Who Knew Tours

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Who Knew Tours

Entertaining and informative walking tours in the City of London
(4)

08/01/2024

You never know quite who you will meet on a Walking Tour...we encountered this fella at the end of a Great Fire walk. Why not join me for a healthy New Year stroll with added stories and history? https://whoknewtours.com/

30/08/2023

Highly enjoyable walk exploring Paddington on behalf of Wallacea Living (thanks Karen Gray for the opportunity). Home of the first London by-pass road, first canal into the capital, first bus service, first underground railway...and most famous bear. We looked at the interesting "cut out" statue of the bear's creator Michael Bond (see pic): apparently his widow (who still lives nearby) complained that the eyebrows are too bushy but the artist explained they needed to be that thick to stop the nose falling off. Also touching to know that his epitaph reads "Please look after this bear, thank you". For walking tours https://whoknewtours.com/

30/07/2023

Delighted to have qualified as a Guide in Camden. Thanks to Mayor Nazma Rahman for officiating! Lots of interesting places to explore: Hampstead, Highgate, Seven Dials, Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia, Kings Cross, Camden…I have launched one “official” walk in the borough, Slums and Squares and Rock n’Roll (around St Giles). Link follows but let me know if any of the other areas appeal and we can create something!
https://whoknewtours.com/tours/slums-and-squares-and-rock-nroll-secrets-of-st-giles/

02/06/2023

Who Knew you could have caught an underground train to see the last public hanging in London? Or that the last beheadings in the City were conducted posthumously in 1820, a hooded ex*****oner using a surgical knife to remove the heads of a group of hanged terrorists (the Cato St conspirators)? If you like this blend of interesting history and gruesome stories why not come on my new Walking Tour "Sentenced to Death!". You can pretend to be most interested in the history of political and criminal ex*****on while actually just enjoying the grim stuff. Details and booking https://whoknewtours.com/tours/sentenced-to-death/

26/05/2023

Who Knew there is a new section of Roman Wall on display in the City? It’s in Vine St between Aldgate and Tower Hill. Nice chunk of wall, foundations of a bastion, and a Roman cat paw print! For walking tours https://whoknewtours.com/

07/04/2023

Who Knew you can now walk the whole length of the Thames within the City of London? This short stretch has been annoyingly blocked for twenty years. I always thought this was because someone was allowed to build across it: but it’s actually because the passage was extremely badly designed, full of dark alcoves and corners. It’s now opened up with a nice view of the Globe theatre and a splendid lump of Victorian iron warehouse architecture. Very pleasing! For walking tours https://whoknewtours.com/

01/04/2023

Have fun with this competition. But note today’s date…

22/02/2023

Weather in London this Sunday looks perfect for the Great Fire walk from . Why was it so destructive? Why did it take four days to put out? Did the Stuart regime (as claimed on the Monument) really “build back better”? And why is Wren the only architect most people have heard of? 11am this Sunday from Tower Hill tube. To book https://whoknewtours.com/tours/the-great-fire/

18/02/2023

Thanks to Sophie Long for an entertaining walk exploring the City’s commercial roots. The dogs in particular enjoyed it. https://whoknewtours.com/

08/02/2023

There are uglier places to be sitting on a beautiful if cold London day! Church watching in St Stephen Walbrook, Wren’s local church where he built a practice dome. Also the birthplace of the Samaritans founded by the Rev Chad Varah using the phone pictured (Mansion House 9000 was the number). Many work near and walk past this stunning interior not aware of it. It’s original handsome front and entrance is now blocked off behind Mansion House. For walking tours with Who Knew https://whoknewtours.com/

21/01/2023

What a pretty church! A lovely day for two Walking Tours and an excuse to take a snap of Wren’s prettiest but least know. Church, St Benet. Plus one of his greatest hit peeping over the Royal College of Arms. Come on a walk the weather’s perfect! https://whoknewtours.com

20/01/2023

A perfect (if crisp!) day to walk and talk Tudor London with and her husband! https://whoknewtours.com/

15/01/2023

Thanks to and your mates for a delightful Walking Tour wittering about the Beatles! Such fun. For info and to book with Who Knew Tours https://whoknewtours.com/

07/01/2023

You see Roupell St near Waterloo so often in film and tv it’s interesting to see it being rigged up as a set. Caught this on my way to first Walking Tour of the New Year, damp Roman London!

07/12/2022

Quite rare to see a pub dedicated to a living royal. Maybe not the best choice…

07/12/2022

Another enjoyable afternoon welcoming visitors to explore the history of St Magnus the Martyr in the City, the church through whose porch the exit from the medieval London Bridge used to run. Highlights include a fragment of the Roman bridge, a splendid statue of St Magnus and a model of the medieval bridge as it was in c.1400. The latter includes a tiny figure of a policeman from the 1980’s as a joke by the retired officer who made it. For Walking tours visit https://whoknewtours.com

27/11/2022

Well that was something different! Slightly terrifying but highly enjoyable Walking Tour of Roman London in Italian: with a group of fellow students (mostly not native Italians, thankfully). Mille grazie a tutti! https://whoknewtours.com/

16/11/2022

A peaceful few hours “church sitting” in All Hallows at the Wall in the City. A little known gem, it’s north wall being the Roman/Medieval wall and the lovely interior based on the temple of Venus and Rome (in the Roman Forum), the first work by the 24 year old George Dance the Younger. Also has a satisfyingly big old front door key!
For walking tours with Who Knew Tours visit https://whoknewtours.com/

29/10/2022

Another great Beatles walk with fellow enthusiasts! Here is the entrance to Abbey Road Studios promoting the recent release of the Revolver remix, which is objectively the best album ever by anybody. Fact. Come on a Walking Tour with Who Knew Tours! https://whoknewtours.com/

26/10/2022

Thanks to Ollie Sawers and his Team from Amazon for a very enjoyable Tour around the highlights of the City’s 2000 year history. An enjoyable and healthy way for a Team to break off from a business day and get everyone re-energised before drinks and dinner. Get in touch with Who Knew Tours if you think you or a bunch of colleagues/friends would enjoy this. https://whoknewtours.com

06/10/2022

Who Knew medieval trading standards were so rigorously enforced? Here is a baker who transgressed the 1284 Bread standards by selling underweight loaves: he is being dragged through the City with a loaf tied round his neck. For entertaining History come on a Walking Tour in the City with Who Knew Tours https://whoknewtours.com

13/09/2022

Thanks to extra opening hours to allow a book of condolence to be signed I was able to pop into St Helen’s Bishopsgate, usually quite hard to get into. Interesting because it as two naves, one the remains of a nunnery the other the parish church. Also one of the handful of medieval City churches which survived the Great Fire, being North of the blaze. The nuns have an interesting reputation, being ticked off in the 1400’s for keeping pets and wearing inappropriate clothes. They sound quite fun!
For Walking Tours https://whoknewtours.com/

04/09/2022

Some shots of interesting corners of St James’ as I do the fieldwork for a new Walking Tour in one of the most attractive districts of London. The gravestone is arguably the only N**i one in London: the German ambassador’s dog Giro, a German shepherd which died in the 1930’s. I will launch the Tour when I’ve done all the legwork in the meantime see Who Knew Tours website for current Walks https://whoknewtours.com

02/09/2022

"A woman could p**s it out!". Who Knew that 356 years ago today the Mayor of London would give this reaction on being informed of the spread of a fire? Not a great call, really: it turned into the Great Fire and destroyed 87 churches, 13,000 homes etc. The Mayor was one Thomas Bloodworth, a wealthy wine merchant, described some days earlier by Samuel Pepys as "a silly man" (channelling his inner Graham Chapman). To discover more about how the fire started, why it was so hard to put out and how the Stuart regime "built back better" (and spun the communication), come on a Great Fire walk with Who Knew Tours. Details and booking
https://whoknewtours.com/

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A brief flavour of my new Walking Tour, “The Beatles: Abbey Road plus”. For details and to book: https://whoknewtours.com/tours/the-beatles-abbey-road-plus/

Who Knew Edward VI (crowned on this day in 1547) had such trouble with his uncles? For info on Walking Tours with Who Knew https://whoknewtours.com/ #londonwalks #Londonhistory

Who Knew that today (Feb 8th) was the anniversary of a hair-brained armed rebellion in the City of London aimed at overthrowing Elizabeth the 1st? This short (2 min) video explains... For more on my Walking Tours of the City see Who Knew Tours website https://whoknewtours.com/

Here’s a short teaser video to my latest blog, comparing Boris’ competence to the Stuart regime in the aftermath of the great fire. https://whoknewtours.com/2021/11/18/building-back-better-after-the-great-fire/

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08/01/2024

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07/12/2022

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27/11/2022

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29/10/2022

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