Event Details:
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Meeting Point: Outside Hampstead Tube Station, Hampstead High Street, NW3 1QG. If you are late, ring Emily 07519917915 to catch up with the walking party.
- This is a fund raising benefit for Torriano. £15 or £10 Booking essential. Tickets here
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- Time: 10:45 for 11:00 am departure
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Duration: Approx 90 minutes
A short Hampstead street—Church Row—and its churchyard contain an extraordinary concentration of stories spanning more than two centuries. Radical art, cinematic history, Victorian scandals, literary imagination, and architectural innovation have all left their mark here.
Participants will encounter stories connected to two women who transformed a charity into a formidable political force, the forgotten history of child labourers, a painter who broke the rules of Western art through radical innovations—the mystery of a painting that was lost for 174 years, and the grave of a movie star who played a leading role in an anti-war movie during the Second World War. The walk also brings to life a notorious Victorian scandal alongside the inspiration for Peter Pan and The Time Machine, the architect later associated with Battersea Power Station, and more.
Along the way, we will explore a historic churchyard where the graves of well-known figures stand alongside memorials to forgotten lives. The walk also introduces a living witness to this history: an ancient yew tree that has watched generations come and go, linking past and present in a way that even H.G. Wells might have appreciated.
The walk is led by Can Yildiz, an urban geographer, accredited Camden tour guide, and long-time Camden resident since the 1980s.
Clothing and Footwear: Please wear comfortable footwear suitable for walking on both paved streets and uneven churchyard paths. As the walk takes place outdoors, participants are advised to dress appropriately for the weather and bring waterproof clothing if rain is forecast. Accessibility: Route includes St John’s Churchyard, where some paths are narrow and uneven and may be difficult for some visitors.
