The opening of the new London Museum in November will attract a host of visitors, and many may be interested in exploring the history and current attractions of Smithfield and Clerkenwell. A new walks hub and visitor centre could complement the existing City Information Centre near St Paul’s.
Currently the top visitor attractions in the Square Mile are the Tower of London (2.96 million) and St Paul’s Cathedral (1.7 million), followed by the Barbican Centre (1.3 million).
Source City Culture Planning Framework p 59
In November the centre of gravity will begin to change. The new London Museum will open in Smithfield with projected visitor numbers of 2 million a year attracted by a stunning building, unrivalled collections, social spaces and storytelling – with easy access via the Elizabeth Line.
The City Corporation is keen to encourage visitors to explore hundreds of other Square Mile attractions that are mapped on its “Take a longer look” visitor trail pamphlet. There’s also an app, with audio commentaries.
While the pamphlet and app have self-guided trails for those interested in Roman London, law and literature, skyscrapers, sculpture and other topics, there’s nothing about the fascinating history of Smithfield. For that you need to go to the Museum’s excellent website for The Many Histories of Smithfield:
“Once a ‘smooth field’ outside the city’s medieval walls, Smithfield became one of London’s busy hubs, famous for its meat market, wild annual fair and public executions. Trade, revelry, plague, protest, religion, innovation and death – learn more about how Smithfield’s tangled histories capture the story of London itself”.
Better still, visit St Bartholomew the Great, Barts North Wing and Hospital Museum, Smithfield Market(after 10pm) and venture into Clerkenwell to The Charterhouse, Museum of the Order of St John, Marx Memorial Library and more. See Footways map below.
I guess that the City’s Visitor Trail map – published in 2020 – will be updated, not least because it currently shows the Museum of London at its old home on London Wall. That reprint would provide an opportunity to rebalance City visitor information.
A walks hub and visitor centre for Smithfield and Clerkenwell
At the moment the starting point for the visitor trail – and the special interest trails – is shown as the City Information Centre near St Paul’s.
When the new Museum opens there’s a strong case for making the Museum – or a nearby location – an additional starting point for walks, with associated information about the area. The Culture Mile Public Realm Strategy (p 84) recommended just that in 2024:
“There are dozens of walking tours by Culture Mile BID and various organisations that take place through the area. A recurring desire lines is the historic routes north and south of the market such as those that connect the religious heritage of Clerkenwell Green with Charterhouse, St Bartholomew the Great, St Paul’s.
“Smithfield could be promoted as a hub for City tours, liaise with tour organisers on improvements including wayfinding, mapping and the like”.
It adds:
“Given the new London Museum and the area’s location at a major transport crossroads, there is the potential for the Culture Mile BID to create a physical hub for the walking tours. This could be in conjunction with the museum, at the museum, or separately nearby. It could be a centre for expertise and information”.
More here about the Culture Mile BID, whose community fund supports some mapping and storytelling project.
A walks hub and information centre at or near the Museum could also help visitors explore Clerkenwell, using the excellent printed map produced by Footways, also available online. Since I wrote about the map in 2024 it has been updated to include more about Smithfield.
The Footways map shows a swathe of attractions along a route from the Angel to St Paul’s, including suggested pubs and restaurants.
As I wrote last year, we have the basis for a cross-boundary cultural quarter – something also mentioned in news of the office development near the Museum.
Footways have also produced a map for the area of the Culture Mile BID, on their home page.
I can contribute research and maps developed with Mike Franks, including collections on Layers of London. More on that collaboration in this post.
In researching Smithfield and Clerkenwell history – and that of Bartholomew Fair – I’ve found hundreds of articles and blog posts by historians and guides. Currently there is no one place to discover those, and link them to walks around the area. A new walks and visitor centre could provide that focus, and some common knowledge about two fascinating neighbourhoods.
Update1 : Alec Forshaw confirms that he will be publishing a new edition of Smithfield: Past, Present and Future in the week before the Museum opens, sharing his encyclopaedic knowledge of the area. He told me: “London Museum offers boundless opportunities to spread and improve Smithfield’s connectivity. The idea of a Cultural Quarter must be embraced and expanded in all directions”.
Update 2: I shared this post with Museum director Sharon Arment, who enthusiastically welcomed the idea of the Museum as a gateway to other attractions both locally and more widely. Sharon said:
“I can’t wait for us to open, we’ve been long in the formation. I hope that the Museum will be at the heart of all that is London, both in terms of its history and in terms of it being a jumping off point for people to explore London more widely and deeply.
“It’s a physical and intellectual spring board, and we aim to inspire self-directed learning, to create a sense of possibility and curiosity. Who knows a future Director of the London Museum may visit Smithfield as part of a school group, or even a future Prime Minister or Mayor of London. Because of course, we are about the past, present and future. We have a lot to learn from the past, it affects our present and can shape our futures”.
See also:
Thanks, David – superb post; inspiring!!
Forgot to add : Smithfield’s visitor centre is a must; can’t think of a better place to have it