Hidden London

Born in London, Ruth has also lived in Israel for many years. She trained at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, where she studied Voice and Piano and received a degree in performance in both instruments. She is a qualified Music teacher and for many years taught Music to children and adults of all ages. Returning to London in 2000, Ruth undertook a number of intensive courses learning about the History of this great City which she loves. She recently earned an MA in Art History and just enrolled in a PhD program. Ruth has a particular interest in Jewish London and a keen interest in the Artistic and Musical history of London.

Sarah-Jane Kitching was born and brought up in London. She studied at Cambridge University and qualified as a doctor, working in the NHS initially in Gynaecology and latterly as a General Practitioner. Having gained a First in the History and Philosophy of Medicine as part of her medical training, she has now changed career to pursue her long-standing love of history and of London in particular. After two years of intensive study, Sarah-Jane qualified as a London Blue Badge Guide and was awarded Guide of the Year in 2012. She is passionate about the city she lives in with her family and loves to share its fascinating past and present with others.

Being an islander (originally from Sicily), it is not surprising that Helen’s key interest should be the study of Mediterranean archaeology, particularly understanding the development of island cultural identities in the context of early civilizations. She gained her PhD at the Institute of Archaeology, London, in 2005, and her dissertation covered the entire Mediterranean, from Gibraltar to the Levant, and from prehistoric to Roman times. Since 2006, Helen has been an Associate Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent, and more recently a tutor at Birkbeck College. She has supervised research-led excavations in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Morocco, and has worked in British contract archaeology. Having lived in London for some fifteen years, and having worked as Senior Archaeologist for the Museum of London for five years, Helen has first-hand knowledge of the city’s archaeology and hidden history. She is the author of several reports for the Museum of London, including a popular booklet detailing the museum’s recent discovery of Shakespeare’s first theatre in London, Shoreditch. Helen currently shares her time between London and Berlin.