Saffron Hill (Dickens-era site), London
Once upon a sewer-scented time, Saffron Hill was smack in the middle of London鈥檚 most notorious slums鈥攌nown charmingly as 鈥渞ookeries,鈥� where rats and rogues shared rent. And if that name rings a literary bell, it should: Charles Dickens plucked this very street to house one of fiction鈥檚 most infamous mentors of mischief鈥攏one other than Fagin, in Oliver Twist.
Now, don't be misled by the fragrant name鈥斺�淪affron Hill鈥� sounds like a posh spice market, but by the time Dickens rolled up in the 1830s, the saffron had long gone. What was left was a gritty little enclave once dubbed the Italian quarter, and a cast of real-life characters that could out-scandal any soap opera.
This was also the stomping ground of The Three Cripples, a cheery little den of vice where Bill Sikes liked to throw back a pint鈥攐r a punch. While the pub itself might鈥檝e been fictional, Dickens based it on a real lodging house right next to a joint called The One Tun. (Which, let's be honest, sounds like a pub and a pun rolled into one.)
But Saffron Hill wasn鈥檛 just the hideout for cutthroats and literary villains. It also cracked open Dickens鈥檚 heart. In 1843, he visited a local school so poor, so bleak, that it practically wrote A Christmas Carol for him. Children there were already deep into lives of thievery, disease, and misery before they even lost their baby teeth.
In Oliver Twist, Dickens didn鈥檛 hold back. He described the place as 鈥渘arrow and muddy鈥� with air thick enough to chew, 鈥渇ilthy odours鈥� galore, and alleyways crawling with shady characters looking like they were on their way to commit鈥攚ell, something unsavory.
So next time you stroll down Saffron Hill, take a whiff, squint at the cobblestones, and you might just catch a ghost of Dickens鈥� London鈥攑ickpocket and all.
Now, don't be misled by the fragrant name鈥斺�淪affron Hill鈥� sounds like a posh spice market, but by the time Dickens rolled up in the 1830s, the saffron had long gone. What was left was a gritty little enclave once dubbed the Italian quarter, and a cast of real-life characters that could out-scandal any soap opera.
This was also the stomping ground of The Three Cripples, a cheery little den of vice where Bill Sikes liked to throw back a pint鈥攐r a punch. While the pub itself might鈥檝e been fictional, Dickens based it on a real lodging house right next to a joint called The One Tun. (Which, let's be honest, sounds like a pub and a pun rolled into one.)
But Saffron Hill wasn鈥檛 just the hideout for cutthroats and literary villains. It also cracked open Dickens鈥檚 heart. In 1843, he visited a local school so poor, so bleak, that it practically wrote A Christmas Carol for him. Children there were already deep into lives of thievery, disease, and misery before they even lost their baby teeth.
In Oliver Twist, Dickens didn鈥檛 hold back. He described the place as 鈥渘arrow and muddy鈥� with air thick enough to chew, 鈥渇ilthy odours鈥� galore, and alleyways crawling with shady characters looking like they were on their way to commit鈥攚ell, something unsavory.
So next time you stroll down Saffron Hill, take a whiff, squint at the cobblestones, and you might just catch a ghost of Dickens鈥� London鈥攑ickpocket and all.
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Saffron Hill (Dickens-era site) on Map
Sight Name: Saffron Hill (Dickens-era site)
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
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