London’s Millennia of Medical Progress Private Historical Tour

We start off in beautiful Bloomsbury famed for its garden squares and creative spirit with a history of philanthropy

Learn the incredible story of how this pioneering children's facility was created by a hardened Yorkshire sailor. (Entry availability able if you pick the relevant option).

The world leading children's hospital with its little known connection to Peter Pan.

This small garden square is where Florence Nightingale set up her pioneering company of nurses before the Crimean War.

Sat in the midst of what was a terrible rookery, these are where the first cases of the Plague were recorded in London.

Whilst also the home of big names such as Paul McCartney and various showbiz offices it is here we will find the home of Mary Seacole.

This wonderful old pub is named after the doctor who deduced how bacteria and germs were spreading through the water supply. His famous water pump survives in the street.

As we transition from one leg of the tour to the next, we will pass through the epitome of 60's London, Carnaby Street.

We will visit the Edward Jenner statue in the beautiful Italian gardens of Hyde Park and learn about the man who invented vaccines.

We will walk through Paddington to see the spot where the first Antibiotics were discovered.

The oldest surviving operating theatre in the world is all that remains of this old hospital (Entry included if option booked).

Get a great view of the City of London as we move towards the next leg of our tour.

We will pass right by this impressive monument to the biggest disasters to ever hit London.

This church has an incredible history and was in a plague hotspot. The beautifully kept garden inside is full of old medicinal herbs that would have been used in the days before modern hospitals.

This old water pump has an infamous history and sparked a major public health crisis in Victorian times. Don't get the hump!

It all looks hunky dory on top now after the recent landscaped gardens but underneath are countless bodies from the plague.

We will visit the outside of this pioneering old soup kitchen in the heart of the East End of London.

These ancient Alms Houses are still operating and helping those in need just as they have done for centuries.

These ruins were only found underground a few years ago and once contained the bones of thousands of victims of famine.

It's long been a funky market but centuries ago this whole area was one of medical recuperation.

Before we pop on the tube to our final leg of the tour we will visit the spot of the first hospital for those suffering from mental health issues. It's bedlam!

Cripplegate is a place where the infirm would gather as it was believed that they would be healed by divine powers. We will see the Tower Of St Elsyng Spital, the ruins of an early medieval hospital.

On our way to our final destination we will pass through the beautiful and melancholic Postman's Park

We will visit parts of the oldest hospital in the Western World and if you book the optional entry at booking (only open some days) then we can look in this fascinating old hospital museum.

In this place of executions we will learn of the local body snatchers trade that though highly illegal helped doctors advance medical science.

We end this tour inside the truly ancient and magnificent Church of St Bartholomew the Great and visit the tomb of Rahere, the man who having almost died on his travels, had a vision of Saint Bartholomew and keeping to the promise he made to the Saint, returned to London to found not just this beautiful church but our first hospital which will be 900 years old in 2023.