. Starting in 2013, Spitalfields Life Books published 15 books over 6 years until the pandemic shut us down. Now we are ready to begin again and we are inspired by a string of new titles th… Read More

. Click here to book for my tour through September and October . As part of this year’s Bartholomew Fair in Smithfield, I shall be giving an illustrated lecture in St Bartholomew&rsqu… Read More

Click here to book for my tour through September and October . As part of this year’s Bartholomew Fair in Smithfield, I shall be giving an illustrated lecture in St Bartholomew’… Read More

. Click here to book for tour through September and October . Richard Ince, 11th generation umbrella maker The factory of James Ince & Sons, the oldest established umbrella makers in t… Read More

Click here to book THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOURS for July & August The plethora of bicycle shops around Spitalfields today is not a new phenomenon as confirmed by this 1896 catalogue f… Read More

Click here to book for my tours through August, September and October . Click here to buy tour gift vouchers for your family and friends . If you want to know the story of the splendid pai… Read More

Tickets are available for my tours throughout July, August & September . . Commemorating Libby Hall (1941-2023), Photographer & Collector of Dog Photography Click to enlarge Sometim… Read More

To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.Lydia MorrishOn the morning of June 22, Karl Verboten trie… Read More

Meet me this Sunday on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral and we will spend the afternoon walking eastward together through the square mile to explore the wonders and the wickedness of t… Read More

Humanly Possible, by Sarah Bakewell. Image: Chatto & Windus 2023. Sarah Bakewell is what you might call a non-organised humanist. That is not to say she is disorganised (far from it), bu… Read More

Click here to book for my Spitalfields walk next Saturday and beyond . Click here to book for my next City of London walk on 4th June . In Brick Lane, almost everyone carries a camera to ca… Read More

CLICK HERE TO JOIN ME FOR A WALK AROUND SPITALFIELDS THIS SPRING Sweeps process through the City of London on May Day (photo courtesy Bishopsgate Institute) NEW FOR 2023: CLICK HERE TO JOI… Read More

CLICK HERE TO JOIN ME FOR A WALK AROUND SPITALFIELDS NEW FOR 2023: CLICK HERE TO JOIN ME FOR A TOUR OF THE CITY OF LONDON . Aldgate Stefan Dickers, Archivist at Bishopsgate Institute, intro… Read More

Last winter, I created THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF THE CITY OF LONDON in collaboration with Barbican Arts Centre. Join me for this walk on Easter Monday April 10th at 2pm, meeting on t… Read More

I blogged about London's Broad Street station years ago:As Disused Stations records, at the start of the 20th century more than one train a minute arrived or left Broad Street during the mor… Read More

Click here to book for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS throughout November and beyond Click here to buy GIFT VOUCHERS for The Gentle Author’s Tours – ideal present… Read More

The ubiquitous ‘street food’ sellers of the modern capital have precedents dating back centuries, as Dr Charlie Taverner, author of Street Food: Hawkers and the History of London… Read More

If you fancy a bracing walk as a respite from the festivities, tickets are available for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS on Boxing Day. Click here to buy GIFT VOUCHERS for The… Read More

In celebration of Small Business Saturday, I am hosting the new EAST END TRADES GUILD TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS this Saturday 3rd December at noon, telling the stories of the different local shop… Read More

Join me on an atmospheric autumn walk through the streets of Spitalfields. Click here to book for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS . As the dusk gathers, let us go rambling to… Read More

Tickets are available for my Spitalfields tour throughout October & November Click here to book for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS . Fish Porters at Number One Snack Bar… Read More

Tickets are available for my tour throughout September & October Click here to book for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS . Two young men from Ilfracombe A small cache of g… Read More

Tickets are available for my walking tour throughout July. Click here to book your ticket for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS . Dr Syntax & his Spouse plan their trip to… Read More

Street Strolling Clowns by John Thomas Smith, 1816 (courtesy Bishopsgate Institute) Sweeps on May Day in the City of London c. 1920 (courtesy Bishopsgate Institute) On May Day, a tradition… Read More

Much of May is sold out, but some tickets are available this weekend and next Saturday for thegentleauthorstours.com A contemplative moment at the Tower Rummaging through the thousands of g… Read More

Thanks to everyone who has contributed, we are now a third of the way towards my crowd-funder to launch a COMMUNITY TOURISM PROJECT in Spitalfields as a BETTER ALTERNATIVE to the serial kill… Read More