Clerkenwell: Not Just a Watering Hole

A gin and beer themed walk around Clerkenwell with a Clerkenwell and Islington Guide.

Hear how the abundance of fresh water in Clerkenwell shaped the area firstly with the religious settlements and later with distilleries and breweries. You will hear about the connection between gin and cricket, the terrible slums and the criminals who lived within, the influence Smithfield Market had on the surrounding streets, temperance societies, a coffee house where Latin was the only language permitted and the now long gone theatre known as the blood tub.

This walk is led by Joanna Moncrieff whose walks usually have some form of food related information included. On this walk you will hear about an electrical shop that sells award winning olive oil, a pub that isn’t quite what it seems and halfway through the walk we will have a half hour stop at an Irish café voted one of the best coffee shops in London. The walk will finish in a suitably historic pub close to Farringdon Station.