Discover Poor London with our 5-day immersive event - the ultimate family history getaway experience!
Choose either in-person or online attendance.
In Person
Spend time in our Research Hub in the historic canal-land of North London, where our librarian and genealogist will be on hand with expert family history advice and guidance. They'll help you learn about the best places in London for you to visit to get a better understanding of your ancestors' lives, whether that's via research or by treading in their footsteps.
Across the 5-days you can enjoy 11 in-person talks covering a wide range of London topics and tips. Step into the streets, workhouses, and homes of London’s past and uncover the lives of the city’s poorest families. This course takes you from parish relief in the 1700s to the packed Victorian slums of Shoreditch, from foundlings and orphans to the journeys of street children sent to Canada. Explore life in Barnardo’s East End, meet the people who ran workhouses, hear petitions to the city, and even glimpse a young Charlie Chaplin growing up in the slums. Along the way, discover indentured Londoners bound for America and the charities that tried to make a difference, all bringing the human stories behind your ancestors vividly to life.
Plus, on 4 of the days you can choose visits or walks from a selection of activities. From guided walks around Smithfield and Lambeth to vists to London Archives and the Foundling Museum there are plenty of opportunities to get out and about. We also hope to arrange visits to Bishopsgate Institute, All Hallows by the tower, the almshouse at the Museum of the Home and the London Canal Museum. More details of these will be provided closer to the time.
Meet fellow genealogists, enjoy a sandwich lunch on us and participate in insightful conversation with fellow family historians.
By the end of your five days you'll have:
- Gained hands-on guidance from our in-house team of librarians, archivists and genealogists on where best for you to visit to tread in your ancestors footsteps or complete further research
- Met fellow genealogists, shared your ancestors stories and swapped tips
- Delved into the wealth of resources available at our Research Hub
Our genealogists, librarians and archivists, will be on hand to give you directions, guiding you to sites relevant to your ancestors - such as churches, cemeteries or specialist-subject museums.
Included: 11 talks, 5 sandwich lunches, recordings of all 11 talks and access to our Research Hub and genealogy team.
Not Included: Transport and accommodation in London is not included.
Customise your week further by selecting from a range of different walks and visits. Priced at £20 each you can pick and choose from these 'bolt on' activities, spend extra time in our Research Hub (with library and access to a wide range of family history subscription websites) - or take up the advice of our experts and visit areas relevant to you. See below for optional walks and visits.
Online
We appreciate that not everyone can travel or stay in London, which is why we are delighted to be able to offer you our 11 in-person talks in an online format.
Watch live or catch up for up to 1 month.
Take action after the talks by sharing your goals with your peers in co-working sessions. It’s amazing how telling others what you are going to do can help you commit to it! Led by our friendly genealogy staff you’ll meet your fellow attendees in our warm and welcoming virtual socials. Break the ice and get to know other family historians, swap stories and share tips. In follow up virtual socials you’ll be able to share your progress and get help and guidance on any tricky puzzles! Or simply on where to research and explore next.
Talks include:
- London’s Old Parish Poor 1700-1834 with Else Churchill
- The Blackest Streets: The Victorian Slums of Shoreditch with Sarah Wise
- 'A disgrace to the Christian world?': the emigration of London street children to Canada, 1869-1904 with Sarah Wise
- Amersham workhouse personnel with Gwyneth Wilkie
- Life in Barnardo’s East End with Emma Griffin
- London Philanthropy and Charity with Else Churchill
- London’s Foundlings and Orphans in the 17th & 18th Century with Else Churchill
- Petitioning the City: Power, Poor Relief, and the People of London, 1660-1850 with Jess Ayres
- Rethinking Relief: workhouses, settlement, and the New Poor Law with Rachel Barrett
- Young Charlie Chaplin with Ian Porter
- Bound for America Indentured Londoners sent to America 1640-1740 with Else Churchill
FAQ
- How will we travel from the Society of Genealogists to the various sites? I'm not confident travelling alone.
- A volunteer will be travelling from Wharf Road to each of the arranged visits and walks. Though if you prefer to make your own way that is fine too.
- Can I mix attending in person with online?
- In-person attendees will receive links to re-watch the talks for up to 1 month afterwards.
Whether you’re exploring archives, joining a walking tour or learning from top genealogical experts, this event offers a memorable and educational Poor London Week.
Book the full week which includes:
- 11 in-person talks
- Daily library time
- Tea and coffee
- 5 sandwich lunches
- Links to re-watch all the talks again in the comfort of home for up to 1 month
- 20% Discount for all Society of Genealogists Members
You can attend in-person at our Resource Hub in London where the presenter will be live or watch online via Zoom. The option to choose either online or in-person appears before checkout
Click here for information about our events. Contact events@sog.org.uk if you have any questions.
Programme details
| Visit | Visit: London Archives | In Person | 21/09/2026 | 14:30 - 16:30 |
| Walk | Walk: Monasteries, Martyrs, Meat and Medicine – Discover Smithfield and Beyond | In Person | 21/09/2026 | 14:30 - 16:30 |
| Walk | Walk: Up the Cally | In Person | 23/09/2026 | 11:00 - 13:00 |
| Visit | Visit: The Foundling Museum | In Person | 24/09/2026 | 10:30 - 11:30 |
| Visit | Visit: All Hallows by the Tower | In Person | 24/09/2026 | 11:00 - 11:45 |
| Walk | Walk: Young Charlie Chaplin’s Lambeth | In Person | 25/09/2026 | 10:30 - 12:30 |
| Visit | Visit: The Chapel, Museum and John Wesley’s House | In Person | 25/09/2026 | 11:00 - 12:00 |
| SoG Collections, library and archives with the team | In Person | 21/09/2026 | 10:30 - 16:30 | |
| Online socials and discussions | Online | 21/09/2026 | 10:30 - 16:30 |
About the Walk Guide
Rob Smith
Rob Smith is one of the tour guides with Footprints of London. He also teaches London History classes at Bishopsgate Institute, Morley College and South Thames College.
About the Speaker
Emma Griffin
Emma is a professor of Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London and former President of the Royal Historical Society. She is the author of five books, including Liberty’s Dawn: A People’s History of the Industrial Revolution (Yale University Press, 2013) and (most recently) Bread Winner: An Intimate History of the Victorian Economy (Yale University Press, 2020). She is currently writing a global history of industrialisation for Penguin Press.
About the Speaker
Rachel Barrett
Rachel Barrett is an archive professional and researcher specialising in nineteenth-century Poor Law, with a focus on London and Ireland. She has delivered numerous talks on the New Poor Law and workhouses, and co-curated the Lost Victorian City exhibition at The London Archives. Her current research explores the removal of Irish paupers from London.
About the Speaker
Jess Ayres
Dr Jessica Ayres is a historian and archive professional specialising in the early modern history of London, with a specific focus on women, and institutional record-keeping. She completed a PhD entitled Women in London’s Court of Orphans, 1660-1720 at the University of York in 2023, and has worked at The London Archives since 2022.
About the Speaker
Else Churchill
Else Churchill is the Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists in London. Formerly a professional genealogical librarian and researcher, Else has worked for the SoG since 1994. She is the Society’s subject lead, working across the organisation and runs the publishing programme. She was the recipient of the IHGS Julian Bickersteth Memorial Medal in 2023 for her exemplary contribution to family history studies.
About the Speaker
Sarah Wise
Sarah Wise is a social historian and author of Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Prize, and The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum, shortlisted for shortlisted for the RSL’s Ondaatje Prize.
About the Speaker
Dr Gwyneth Wilkie
Dr Gwyneth Wilkie joined SoG straight after taking early retirement and signed up for the Skills courses. Over the years she has volunteered in various capacities, starting with stuffing leaflets into plastic bags and later being on the Advice Line and part of the Events team. Her particular interests in Family History are civil registration, fraud, and medicine. She has contributed some short biographies to the livesretold website and has written various articles for the Genealogists’ Magazine among others. She has branched into local history by writing the history of the Amersham British School and is at present looking at workhouse officials there.
About the Speaker
Ian Porter
Ian Porter is a historian, novelist, walks guide and public speaker. He is particularly interested in women's 19th and early 20th century social and political history. He guides over 50 different walks in London, all but one (street art) history related. He is particularly well versed in the Suffragettes, Women in the Great War, the Spanish Flu and 19th century East End crime. He is presently writing his fifth novel, which is set during the 1908 London Olympics. Previous novels have been set at the time of Jack the Ripper, on the Titanic, in the Suffragette struggle, and during the Spanish Flu.
About the Walk Guide
Diane Burstein
Diane Burstein is a native Londoner, who is one of London’s best known and most versatile tour guides. She has made a name for herself with her Secret London feature on talk radio station LBC 97.3 FM and now makes regular contributions to BBC London 94.9’s Saturday Breakfast Shows. She is the author of a successful book "London Then and Now" which featured in BBC History magazine's Top Ten Best http://seller.as/ a Further Education Lecturer, Diane teaches “Discovering London” courses for two Adult Education Colleges. Diane holds the prestigious London Blue Badge and has a BA Honours Degree in English Literature and History.
21/09/2026 - 25/09/2026
10:30 - 17:00
Society of Genealogists / Online
Family History Week, talks, optional extra walks and visits