London: Smithfield Walking Tour & Medieval History
Bodies, Fire & Slaughter: Two Hours Through London's Darkest Mile
You walk two miles through medieval Smithfield and the streets around it, visiting a plague pit, the oldest hospital in England, a fourteenth-century monastery, and the memorial to William Wallace. The guide explains execution methods, the Black Death, Dickens's London, and why the area became notorious. Small groups of up to fifteen mean you hear everything, and the two-hour loop ends near Farringdon Station so you can move on without backtracking.
Step-by-step itinerary
Explore London's bloody historical sites
- Start outside Barbican Station
- Visit fourteenth century monastery and plague pit
- See one thousand year old Smithfield Market
- Explore home of medieval Knights Hospitallers
- Walk through quiet alley with noisy history
- View memorial to William Wallace
- Visit London's oldest surviving parish church
- See site where Great Fire of 1666 ended
- Discover site of River Fleet sewer
- Stop at hidden pub down alleyway
- Visit oldest surviving hospital in country
- End near Farringdon Station
- The Charterhouse 10m
- Smithfield Market 10m
- St John's Gate 10m
- Cloth Fair 10m
- WIlliam Wallace Memorial 10m
- Church Of St. Bartholomew The Great Entry included 10m
- Golden Boy of Pye Corner 10m
- Holborn Viaduct 10m
- Ye Olde Mitre 10m
- St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum 10m
What’s included
Your ticket includes the two-hour guided walking tour through Smithfield and the surrounding medieval streets, with stops at a fourteenth-century plague pit, the oldest surviving hospital in England, the Knights Hospitallers' home, William Wallace's memorial, London's oldest parish church, and a hidden pub down an alleyway. Groups are kept to a maximum of fifteen people.
- Thursday 11:00
- Saturday 11:00 14:00
Information
Two-hour walking tour of London's medieval past through Smithfield, plague pits, and execution sites. Small groups from Barbican Station. Includes William Wallace memorial and St Bartholomew's Hospital.
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Traveler reviews
The experience
Hands scrubbing blood from stone. That's where the tour begins, not with you doing it, but with the weight of it, the centuries of it, pressing down on Smithfield Market as your guide stands outside Barbican Station and points to the ground beneath your feet. For a thousand years, this was London's killing floor: animals first, then people. The Black Death alone dumped tens of thousands of corpses into plague pits here in the fourteenth century, and the city just... kept going. Built over it. Sold meat on top of it. Dickens set Oliver Twist in the slums that grew here because the stench and the rot made it cheap enough for the poorest to afford.
The walking tour moves through about two miles of streets that don't look like much now (a monastery foundation, a quiet alley, a pub tucked down a passageway), but each one has a story that makes you stop walking and just listen. You'll stand where William Wallace (yes, Braveheart) was executed, and your guide will explain why he definitely wasn't shouting anything heroic while it happened. There's a memorial there now, small and easy to miss. You'll see the oldest surviving parish church in London, built when Smithfield was already ancient. The River Fleet, which ran through here as an open sewer in Victorian times, is invisible now but the guide will show you where it was, and you'll understand why people got sick. The Knights Hospitallers had their home here, medieval, powerful, gone. All of it layered on top of each other, the way London actually works.
Groups stay under fifteen people, which means you're not shuffling behind a flag or straining to hear over twenty other conversations. The tour takes about two hours and ends near Farringdon Station, so you can get back into the city proper without doubling back. It's a walking tour, so you're moving the whole time, but the pace is built for stopping, for standing in front of something and letting the guide tell you what happened there, not just what it looks like now.
Top questions
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
How long is the walking tour?
Around two hours, covering about two miles through Smithfield and the surrounding streets.
Where does the tour start and end?
It begins outside Barbican Station and ends near Farringdon Station.
What's the maximum group size?
Fifteen people, to keep the group small and ensure everyone can hear the guide.
Will we visit Smithfield Market itself?
Yes, the tour includes the thousand-year-old Smithfield Market as one of the stops.
Is this tour suitable for people with mobility issues?
The tour involves walking two miles at a steady pace. Public transportation is available nearby if you need to rest or leave early.
What era of history does the tour cover?
It spans roughly a thousand years, from medieval times through the Black Death, the Great Fire of 1666, and into the Victorian era.
Are service animals allowed?
Yes, service animals are welcome on the tour.
What's included in the ticket?
The guided walking tour only. Entry fees to attractions are not included, though most stops are viewable from the street.
Operated by Historic London Tours. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated today
London: Smithfield Walking Tour & Medieval History
2h · EN
from £ 20 per person
≈ US$ 27 in your currency
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