walk/tour
Statue of Queen Anne, St. Paul's Churchyard, EC4M 8AY
what3words: flies.both.stress
Laying Blitz photographs against the streets of today, this tour traces the rebuilding of the City around St Paul's from rival postwar blueprints to pocket parks and privately-owned public spaces. We look at what today’s business district replaced and also at the remnants of conflict still visible in the streets today.
We will be crossing streets, climbing stairs and the pavement may be uneven. There will be seating at various stops.
Walking tour
10:30–12:30
How to book
Bookings will open at midday on 19 August. You won't be able to book a ticket before then.
This walk uses photographs of Blitz destruction — drawn from the remarkable Cross and Tibbs collection — as a lens through which to trace the transformation of the City of London, from a landscape of rubble and ruin to the streets we know today. Arthur Cross and Fred Tibbs, both City of London police officers, photographed the aftermath of bombing raids as part of their duties, and their images give us an intimate, ground-level view of a city in crisis.
Our route will take us to several key sites that speak to this story of destruction and renewal. We will visit the Guildhall, one of the City's most important civic buildings and also stop at some of the City's historic churches to discuss their fates. This walk also explores some of the City's privately owned public spaces, considering how postwar redevelopment reshaped not just the physical fabric of the City but also the nature of public access and ownership within it — a legacy that continues to influence how these spaces function today.
Along the way, we will pause to discuss how prepared London actually was for war. This includes the work of the ARP service, the wardens, shelters, and civil defence infrastructure that were put in place, as well as the very real fear of chemical warfare.
We will also touch on one of the more unexpected consequences of the bombing: the way it tore open the City's modern surface to reveal traces of a much older past. The Blitz exposed Roman walls, medieval foundations, and other archaeological remains that had lain hidden beneath centuries of building. In the rubble and clearance that followed, archaeologists seized a rare opportunity to survey and record layers of London's history that would otherwise have remained buried, adding an unexpected silver lining to the devastation.
Finally, we will examine the competing visions for how the City should be rebuilt — visions ranging from radical reimaginings of streets and open space to more conservative preservation of the historic street pattern. Looking at what was proposed alongside what was actually built offers a fascinating window into the choices and competing priorities that shaped the City we walk through today.
Weather permitting, we will be traversing both pavement and grassy areas over the course of about two hours and practical footwear for both occasions is recommended.
The Golden Key Academy is a course training up insightful and engaging guides dedicated to explaining London and bringing its many stories to life. This tour 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
If you would like to attend this tour, please ensure you have booked a ticket before turning up.
