Several of our London walks take in the district of Bloomsbury. Of course this area is indelibly linked to Virginian Woolf and the Bloomsbury group.

There is the oft repeated saying that they lived in Squares and loved in triangles, although I prefer Gertrude Stein’s (1874 - 1946) observation that they were “like the Young Mens Christian Association, with Christ left out of course! ”

Needless to say the Bloomsbury Group feature large in our Literary London walks and the saquares of Bloomsbury are a joy to discover.

However, there is another side to Bloomsbury, and one that doesn’t often feature on the tourist itinerary. Yet, it is a truly fascinating subject and typifies the way that our London walks can introduce you to another side of the capital.

Medical London walks.

Bloomsbury is an area where many groundbreaking breakthroughs in Medical Science have, and still continue to take place and our medical tours that walk around this area of London offer a fascinating insight this intrigue aspect of London’s history.

One of the buildings we cover is The former Italian Hospital in Queen’s Square.

This foundation was established not by doctors but by a lay person in 1884. His name was Commendatore Giovanni Ortelli, an ex-pat Italian businessman.

Funded by subscribers in both Britain and Italy, the Italian Hospital actually treated all nationalities, a fact that was demonstrated by the façade’s inscription ‘Charity knows no restriction of country”.

The hospital was managed by lay Governors which led to friction with Medical staff. For example, in 1935 all the doctors resigned accusing the governors of appointing inadequately qualified clinical staff.

In the 1930’s British fascists endowed an Il Duce bed in honour of Benito Mussolini here.

The Hospital was closed at outbreak of the Second World War, but  it re-opened in 1948 and survived until closed in 1990.

You can see it on our London walks.

The building still stands and now houses offices and overnight accommodation for the staff of the Hospital For Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. It is one of those locations that, unless you know its history you coukd easily walk past it and not pay a second glance.

Yet, if you look up above the door, you can still is its colourful Coat of Arms. and if you crane your neck to look higher, emblazoned across its upper level are the words The Italian Hospital.

In essence it illustrates something that we are always introducing people mto on our London walks. “Always look up in London” should be one of our main mottoes.

It is amazing how many buildings with modern looking ground floors, actually have intricate and historical upper levels.

This is as much an aspect of secret London as exploring backstreets and hidden alleyways. It is why so many people who join us for a London walk always are fascinated (and sometimes surprised) to learn that a building they have passed by on a daily basis for years can actually possess something that they have failed to notice.