This year we are celebrating the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. Although widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, we know relatively little about him as a person. This walk explores one of the neighbourhoods that Shakespeare knew intimately, where he owned both a theatre and a house. Today, Blackfriars is a charming maze of evocative alleys and secret courtyards. By placing Shakespeare firmly in the context of the hustle and bustle of the City of London in the early Seventeenth Century, we’ll get a little closer to the great man himself!

Karen Chester studied art history in her native Canada before moving to the UK in 1982. In London she completed a second BA and, subsequently, an MA at Birkbeck College, specialising in seventeenth-century English history. A fully qualified City of London guide, Karen is the Guides Co-ordinator for Guildhall Art Gallery, and for the Dutch pictures in Mansion House. She can also be found out on the streets in all weathers talking about William Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys, Samuel Johnson and other famous and infamous characters of the early modern city!

Please note that the tickets are non-refundable.