The East India Company – Guided by a Distinguished Diplomat
Monument Tube, Fish Street Hill exit
Guided by Lisa
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 October 2026 | Tour du Jour | 2 pm | 4 pm | Summer | Reserve Online |
| 30 October 2026 | Tour du Jour | 10.30 am | 12.30 pm | Summer | Reserve Online |
| 14 November 2026 | Tour du Jour | 10.45 am | 12.45 pm | Winter | Reserve Online |
| 1 January 2027 | Tour du Jour | 10.30 am | 12.30 pm | Winter | Reserve Online |
Join distinguished former diplomat and qualified City of London Green Badge guide, Lisa Honan CBE, for a captivating East India Company walking tour through the historic streets of the City of London. Discover the fascinating, and often dark, history of the world’s most powerful multinational corporation and its lasting impact on the Indian subcontinent, global trade, and modern society.
Lisa Honan CBE in action, guiding our East India Company Walk. Former diplomat, former Governor of St Helena, and a guide with quite a story to tell.
Want to meet your guide before you meet your guide? Read: Meet Your Guide: Her Excellency Lisa Honan CBE.
A Unique History Walk with a Former Governor
As a former Governor of St Helena – a critical East India Company stronghold – Lisa offers unique, firsthand insights into the corporation’s legacy that you simply will not find on any other tour.
For the record, Lisa was the first female Governor in the territory’s 500-year history. She lived in the 1792 East India Company Governor’s mansion – the very same house where her 19th-century predecessor, Sir Hudson Lowe, lived while guarding Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile. (She even shared her front garden with Jonathan, the world’s oldest land animal – a giant tortoise.)
Jonathan, the world’s oldest living land animal, in the grounds of Plantation House, St Helena, where London Walks guide Lisa Honan CBE lived as Governor.
Her personal connection to this history makes this one of the most authentically led historical walks in London.
“The craving for power and wealth is an atavistic instinct. The lust for conquest is part of the human condition. The spirit of imperialism is not dead: it haunts the modern world and its manifestations are legion” – Piers Brendon
What to Expect on the TourOn this immersive City of London walking tour, you will trace the footsteps of merchants, adventurers, and corporate imperialists. Drawing on her distinguished diplomatic career and extensive archival research, Lisa takes you to the exact sites where history was made, laying bare the company’s story from 1600 to the present day.
Highlights of the walk include:
- The Original Courtyard: Stand exactly where the East India Company began its 17th-century operations.
- Global Trade & Monopoly: Learn how the company revolutionised what the world ate, drank, and wore through its aggressive trade networks across India, Indonesia, and China.
- Corporate Power & Conflict: Uncover how a private corporation amassed its own private army, ruled over 300 million people in India, and incidentally sparked the Boston Tea Party.
- The Dark Side of Trade: We do not gloss over the brutality. We explore the systemic corruption, the “sustained protection racket” of colonial rule in India, and the exploitation that defined the company’s 300-year reign.Exclusive Archival Research: Hear untold histories based on Lisa’s own original research into the St Helena archives, revealing the East India Company’s hidden connections to slavery.
You go on this walk, and matters of world-historical importance brush you with their wings. The East India Company wasn’t just the largest and most powerful multinational corporation in the world—it was history’s fulcrum.
Tour Details & Booking
- Duration: 2 hours 15 mins
- Meeting Point: Monument Tube Station (Fish Street Hill exit).
- End Point: The Royal Exchange (Bank Underground Station is just a few yards away).
This highly rated historical walking tour is perfect for anyone interested in the history of the Indian subcontinent, the spice trade, corporate history, and London’s hidden past. Reserve your place online today to experience history where it actually happened.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Tim Gifford –
We very much enjoyed the East India Company Walk on Tuesday 22nd August and learned a great deal about the history, influence and activities of the EIC. Lisa was a charming guide who has an obvious passion for the subject and her own background with St. Helena provides a link to the power and reach of the ‘adventurer merchants’ who drove the expansion of the organisation. A fascinating true story, brought to life. Highly recommended.
Nadeem Khan –
Lisa wears her diplomatic credentials modestly. The sweep of 200+ years of history was expertly captured in the narrative built during an excellent walk, full of insights and information. The Company’s considerable legacy was well researched, and both senstivitely and honestly described. For what is perhaps a relatively ‘niche’ subject matter, you may well be surprised by how much you take away with you. Much food for thought. Would highly recommend. There is a gem of a hidden monument that also awaits..
Gary Johnston –
I did this East India walk in early May. Lisa was very knowledgable and gave us an excellent overall history of the East India Company mixed with engaging anecdotes and amusing stories. Since that time I have noticed all kinds of connections to the East India Company from pairings in Tate ritain and the Courtauld institute to the founding of the Museum of the Home by a former East India Investir. Thanks Lisa
Greg Gangi –
Lisa did a private tour for my group of 21 students from the University of North Carolina. She is an outstanding tour guide with a deep knowledge of the subject. Her former role as Governor of St. Helena gave her the time and access to explore the archives of the East India Company. St. Helena was at one point a property of the East India Company. The East India company was a fundamental pillar in the creation of the British Empire and had a profoundly negative impact on South Asia. Lisa does a great job explaining the important role of the East India Company in the growth of the British Empire while taking us to places that were utilized by the company within London. I highly recommend this tour.
John Beasley –
We went on the ‘East India Company’ walk yesterday and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Our guide, Lisa, was engaging, knowledgeable and fun. She gave the story life and it was easy to share in her enthusiasm for the subject. There were lots of questions asked and she had answers for them all. It is very unusual for me to write any review, but this deserves one.
Phillip –
Walking with the distinguished ex Governor of St. Helena gave us an enormous insight into the East India company. Reminding me of the fictional company Engulf and Devour we were led on a fact filled journey of a company that led Britain into the modern world and created the Empire as it developed across the globe. told, beautifully by Lisa we became more and more knowledgable and left us craving for more. Those people who were part of the company that originated from a coffee house and after hundreds of years eventually succumbed to being no more leaves but the history and legacy to discover. Elizabeth the 1st who signed the original charter created something very special and made a company that will forever be part of our history. Bravo Lisa, another tour beckons I think. Napoleon also exiled on the island of St Helena, what more could you ask from a walk. Go walk with Lisa and discover more.
Felix Edwards –
My family and I went on the East India Company tour which we all thoroughly enjoyed. She paid particular attention to our children, 8 and 10, ensuring that material was adapted for them while also remaining interesting for the rest of the tour group. She was informative and entertaining and has sparked further interest. We will be keeping an eye out for future tours and have already recommended others to sign up for this one.
David Singh –
We did the East India Company History walking tour yesterday, 11 June 2023. The guide Lisa Honan was very knowledgeable. She covered all the essential highlights. She was engaging and articulate with interesting anecdotes. Easy to follow. Also good that she uses a speaker so that it is loud enough for everyone to hear. She does her own ongoing research and keeps up to date on the topic. She is a caring person and made sure that on the hot day, we had plenty of shade. All her stops were interesting – we would have never known those places. Highly recommend
Janet Springett –
I so enjoyed this informative walk around the City with Lisa. I confess that I knew very little about the East India Company before the walk except that it was granted a charter by Elizabeth I. I know a lot more now thanks to Lisa’s brilliant tour.
Seema Iyer –
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this very informative and engaging walk and talk. Lisa was very knowledgeable about the East India Company and delivered the story to perfection. This walk is highly recommended for those who are curious about the origins of this company in London and what became of them in their quest for power and greed in India. A wonderful history lesson. Thank you Lisa.