Events Panel: Explore the Smithfield area – body snatchers, prisons, secret weapons and much more

8th December 2022 from 11:00am — 12:30pm •

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This is a tour that tells the tale of crime and punishment, executions and excess.

Our tour starts south of the sedate St Paul’s Cathedral but did you know its churchyard was once a place for book burning, fiery sermons and hanging, drawing and quartering? Our walk, which takes about 90 minutes, will visit:

St Paul’s Churchyard, the medieval equivalent of Twitter

Paternoster Square and Temple Bar, where people were pilloried

Greyfriars Church: a ruinous church, haunted by a wicked queen

Old Bailey: the former Newgate Gaol and a place for public executions – and a daring escapee

Smithfield: where martyrs were executed, by burning at the stake – even boiled alive

Bartholomew Fair: a raucous festival the Victorians finally banned

Charterhouse: a peaceful part of London but where death lies underneath

We will finish with a sandwich lunch in our own Livery Hall.

Tickets £15 (includes VAT and lunch)