English.
Black History, Christopher Wren's London, City churches, Crime and punishment, Evening walks, Film locations, General city tour, Great Fire of London, Guildhall Art Gallery, Lectures and talks, Livery companies, Magna Carta, Medicine, Medieval London, Religion, River Thames, Romans, Samuel Pepys, St Paul's Cathedral, Virtual tours, Wartime, Women.
Hello, my name is Kevin, a qualified green badge City of London guide and member of the Institute of tour guiding
I am a History/ Politics / RE teacher in London of nearly 40 years’ experience. I graduated from Queen Mary College [University London] where I first had the opportunity to undertake walking tours as vacation work. A large section of my degree concerned the History of London.
Having come from an East End family I have been able to dovetail my passion for the City alongside my teaching career in London.
As a tour guide for various organisations since 2009 I developed experience on walking tours, site tours, battlefield tours abroad, film location bus tours and Thames river tours. Both teaching and guiding provide a service to other people and allows the satisfaction of getting to see others become excited about my city and my favourite places, whilst also deepening my own understanding.
I think I can provide an enjoyable experience for adults, seniors and students alike. Most of my tours are bespoke private tours so please get in touch to discuss your needs. However over school holidays I run public tours and virtual tours
THREE CHURCHES AND A COFFEE
Hawksmoor, Wren and an elder Mary!- Feast your eyes upon our three magnificent City churches, St Mary Woolnoth , St Stephen Walbrook and St Mary Aldermary. Our walk highlights the ‘Devils architect’, a prototype dome and an unusual Gothic Wren. The tour will end at the Host café where you may enjoy a well-earned coffee with your guide for some good conversation.
WEST SMITHFIELD STROLL
West Smithfield, originally without but now within. A quick saunter along Cowcross and through the Cathedral to meat. We are going to explore Smoothfield , Sedfield , Smithfield. About 900 years of History in West Smithfield to be precise. Let us take a stroll around the West Smithfield rotunda taking in Jones , Askew , Rahere , Rogers , Tyler , Lopez , Wallace and many more. Find out about the oldest parish church, a 900 year old Hospital and Livery companies. We will also answer the question of what have the Worshipful Company of Butchers been doing since 1343?
SECRETIVE LONDON
Secret places, famous places, unassuming places. Most walk by without a glance. Maybe, just maybe a glance is all it needs for a thought to stir. Your guide will be revealing of secrets past, several secrets actually born in the City of London
CENTRAL CITY – A SEMI-CIRCULAR WALK FOR A SQUARE MILE
When a man is tired of…too obvious, how about ‘I still love London, no matter what they do to it’ – Sir Michael Caine. Welcome to a walking tour of the City between St Paul’s and Bank, taking a plethora of highlights such as The Cathedral, an open space, a preserved bomb site, a livery Hall and the battle of starchitects in a single street. This tour will provide you with an instant hit of 2000 years of the City within a city. A personal encounter with layers of Londoners
ROMAN LONDON
According to mythology the earth was surrounded by a mighty sea called Oceanus –by extending the influence of Rome to the equivalent of outer space the Emperor Claudius was going against accepted wisdom – Britain was worthless and scary at the same time- If you know where to look experience the story of a Londinium, the threads that bind ancient and modern.
TUDOR TURMOIL
Years of living dangerously 1520 – 1558. Once upon a time the people of England were happy visiting churches, attending mass and respectful of purgatory, then a lustful King forced them to abandon their religion. Alternatively the people of England were being led by corrupt church and the Tudors would eventually save them. Tudor turmoil was and is a deep dividing line between the souls of the people as their past was abandoned
WHITECHAPEL WONDERS
The term “East End,” was enthusiastically embraced by the popular press who used it to create an image of the area as a hot bed of villainy. Over a million people crowded the East End. The Salvation Army labelled the area “Darkest England”. The few square miles of Whitechapel and Spitalfields were a maze of alleys, courtyards and common lodging houses. “The children of the ghetto” were defiant, proud and downtrodden- yet the East End was and is so much more…from Hawksmoor churches to hidden synagogues, mass immigration to charities, from Weaver Town to Banglatown.
A WAPPING ADVENTURE
Wapping, a franchise of executions and more pirates than the Caribbean. Docklands became derelict lands, a tiger on the loose and a gruesome burial. Wapping is where Tobacco was the king of sailor town. So much to explore from the artist Turner to Captain Kidd.
ROTHERHITHE RAMBLE
Rotherhithe where adventures began. Gulliver set sail from here, so did the Mayflower. Stories of the river, of a ship called Antelope and Prince Leboo. The foundation of a company that ruled India. A place of pirates and the first tunnel under a river anywhere in the world. Rotherhithe, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
As recommended by Mark Wheeler [Ward of Cheap club]
“The Club thoroughly enjoyed your guided walk, Secretive London, yesterday. Very informative but a degree of light heartedness too went down very well. Even though I have worked in Gresham Street for 21 years, there were a number of facts that I did not know, we all learnt something new. Many thanks and continue with your excellent tours”
