The Rise, Fall and Rise again of the Elephant & Castle

Explore how Elephant and Castle went from being the 'farm of Britain' in the middle ages to 'the Piccadilly of the South' in the 18th Century to, as Giles Coren unfairly put it, 'a stabby shitehole of staggering grimness' in the 20th. Finally, witness its recent multi-billion pound reinvention as a thriving urban metropolis at the heart of London life.

This tour follows the extraordinary trajectory of one of London's most overlooked and reviled areas: the Elephant and Castle. From its earliest origins as a marsh ridden area of market gardens and peach orchards, to its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, to its dramatic decline and fall, the walk explores the buildings and people that defined this area through history. On the journey, we will discover enormous pleasure gardens rife with exotic animals; the largest cinema in Europe; what was once the tallest residential skyscraper in Britain; architectural gems by Erno Goldfinger… and much more. With the recent creation of Elephant Park and a £4.8 billion regeneration fund, now is the time to rediscover this neglected part of London as it restates its claim to being the 'Piccadilly of the South’.

Golden Key Academy

This tour is led by a participant of Open City’s Golden Key Academy – a course training up insightful and engaging guides dedicated to explaining London and bringing its many stories to life. It is part of a wider collection of tours created by Golden Key Academy guides for the Open House Festival celebrating their conclusion of the eight month course.
Further information on the Golden Key Academy can be found here https://open-city.org.uk/golden-key-academy