳🇿🇦🇺🙌🙌

Great fun this morning in Shoreditch with dart enthusiasts Robin, Andrea and Susie from Stuttgart. They’ve caught some ...
03/01/2025

Great fun this morning in Shoreditch with dart enthusiasts Robin, Andrea and Susie from Stuttgart. They’ve caught some of the World Championship up at Ally Pally during their stay, which is a stone’s throw from my home. 🎯👍🇬🇧🇩🇪

Lovely sunny day out in town today with Kristen, Phil, David and Dylan from Chicago. Nice folks. One of those crisp col...
02/01/2025

Lovely sunny day out in town today with Kristen, Phil, David and Dylan from Chicago. Nice folks. One of those crisp cold bright winter days that you expect and hope for at the outset of a New Year.

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Welcome to the finest city on Earth...

“A man who is tired of London is tired of life”, so wrote the great Samuel Johnson.

Who is the The London Storyteller? I am Thomas Barclay Matchett. A cultural historian, broadcaster and film maker, offering private guided tours and curated experiences. I’ve co-founded and sold successful start up businesses and my vocation is storytelling.

The London Storyteller is here to guide you and your guests through London’s history, culture, architecture and most interesting places to see. I offer set tours that you can book directly with me and that can be personalise to your needs. I can also create tailored itineraries both in London and beyond, to make the most of your experience when you are visiting.

Showing people through the streets of this city is an honour and a privilege. When I first started out, it was quite simply to enjoy the benefits of extra exercise and for the satisfaction of sharing my love of history, culture, architecture and the many other wonderful riches that this city offers. Having been delighted by the many kind and generous words of my happy guests, I decided that it was time to create the best offering of its kind.