Winter Wanders: Clerkenwell Road – Warehouse to Hard House

The Winter Wanders series is a number of walks planned for the "limbo week" between Christmas and New Year, run by a group of friends who are qualified Islington tour guides.

This tour explores the architecture and history of Victorian warehouses and the industries of the past along and around Clerkenwell Road, as well as the 19th-century drive to reshape London through the building of roads and railways.

The creation of Clerkenwell Road carved a swathe through the city’s history, destroying neighbourhoods, making hundreds of people homeless and changing the social make-up of the area.

Today this area is full of architects, designers and cafes, but in earlier times this was a place of warehouses and factories, from crystal glass manufacturing to clockmakers, printers to gin distillers. It went on to be home to some of the famous names of the 20th century, including Columbia Records, Kodak Cameras and Zetter’s Pools – not forgetting the legendary nightclub Turnmills. Traces and clues to this rich history still remain and we’ll see how many we can find.

The tour starts at Barbican exit to the Elizabeth Line on Long Lane, opposite the Old Red Cow pub, and will take about 90 minutes, ending a short distance from Farringdon station. It’s a gentle wander on flat city pavements, though some of them are quite narrow.

The tour will start at 11am so please aim to arrive 5-10 minutes early.

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