DISCOVER LONDON'S HIDDEN HISTORY
The ultimate destination for self-guided audio walking tours of central London. Start exploring anytime, at your own pace.
Another excellent tour by Steve. In-depth research means there are unexpected points of history, detailed anecdotes and accompanying images, photos and maps. These bring the area to life and make for a hugely enjoyable walk
Uncover the city's best-kept secrets. Our self-guided audio tours take you off the beaten path to explore fascinating historical hidden gems, forgotten alleyways, and untold stories across central London
Full of facts and stories. Great in depth knowledge of the area helps to create a feel of how Bermondsey must have been. I was thoroughly enthralled for the duration of the tour. If you like social and industrial history then I would recommend this tour.
John Francis: From Friars to Fellmongers
Uncovering the Lost Spires: The City of London Churches Project
Behind the scenes of our upcoming self-guided audio tour exploring sacred spaces, architectural quirks, and centuries of forgotten history.
The Vision: Uncovering the Lost Spires
Beneath the modern glass and steel of the Square Mile lie the remnants of dozens of ancient sacred spaces. From masterpieces rebuilt after the Great Fire to forgotten churchyards tucked away down narrow medieval alleys, these buildings have witnessed plague, fire, war, and centuries of daily London life.
When I first set out to create a self-guided audio tour for these historic sites, I honestly didn't realize the sheer mountain of research required to bring them back to life. Piecing together centuries-old records, navigating complex historical contradictions, and solving the logistical challenges of on-the-ground route planning has been a massive, humbling undertaking.
However, that rigorous deep-dive into primary sources and archival material is what makes these tours unique. This isn't just a list of dates and addresses; it’s an authentic, hard-earned exploration of the people, architecture, and dramatic stories that shaped the City.
The audio tours are still a few months away while I finalize the production, but I’ll be using this page as my project diary to share early research notes, architectural quirks, and progress updates.
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From the Archives: The Fall of Cheapside Cross
Imagine walking down the bustling modern stretch of Cheapside and picturing a towering, richly gilded Gothic cross rising right out of the pavement. For over 350 years, Cheapside Cross was one of London's most famous landmarks—until a volatile mix of medieval pageantry, religious fanaticism, and civil war caught up with it.
Unearthing the turbulent story behind what happened to the cross—and tracking down the ghosts of the lost churches that once crowded this marketplace—has been one of the toughest, yet most rewarding, puzzles of this project. Stay tuned as I share more micro-histories from the archives leading up to the tour launch!
From the Archives: The Disappearance and Return of Dr. Peter Turner
When a German incendiary bomb scored a direct hit on St. Olave’s, Hart Street during the Blitz on April 17, 1941, it gutted the historic church. Amidst the smoke and rubble, an opportunist seized the chaos to loot a prized 400-year-old painted stone bust of Elizabethan physician Dr. Peter Turner straight off its wall memorial.
For decades, the parish assumed the monument was lost forever to the fires of war. But the story took a miraculous turn when the missing bust surfaced decades later with collectors in the Netherlands who had no idea of its true provenance.
Thanks to the Art Loss Register, the artifact was officially tracked down and returned to its rightful home at St. Olave’s in 2011—seventy years after it vanished from the bombed-out ruins. It's a striking reminder that the City's history isn't just locked in the past; sometimes, it fights its way back home.
