London Medical History and Alternative Tour

Nowhere in the world has been quite so important in the field of medicine than London. Historically, if only for its long history filled with disasters and diseases, but in the last few centuries it has also been the home of science and some of the most incredible jumps in medicine and healthcare anywhere on Earth.
This tour will visit plenty of sites that have helped change the world as well as visiting some of the spots that were home to some of the countless medical and social problems in history. In many ways, this tour isn’t just a Medical History Tour but also a fabulous alternative tour of London.

We will see where vaccines and medicines were invented, visit the first operating theatres, orphanages, social care, mental institutions and hospitals in the western world. Follow in the footsteps of medical pioneers and visit the sights of some of the biggest healthcare disasters and underhand medical events as we go from the herbal medicine & crusaders to COVID-19 & the modern day.

Meeting Point

Russell Square

Bernard St, London WC1N 1LJ, UK

We meet at the Russel Square

What's included:

• Private Guided Tour

Not included:

• Underground tickets are not included (£7.40 per adult)

What to expect:

Duration: 4 hours

Bloomsbury

London

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

35 minutes

The Foundling Museum

40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ

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).

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Great Ormond Street

Great Ormond St, London WC1N, UK

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

5 minutes

Queen Square

Queen Square, London WC1N, UK

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

5 minutes

St Giles-in-the-Fields Church

60 St. Giles High Street, , London, WC2H 8LG

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

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Soho Square

Westminster, London, W1D 3QR

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.

10 minutes

John Snow Saloon

Broadwick Street, W1, London, W1

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.

5 minutes

Carnaby Street

London, W1F

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

10 minutes

Statue of Edward Jenner

A402, London, W2 2UD

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

10 minutes

Paddington

Paddington, London W2, UK

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

15 minutes

Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret

9A St. Thomas Street, St. Thomas' Church, London, SE1 9RY

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

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

London Bridge

London, EC4R 9HA

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

5 minutes

The Monument to the Great Fire of London

Fish St. Hill, , London, EC3R 8AH

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

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

St Olave's Church

8 Hart Street, London, EC3R 7NB

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.

5 minutes

Aldgate Pump

65-68 Leadenhall St, London EC3A 2AD, UK

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

5 minutes

Aldgate Square

Aldgate Station Aldgate High Street, London, EC3N 1AH

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

5 minutes

Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor

Brune Street, London, E1 7NE

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

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Norton Folgate Alms Houses

Puma Court, London, E1 6QG

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

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Charnel House

Bishops Square, Spitalfields, London

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

5 minutes

Old Spitalfields Market

16 Horner Square, , London, E1 6EW

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

10 minutes

Liverpool Street Station

Liverpool Street Station, London, EC2M 7QH

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!

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Cripplegate Street

Cripplegate St, Barbican, London, UK

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.

10 minutes

Postman's Park

King Edward Street, , London, EC1A 7BT

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

10 minutes

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital Museum

Giltspur Street, West Smithfield, London, EC1A 7BE

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.

10 minutes

WIlliam Wallace Memorial

St. Bartholomew's Hospital, W Smithfield, London, EC1A 9DS

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

10 minutes

Church of St. Bartholomew the Great

West Smithfield, Barbican, London, EC1A 9DS

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.

10 minutes