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17
Jewish London
This Lifelong Learning
itinerary examines Jewish
life in London from Roman
times to the present day with
visits to the beautiful Spanish
and Portuguese Synagogue
in the City of London, the
Jewish East End and the newly
refurbished Jewish Museum
in Camden.
This tour is available Sunday
to Thursday throughout
the year.
Adults:
£21.95
Seniors: £19.95
Coach Mileage: 5
We begin at 10.30am
with time to buy
morning coffee on
Tower Hill in the
City of London not
far from the old
city wall built by
the Romans who
founded London.
Jewish people first
came to London
during Roman
times and have been
instrumental in the
cigarette makers
who rubbed
shoulders with
actors, artists and
musicians. This
was the childhood
home of such
luminaries as Jack
Cohen (Tesco),
Alan Sugar, Bud
Flanagan, Joe Loss,
Harold Pinter, Lew
Grade, Bernard
Delfont, Vidal
history of the capital for 2000 years. During
the morning we trace the story of Jewish
London in the City and the East End.
Along the way we stop at the oldest and
most splendid synagogue in England built
when Sir Christopher Wren was building
his churches nearby. The Bevis Marks
Synagogue however had to be built inside a
courtyard as in 1701 synagogues were not
permitted on public streets.
We are heading to Whitechapel and
Spitalfields, which would become the hub
of immigrant Jewish life in the 19
th
and 20
th
centuries. These streets thronged with Jewish
cabinet makers, tailors, shoe smiths and
Sassoon, Lionel Blair and Claire Rayner.
For lunch we stop at Old Spitalfields Fruit
& Veg Market offering a choice of pubs and
cafés with interesting boutique-type shops
and market stalls.
In the afternoon we visit the elegantly
refurbished Jewish Museum in Camden
Town. Exhibits include the oldest English
Hanukkah lamp and a mediaeval tax receipt
consisting of notched wooden tallies to show
the amount received. This fascinating day is
recommended for groups who like to take
time to get their teeth into a subject.
There’s a café on site at the Jewish Museum
where you can buy refreshments before
heading home at 4.45pm.
The Book Club
You don’t have to be an avid
reader to enjoy this day out.
We visit the Charing Cross
book district, enjoy a coach
tour that’s like curling up
with a good book on a rainy
day, enjoy a two-course lunch
together in the Georgian house
in Fitzrovia where George
Bernard Shaw once lodged
with his mother and visit
the British Library. Oh and
everyone gets a Book Club list
to take home.
Available weekdays all year.
Adults & Seniors: £19.95
Coach Mileage: 10
Please meet your
guide at 10.30am
to buy morning
refreshments in the
St Martin’s Crypt
Café at Trafalgar
Square. We’re going
to start the day while
the legs are fresh
with a short walk to
enjoy some of the
Charing Cross book
district, including
time to browse in
tea or coffee (all
included in the
tour fee) in the
heart of Fitzrovia.
This is an elegant
but once seedy
neighbourhood
known for artists
and writers from
H G Wells and
George Owell to
Charles Dickens
and Virginia
Woolfe. Our lunch
one or two of the book shops that are holding
their own against the internet.
The streets and landmarks of London have
fed the imaginations of countless authors and
in turn these books, and the films and
television dramas made from them, have
shaped the image of London in the minds
of millions of people around the world.
During an entertaining coach tour, which is
not unlike curling up with a good book on a
rainy day, you’ll hear of some very famous
books, old and new, as well as some lesser-
known reads that you might want to get out
of the library when you return home.
We sit together for a set lunch of chicken
with seasonal vegetables (or a vegetarian
option) followed by an apple pie dessert and
venue was the London home of L Ron
Hubbard, who still holds the Guinness World
Record for ‘Most Published Author’.
In the afternoon we visit the public galleries
at the new British Library. The glass walls
in the core of the building reveal the huge
leather volumes from the King’s Library
donated by George III. See over 200
beautiful and fascinating items including
sacred texts, maps and musical manuscripts
from over the centuries and around the
world. Discover some of the world’s most
exciting and significant books, including
Shakespeare’s First Folio.
You can buy a cup of tea in the Library Café
before heading home at 4.45pm.
info@cityandvillagetours.com