Here, Jacob Wolf invites you on an academic pub crawl, a walking tour through how London’s public houses have shaped the politics and society of Bloomsbury.
Students bring history to life in London’s Virtual Classroom
In 1800, central London’s Bloomsbury neighbourhood was little better than a swamp. A century later, it had become the intellectual and cultural powerhouse of the world’s biggest empire. Local residents are among England’s most famous names: Dickens, Darwin, Yeats, Woolf. Thousands have journeyed from all around the world to study here, including Gandhi, Kwame Nkrumah (first Prime Minister of independent Ghana), and Paul Robeson (the African American superstar bass, actor and political activist).
The London’s Living History class explores how this change came about. Students walk in distinguished footsteps to immerse in raw materials of history. Weekly tours, field visits, and archival work with primary sources such as news clippings, maps, and street directories help students to examine and write histories that have never been told before.
A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Bloomsbury Pubs
by Jacob Wolf
Click on a stop number to read Jacob’s micro-history of the pub, take in the atmosphere with photos, and get more details about the establishment.