London Month of the Dead - London's Lost Hospitals

PORTALS TO THE DIVINE The Sacred Springs and Holy Wells of London At Swedenborg House with Tom Bolton on Sunday 7th June 2026 at 3 pm While the modern city is paved in concrete and glass, author and urban explorer Tom Bolton invites us to look beneath the surface to find the ancient, lost, bubbling heart of London that still flows through under its geography. In this talk, he will explore the sacred and historical significance of London’s forgotten waters. Drawing from his extensive research into the city’s subterranean rivers and the antiquarian insights of E.O. Gordon, Tom reveals a landscape once defined by holy wells, healing springs and hidden currents from the legendary "Holy Well" of Shoreditch to the buried rivers Fleet and the Tyburn. To London’s earliest inhabitants, these springs were not simply sources of water, but thresholds, places where the divine rose quietly to the surface. Seen as portals to another realm, they were revered as sites of healing and ritual. In this talk, Tom traces how these sacred sites evolved over time, from pagan shrines to medieval pilgrimage destinations, before the burial of London’s rivers in the 19th century severed a deep connection to the city’s natural and spiritual pulse. Tickets £12.50 each or £30 for a day pass to the Sacred Landscape Festival. Please click here to purchase. Tom Bolton Tom Bolton is a writer, researcher, and walker. He is widely considered a leading authority on the psychogeography of the capital, specializing in its vanished places and submerged histories. He is the author of "London’s Lost Rivers: A Walker’s Guide" (Vols 1 & 2), the definitive works for anyone seeking the hidden waterways beneath London’s pavements; "Vanished City: An exploration of London’s lost neighbourhoods"; "Dreams of Another London: A deep dive into the cultural and counter-cultural history of Camden Town" and "The Low Country: An exploration of the Essex coast".

PORTALS TO THE DIVINE
The Sacred Springs and Holy Wells of London
At Swedenborg House with Tom Bolton
on Sunday 7th June 2026 at 3 pm

While the modern city is paved in concrete and glass, author and urban explorer Tom Bolton invites us to look beneath the surface to find the ancient, lost, bubbling heart of London that still flows through under its geography.

In this talk, he will explore the sacred and historical significance of London’s forgotten waters. Drawing from his extensive research into the city’s subterranean rivers and the antiquarian insights of E.O. Gordon, Tom reveals a landscape once defined by holy wells, healing springs and hidden currents from the legendary "Holy Well" of Shoreditch to the buried rivers Fleet and the Tyburn.

To London’s earliest inhabitants, these springs were not simply sources of water, but thresholds, places where the divine rose quietly to the surface. Seen as portals to another realm, they were revered as sites of healing and ritual. In this talk, Tom traces how these sacred sites evolved over time, from pagan shrines to medieval pilgrimage destinations, before the burial of London’s rivers in the 19th century severed a deep connection to the city’s natural and spiritual pulse.

Tickets £12.50 each or £30 for a day pass to the Sacred Landscape Festival. Please click here to purchase.

Tom Bolton
Tom Bolton is a writer, researcher, and walker. He is widely considered a leading authority on the psychogeography of the capital, specializing in its vanished places and submerged histories. He is the author of "London’s Lost Rivers: A Walker’s Guide" (Vols 1 & 2), the definitive works for anyone seeking the hidden waterways beneath London’s pavements; "Vanished City: An exploration of London’s lost neighbourhoods"; "Dreams of Another London: A deep dive into the cultural and counter-cultural history of Camden Town" and "The Low Country: An exploration of the Essex coast".