Spectacle, Sin and Uproar: A Hidden History of Covent Garden

(69 reviews)

London audio tour: Spectacle, Sin and Uproar: A Hidden History of Covent Garden

This is a 1.6mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

London

The United Kingdom

$11.99

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About the Tour

Covent Garden’s rich history is woven into the very fabric of London’s identity. On this walking tour, you’ll discover the surprising origins of this world-famous district, uncovering a past filled with bustling markets, theatrical scandals, and revolutionary policing innovations that lie hidden beneath the touristy veneer.

The tour starts at Covent Garden station, where you’ll learn about the area’s ancient origins. You’ll explore the elegant piazza designed by Inigo Jones in the 1630s as London’s first formal square, and wander through the market building where fresh produce was traded for over 300 years. Along the way, you’ll find out how the aristocratic vision for the area gave way quickly to a vibrant market culture that defined Covent Garden for centuries.

I’ll tell you how the area transformed from daytime marketplace to London’s most notorious red-light district after sunset, with taverns and brothels earning it the nickname the “Square of Venus.“ You’ll also hear stories about famous actors, writers, and musicians who lived and worked here, from Charles Dickens to Mozart. The tour ends on Floral Street, where you’ll learn how community activism saved the historic neighbourhood from demolition in the 1970s.

During this 90-minute tour, you’ll have a chance to:

Stand outside Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London’s oldest surviving theatre, and hear how audiences released pigs and ripped out seats for 62 days until management restored the original ticket prices
Learn about the historic St. Paul’s Church, nicknamed “the actors’ church,“ and see its old churchyard, now laid out as a beautiful garden
Walk down hidden alleyways that preserve old London’s atmosphere – from Goodwin’s Court’s early Georgian buildings to Cecil Court’s Victorian reconstruction
Visit the site of the first professional police force in London, the Bow Street Runners
Discover the story behind “Harris’ List,“ the infamous directory of sex workers that sold a quarter million copies
See the pub nicknamed the “Bucket of Blood“ where Victorian bare-knuckle boxing matches were held
Marvel at the architectural details that survived centuries of change, from original gas lamps to the market rules from the 1920s

This tour reveals a Covent Garden most visitors never see, one where history lurks around every corner and down every narrow passage.

Tour Producer

Jack Chesher (Living London History)

1 tour

Jack is the founder of Living London History, a website/social media pages that look at London's hidden history, heritage and overlooked little details and stories, that make this city so endlessly fascinating. What started as a pandemic hobby in 2020 has turned into his full time job and he has over 1 million followers across his channels.

Jack runs eight different historical walking tours of the city and is the author of two Sunday Times best-selling books covering the metropolis' overlooked details, nooks and crannies. London: A Guide for Curious Wanderers and London: The Hidden Corners for Curious Wanderers.

Preview Location

Location 17

Harris’s List

Head underneath the covered arcade straight ahead on the right.

Feel free to mill around underneath here and head down to the entranceway to the Royal Opera House in the corner.

We're going to spend some time here to look at a totally different side to the piazza’s var... Head underneath the covered arcade straight ahead on the right.

Feel free to mill around underneath here and head down to the entranceway to the Royal Opera House in the corner.

We're going to spend some time here to look at a totally different side to the piazza’s varied history.

I have talked so far about the fruit, vegetable and flower market, kicking off from early in the morning. As the day drew on, certainly in the 18th century, and the sun started to set, the piazza took on a rather different character. It became actually I suppose, a market of another kind, a market of flesh. Human flesh. This became the most notorious red-light district in the metropolis.

The taverns and brothels around around the piazza, of which there were many in the 18th century, came alive. The piazza became nicknamed the ‘Square of Venus’ because of this association. The arcades around the piazza were well-known hang outs for sex-workers, picking up custom perhaps from betwixt the columns. They had certain clothing motifs that you could recognise them by in this period, they would often wear something red like a red hood or red scarf, or hitch their skirt up on the left side specifically, or wear a nosegay of flowers on their chest.

In this corner of the piazza, there was a tavern called the Shakespeare’s Head. The head waiter at the Shakepeare’s Head was a man called John Harris or Jack Harris. He was head waiter but also really head pimp. The story goes that he would carry a list in his top jacket pocket with the names of the sex-workers in the area, their names, locations, prices. His nickname was apparently the ‘pimp-master general of all England’. Harris and his list are said to have inspired a failing poet called Samuel Derrick to create an annual publication called Harris’ List of Covent Garden Ladies.

This was essentially an annual catalogue, a directory of the sex-workers in the area, their names, ages, locations and special services I suppose you would say, special skills perhaps. It sold every year from 1760-1794 from various taverns and spots around the piazza, would be updated each year and is thought to have sold about a quarter of a million copies over that period. Its tag line was ‘the essential accessory for any serious gentleman of pleasure’.

Because it was written, certainly initially by this poet, it was also written humorously in some cases, almost as entertaining reading. He used a lot of metaphor and analogy. For example this one, heavy in nautical metaphor, describing Sally from Fleet Market: ‘She sets sail between the hours of 7 or 8. If she meets any captures she generally sets fire to them and bears away with whatever plunder she can conveniently carry off. She is Dutch built, broad bottomed and carries a great deal of sail. Goods put aboard her reasonably freighted’. Some could be very rude, a Miss Berry described as ‘almost rotten, her breath cadaverous’ but most could be more complimentary.

It is also worth adding that the sex industry in Georgian London was massive, it was one of the biggest industries in the city and it is thought around ⅕ of women, in Georgian London were involved in the sex industry at some point in their lives. There were so few choices for women, particularly poor women to get by, to do traditional jobs. This could, if they were lucky, give them some control and autonomy over their lives, the opportunity to succeed, but most it is safe to say would have been living pretty miserable lives. There is a fantastic book called The Covent Garden Ladies by Hallie Rubenhold for a greater depth of info on this topic.

If open, you can have a look around the Royal Opera House if you would like. You can find a cafe, toilets and the inside of the Floral Hall, which I will tell you about at our next stop. You will just have to get a bag check to go inside. There is even a bookshop (they may even have a copy of my book wink wink, nudge nudge).

Once done inside, head back out the way you came in to continue the tour.

If you're not stopping, retrace your steps towards the Transport Museum, but take your first left onto Russell Street.

Either way, I'll catch up with you at the next intersection. Read More

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Major Landmarks

The White Lion
Nags Head
Covent Garden
Street Performers Covent Garden
St Paul’s Church Covent Garden
Covent Garden Market relief
London Transport Museum
Royal Opera House
Former Bow Street Magistrate’s Court
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Corpus Christi Catholic Church
Rules
Adelphi Theatre
Goodwin's Court
Saint Martin's Lane
The Lamb & Flag

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Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
Underground Ltd, Long Acre, London WC2E 9JT, UK
Total distance

3km
Final location
5-30 Floral St, London WC2E, UK
Distance back to start location

133.85m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts outside Covent Garden tube station on James Street, roughly outside number 13. Make sure you can see the tube station in front of you and Long Acre to your right.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The Royal Opera has a lovely cafe called the Piazza Cafe that overlooks the Piazza from their terrace. the tour finishes near the Lamb and Flag, a traditional pub. We also pass by Rules (London's oldest restaurant), for more higher-end sit-down meal.

Best time of day

You can do it all year round. It will be busier at weekends and in the afternoons/evenings.

The best time would be to do it on a midweek morning as the churches should be open and it will be quieter.

Precautions

Make sure to dress for the weather- sun cream for hot days, an umbrella for wet. It is always advisable to be aware of your surroundings when having your phone out in London, particularly near road edges, due to phone-snatchers on bikes/mopeds.

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