From Righteous to Wretched: A Clerkenwell Tale

Clerkenwell has always existed in opposition to itself. Established by two holy orders, St. James’s nunnery and St. John’s priory, it flourished precisely because it was beyond the City’s jurisdiction, and allowed for a free and easy lifestyle. This lack of interference by the City later gave way to lawlessness, and parts of the area garnered a reputation for vice, crime, and some of the poorest housing conditions in London. On this walking tour, I’ll show you the key sites in Clerkenwell’s story, and tell you about the people that called this area their home.

Our journey starts at Farringdon Station, where we’ll enter the heart of Clerkenwell and its storied alleyways. You’ll make your way to Clerkenwell Green and, at the Marx Memorial Library, hear about the area’s links to socialism. Along the way, you’ll pass St James’ Gardens, and, walk through the historical Jerusalem Passage to see the Saint John Priory Church and hear how it’s evolved over the centuries. From there, you’ll squeeze your way through the infamous Passing Alley and find out about its slightly crude origins, before ending this tour at the magnificent, historical Smithfield Market.

During this London walking tour, you’ll hear about:

• The Clerk’s Well which gave the area, with its abundance of fresh spring water, its name
• The mystery plays that were performed at the Clerk’s Well
• Cut Throat Lane and the former site of Clerkenwell Prison
• What was once some of the worst housing in London, where life was sometimes very violent
• Clerkenwell’s association with the gin trade
• Dame Alice and her infamous brothel
• The street that encouraged King Charles I to try a pickled egg
• The Betsey Trotwood, a much-loved Victorian pub
• The site of the area’s penal institution and the outrage that left several people dead and many more injured
• A very novel form of the vending machine at Exmouth Market
• The parish churches of St James and St John
• Why Victorian morals changed the name of a particular alleyway

On this walking tour of London’s Clerkenwell, you’ll discover its – at times – conflicting histories, and meet some of its most infamous residents. You’ll also hear tales of their (more often than not) unfortunate ends, which left them forever tangled in the district’s history.