Safron Hill (Dickens-era site), London

Safron Hill (Dickens-era site), London

Once at the heart of London’s most infamous "rookeries" (or slums), Saffron Hill will forever be linked with Charles Dickens' 1838 novel "Oliver Twist", particularly through one of its lead characters, the arch-criminal Fagin.

Back in the 19th century, Saffron Hill was known as the Italian quarter, deriving its name from the saffron once cultivated in the area, although this saffron had vanished by the time Dickens penned his novel. Beyond being Fagin's hideout, the street is also home to the salubrious pub The Three Cripples, a favored watering hole of Bill Sikes, the primary antagonist in "Oliver Twist". During Dickens's era, The Three Cripples was apparently the name of a lodging house in Saffron Hill, located next to a pub named The One Tun.

This area also served as the inspiration for another, albeit smaller, Dickensian masterpiece, "A Christmas Carol". The inspiration struck during a visit to a destitute local school in September 1843, where he was profoundly affected by the harrowing conditions he encountered. The children were already mired in lives of thievery and prostitution, grappling with illiteracy, disease, and squalor.

Describing the wretchedness of the neighbourhood in "Oliver Twist", Dickens portrayed it as "a dirtier and more wretched place he [Oliver] had never seen. The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odours... Covered ways and yards, which here and there diverged from the main street, disclosed little knots of houses, where drunken men and women were positively wallowing in filth; and from several of the door-ways, great ill-looking fellows were cautiously emerging, bound, to all appearance, on no very well-disposed or harmless errands."

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in London. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

Download The GPSmyCity App

Safron Hill (Dickens-era site) on Map

1
30 m
100 ft
Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors
Sight Name: Safron Hill (Dickens-era site)
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in London, England

Create Your Own Walk in London

Create Your Own Walk in London

Creating your own self-guided walk in London is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Covent Garden Walking Tour

Covent Garden Walking Tour

A shopping and entertainment hub on the eastern fringes of London's West End, Covent Garden is a district historically associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market – currently a shopping spot popular with locals and tourists alike.

Once a slum area, today the north of the district is given over to independent shops centered on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials. Both places offer...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
South Bank Walking Tour

South Bank Walking Tour

The South Bank is a stretch of the Thames in London that is beautiful to walk through because there are so many iconic and magnificent things to see along the way. A lively and ever-changing area at the heart of London’s cultural scene, it also has the advantage of offering views across the Thames to some of the most famous buildings anywhere. The Palace of Westminster is the major feature in...  view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.8 Km or 3 Miles
Jane Austen’s London

Jane Austen’s London

The celebrated English novelist Jane Austen primarily lived between Bath and Hampshire. However, London also held a special significance in Austen's life. Many of her novels drew inspiration from the capital, like Lydia Bennet and Mr Wickham’s elopement in “Pride & Prejudice.”

One of Austen's cherished spots in London was Twinings, a renowned tea shop. Jane Austen was known...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.4 Km or 2.7 Miles
Charles Dickens Tour

Charles Dickens Tour

Today's world's literature and mass culture are hardly imaginable without the works of Charles Dickens, recognized as the greatest British novelist of the Victorian era. A pioneer of “cliffhanger” endings, Dickens remains one of the most-read English authors whose writings never go out of print and have been repeatedly adapted to stage, screen and TV.

Dickens was born in...  view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.5 Km or 2.8 Miles
Jack the Ripper Walking Tour

Jack the Ripper Walking Tour

Jack the Ripper, an unidentified serial killer who terrorized the British capital in 1888, became notorious for the series of brutal and gruesome murders that he carried out in the East End of London. The primary setting for the Jack the Ripper attacks was Whitechapel, at the time a poverty-stricken and crime-ridden district, known for its dark alleys and narrow streets.

The name "Jack the...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.0 Km or 2.5 Miles
Harry Potter Walking Tour I

Harry Potter Walking Tour I

The arrival of Harry Potter books, followed by tremendously successful Hollywood adaptation, has made London an even more popular destination now with the Harry Potter fans all over the world. The list of attractions in the city associated with Potter’s journeys includes both, newly-invented as well as some long-standing locations.

On Part I of the self-guided Happy Potter Walking Tour, you...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip


London Souvenirs: 20 Distinctively British Products for Travelers

London Souvenirs: 20 Distinctively British Products for Travelers

Most visitors to London consider shopping as part of their must-do London experience. From street markets to Victorian arcades to snobbish Sloane Square to busy Oxford Street, there are a host of shops selling items which typically represent this vibrant city. Whether you are shopping for souvenirs...