From the email received from Stephen Burstin, who runs Jewish Walking Tours in London.
Spitalfields and Aldgate walking tour in London’s East End….The cost is £10 per person (payable on the day) and the tour is both informative and entertaining, including:
- A visit inside the magnificent Bevis Marks Synagogue – the oldest surviving synagogue in England dating back more than 300 years and spawning several internationally famous sons. Discover why there was a staggering 156 synagogues in just two square miles of the East End
- See the Jewish Soup Kitchen, lifesaver to thousands every day; the first Yiddish theatre in England, scene of a real life tragedy; the site of a fatal gun battle between police and Jewish anarchists; and many other interesting sites
- Hear heartwarming and heartbreaking stories, from the hilarious spiel of market traders in famous Petticoat Lane to the impoverished immigrants escaping East European oppression only to face wretched living conditions here and a life of toil in the notorious clothing sweatshops (and we touch on other immigrant cultures too). You will also learn about the infamous Jewish Catwalk where unsuspecting Jewish immigrant girls were lured into a tragic life of prostitution
- Meet colourful characters from the past including the real-life 19th century Fagin; also the secret Jew who became the Queen’s physician; and England’s chief rabbi who told Russia: “DON’T let my people go!” I will even tell you about the amazing Jewish connection with Jack the Ripper
The tour lasts around 2½ hours and there are plenty of stops and pauses plus a sit down in Bevis Marks for commentary about the synagogue (nominal admission charge to Bevis Marks).
It commences at 10.00am with us meeting outside the Aldgate Underground (Subway) Station – not the nearby Aldgate East Station.
