Executions. Burnings at the stake. Body snatchers. Plague pits.
This week the The City of London Solicitors’ Company‘s History Society explored the bloody side of Smithfield, uncovering stories ranging from the death of Wat Tyler in the Peasants’ Revolt to the execution of William Wallace, the burnings of the Marian Martyrs, and the crime-ridden slums of Victorian London.
For City solicitors more accustomed to seeing Smithfield as a venue for client lunches, it was a real eye-opener.
Over drinks afterwards, even members who thought they knew almost everything about the City’s history confessed to having learnt a great deal.
The evening was led by our Freeman and qualified City Guide, Lianne Sneddon and organised by the Chair of the History Society, Past Master Ed Parker.
We have some excellent History Society events coming up, including a lecture by Sir Max Hastings on the end of the Second World War and a dinner with the historian Lord Andrew Roberts.
