The ianVisits guide to June's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Monday 1st June
Starts at 1pm
Barbican
What’s so great about the Magna Carta? In all the frenzy of celebration, LSE Law academics will sound a few warnings against hype.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
More London events on Monday 1st June
Tuesday 2nd June
A rare evening opening of the Charterhouse gardens.
6pm to 9pm
Free
What does it mean to have a right to free speech, and who has the right to curtail it?
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
Free
A public history of science event exploring the legacy of Mendel's Laws in genetics and education
Starts at 6:30pm
More London events on Tuesday 2nd June
Wednesday 3rd June
Lambeth Palace Garden will be open on the first Wednesday of the month between March and October,
12pm to 3pm
Southwark
Come along to this beautiful 18th century silkweaver's home and hear restoration plans of Mount Nod Cemetery, where many Huguenots were buried.
Starts at 3pm
Whitechapel
The Conservation & Design Officer at the London Borough of Wandsworth will reveal the restoration plans of Mount Nod Cemetery.
3pm to 4:30pm
Whitechapel
A talk by the man who built the Gloriana royal barge and a replica of a 17th century submarine.
Starts at 6pm
Poplar
Starts at 6pm
Barbican
More London events on Wednesday 3rd June
Thursday 4th June
An exhibition about works to improve London Underground stations.
10am to 4pm
Clerkenwell
Publica will be opening their studio to display a range of public realm and urban design projects.
6pm to 8pm
Clerkenwell
Feeling parched? Join us for a home brewed craft beer and a first look at HÛT and Edgley ‘work in progress’ projects.
6pm to 9pm
Clerkenwell
An exhibition that shows the full ‘work in progress’ of the three and a half year project to design a permanent gallery space.
6pm to 9pm
Shoreditch
Michael Bundock examines the life of Francis Barber, a servant in the house of Dr Samuel Johnson.
Starts at 6:30pm
A talk by the author of the book about a walk around London.
Starts at 7pm
Evening tour of the famous Cemetery.
Starts at 7:30pm
As usual, no idea why, just that there will be a firework display on a barge in the middle of the Thames.
10:30pm to 10:40pm
Battersea
More London events on Thursday 4th June
Friday 5th June
An exhibition about works to improve London Underground stations.
10am to 4pm
Clerkenwell
Join us for an evening of debate with three artists who explore mental health in their own highly personal work.
7pm to 8:30pm
Kentish Town
More London events on Friday 5th June
Saturday 6th June
Starts at 1am
Twickenham
Starts at 1am
An exhibition about works to improve London Underground stations.
10am to 4pm
Clerkenwell
Fairly rare chance to visit the nature reserve that runs alongside the railway from New Cross Gate to Brockley
10:30am to 3pm
Brockley
Discover how the unreliability of memory has led to grave miscarriages of justice, including panics about Satanic abuse.
11am to 3:30pm
Displays and talks by local history experts describing the life and work of the docks and the river;
11am to 4pm
Brentford
A guided tour of the old Battersea Town Hall
11am to 5pm
Battersea
11am to 5pm
Camden
An annual celebration of woodland crafts and local heritage.
12pm to 5pm
An art exhibition in a soon to be demolished warehouse in London Fields.
1pm to 9pm
Hackney
Film screenings that show the changing landscape at Elephant & Castle as it undergoes huge changes in the current redevelopment.
2pm to 6pm
Southwark
Monthly open day at one of London's more unusual, and delightful museums.
2pm to 5pm
Semi-regular tours of the ancient monastery buildings on the edge of the City of London.
2:15pm to 6pm
Free
More than 40 international dealers offer cartographic material including atlases and travel books, globes and planetaria,
3pm to 4pm
South Kensington
An overnight bike race around Smithfields market.
4pm to 10:30pm
Barbican
More London events on Saturday 6th June
Sunday 7th June
Monthly tours of the building housing Kirkaldy's huge materials testing machines.
10am to 4pm
An exhibition about works to improve London Underground stations.
10am to 4pm
Clerkenwell
An art exhibition in a soon to be demolished warehouse in London Fields.
10am to 6pm
Hackney
Free
A day of family events and quirky workshops inspired by the Horniman Gardens.
12pm to 4pm
Once a year, this hidden alley in Peckham is opened to the public.
1pm to 6pm
Peckham
The guided tour of the Albert Memorial gives you exclusive access inside the memorial railings,
Starts at 2pm
South Kensington
Free
More than 40 international dealers offer cartographic material including atlases and travel books, globes and planetaria,
3pm to 4pm
South Kensington
More London events on Sunday 7th June
Monday 8th June
Starts at 1pm
Barbican
A talk about how St Paul's became a major focus of opposition to King John during the crises of 1212-1216.
1pm to 2pm
Professor Robert Hazell will talk about the main elements in the new government’s constitutional reform programme, with political commentary from Fraser Nelson, editor of the Spectator.
6pm to 7:30pm
£8.00
6:30pm to 8pm
Camden
Journalist Derek Taylor, author of Magna Carta in 20 Places, explains why this document went global.
7pm to 8pm
Picadilly
Reflect on the meaning of wonder and mystery in the extraordinary gothic setting of Westminster Abbey.
Starts at 7pm
More London events on Monday 8th June
Tuesday 9th June
A talk about the raised garden at Shoreditch's Arnold Circus, its history and restoration.
8:15am to 9:30am
Bethnal Green
For National Archives Day a selection of items from the Cathedral Collections will be on display.
12pm to 2pm
A one-day exhibition about housing rebuilding plans following construction of the HS2 railway.
2pm to 8pm
A summer’s evening in June could be an ideal time to spend sipping drinks on the top of London Underground’s famous art-deco headquarters.
6:30pm to 9pm
Vauxhall Bridge
Talk by Kate Wigley, Archivist and Commercial Manager at the Warner Textile Archives,
Starts at 7pm
Whitechapel
More London events on Tuesday 9th June
Wednesday 10th June
In this talk Abigail Sellen explores the process of designing computer vision applications from a human perspective,
4pm to 5:30pm
This discussion with model-makers and architects will examine the role of architectural models
Starts at 6:30pm
More London events on Wednesday 10th June
Thursday 11th June
Annual presentation of a single red rose to the Lord Mayor by the descendants of the Knolly family.
Starts at 10:45am
A behind the scenes tour showing some of collections’ highlights as well as materials relating to the local performing arts scene in Hammersmith.
Starts at 2:30pm
West Kensington
An opportunity to find out about the history, management and future of the Heath.
Starts at 6:30pm
Kentish Town
£12.00
A talk about the tangled story of DNA and answer the vital question: why are we as we are, and why are we here at all?
Starts at 7pm
Garden historian David Marsh explores how, in a highly stratified society, an interest in gardening was almost unique in cutting across social class,
Starts at 7pm
£3.00
Three video works by three artists explore the currency of home and memory within contemporary art.
8pm to 1am
Whitechapel
More London events on Thursday 11th June
Friday 12th June
6:30pm to 8pm
Camden
More London events on Friday 12th June
Saturday 13th June
£10.00
A tour to mark the 100th anniversary of London Underground's Johnston typeface, designed by Edward Johnston in 1916.
tba
£10.00
Around 200 usually closed gardens are open for the weekend.
All Day
Annual event with vintage planes in the skies, and 1940s reenactments on the ground.
All Day
This exhibition presents some of the most striking images of London and Londoners from the mid 1800s onwards
9:30am to 4:45pm
Visit Alexander Pope's famous grotto and hear about the plans for its restoration.
10am to 1pm
Twickenham
£8.00
The William Morris Craft Fellowship Trust hosts a day of demonstrating the skills that were needed to build Red House.
11am to 5pm
Bexleyheath
Free
A one day festival celebrating the skills older people possess.
11am to 6pm
Islington
A weekend of gin tastings.
12pm to 6:30pm
Soho North
Tours of the Institute's world-renowned collections and object handling-sessions will be available.
12pm to 6pm
Euston
Over 120 charities, societies, Highgate shops and small businesses are taking part this year.
12:30pm to 5:30pm
Highgate
More London events on Saturday 13th June
Sunday 14th June
£10.00
Around 200 usually closed gardens are open for the weekend.
All Day
Visitors will be able to cast their eyes over vintage police vehicles and original police artefacts.
10am to 3pm
Lewisham
A weekend of gin tastings.
12pm to 6:30pm
Soho North
A fairly rare chance to go inside a crumbling Georgian era house which was later converted into a Jewish Synagogue.
12pm to 5pm
Whitechapel
£10.00
London’s secret occult history is revealed in this guided walk through the West End.
2pm to 4pm
2:15pm to 3:15pm
Ham
£13.75
What does signage along a high street reveal about an area? How do fonts influence your choices and what are they really telling you?
2:30pm to 6pm
Hackney
A site specific performance in the extraordinary Brunel tunnel shaft under the Thames built by Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Starts at 3pm
Rotherhithe
More London events on Sunday 14th June
Monday 15th June
Iain Sinclair’s talk will explore Hackney above and below ground including the Mole Man of Hackney and the basement excavators of Finsbury Park.
Starts at 7:30pm
Clapton
More London events on Monday 15th June
Tuesday 16th June
The battle will be explained in stages, highlighting particular medical issues.
Starts at 1pm
This talk explores the London connections with the Battle of Waterloo,
2pm to 3:30pm
Clerkenwell
An evening of talks, networking and wine to launch our a initiative: #CodingAllowed
5pm to 8pm
Harley Street
Rosamond S. King questions the truth of this statement and analyzes its problematic origins.
5:30pm to 7pm
Starts at 6pm
Barbican
£7.00
Professor Jerry White explores the similarities between Georgian and contemporary London.
Starts at 6:30pm
Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP and musician Andrew Carwood will explore together what music can teach us about faith beyond words.
6:30pm to 8pm
A free talk that will dig into Southwark's archival collections to explore stories of the borough's First World War soldiers.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Southwark
A talk about the sporting heritage in Hackney
Starts at 7:30pm
Clapton
Lecture: The speaker will talk about the world’s first electrified driverless railway
Starts at 7:30pm
Hammersmith
More London events on Tuesday 16th June
Wednesday 17th June
A guided walk through buildings and sites in and around Waterloo Station.
Starts at 11am
Southwark
Professor Rachel McKendry will present her research to create a new generation of mobile phone connected diagnostic tests for infectious diseases.
6pm to 8pm
More London events on Wednesday 17th June
Thursday 18th June
Join us for a glass of wine, a quality screening and an erudite introduction.
6pm to 9pm
The ‘Lost Gardens’ is the story of 3 separate and disparate green spaces that were rundown, unsafe, underused and largely unknown.
Starts at 6:30pm
Stoke Newington
Free
Imagine you discovered that shortly after your death an asteroid would destroy the world. How would that affect how you lived your life?
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
This talk considers the relationship between servants and masters, and the importance of having servants.
Starts at 6:30pm
Kensington
Watch a silent classic with live musical score, in the remarkable victorian music hall.
Starts at 7:30pm
A silent classic with live musical score.
7:30pm to 9:30pm
Whitechapel
Join Brian Cox as he talks with Adam Rutherford about particle physics,
7:30pm to 9pm
Free
A talk about the development of Dalston, once a large farm owned by the Rhodes family.
7:30pm to 7pm
Clapton
More London events on Thursday 18th June
Friday 19th June
A lecture about the other documents that preceded the Magna Carta.
6:30pm to 8pm
Camden
Celebrate the longest days of the year, with evening tours of the atmospheric West Cemetery.
Starts at 7:30pm
More London events on Friday 19th June
Saturday 20th June
There'll be live music, dance, performances, stalls, walking tours, open buildings and tours of historic Croydon.
All Day
Croydon
Free
There will be two stages showcasing local talent with live music, performance, dance and entertainment.
tba
Pimlico South
The event fills the whole of the church with high-quality books at ridiculously low prices.
9am to 5pm
Greenwich
Visit Alexander Pope's famous grotto and hear about the plans for its restoration.
10am to 1pm
Twickenham
A chance to see inside the local bus garage and ride on some vintage buses.
11am to 3pm
Horton
Free
The carnival – believed to be the oldest in London - is themed around the history of Hanwell.
12pm to 6pm
Hanwell
n the eve of the summer solstice, we celebrate the unveiling of a major outdoor installation at the British Library, a light box artwork.
7pm to 11pm
Camden
More London events on Saturday 20th June
Sunday 21st June
£9.13
Join the Thames Discovery Programme for a summer walk along the south bank foreshore,
11am to 1pm
Southwark
A day of kites and demonstrations on Streatham Common.
11am to 5pm
Streatham
A fairly rare chance to go inside a crumbling Georgian era house which was later converted into a Jewish Synagogue.
12pm to 5pm
Whitechapel
There will be access to ground floor displays about the history of the tower, and a chance to go up to the belfry.
3pm to 5pm
Erith
More London events on Sunday 21st June
Monday 22nd June
Panel debate on the merits of listing a notable housing estate in East London.
2pm to 6pm
More London events on Monday 22nd June
Tuesday 23rd June
A talk about the notorious Crystal Palace dinosaur models.
6:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Tuesday 23rd June
Wednesday 24th June
A walk through Green Park to Hyde Park Corner exploring how the nation remembers its wars and warriors.
11am to 12:30pm
Picadilly
Hear from historian Aileen Reid about the history of our building’s architecture and architecture in Battersea.
6pm to 7pm
Battersea
More London events on Wednesday 24th June
Thursday 25th June
Tour of the City of London's historic Guildhall, followed by attending the Common Council.
Starts at 10:45am
An exhibition about the UK’s first female press photographer, and her work in the 1910s.
6pm to 10pm
Poplar
A talk about how Victorians turned central London into a wonderland of freak shows, dioramas, panopticons and exotica.
Starts at 6:30pm
Soho
£8.82
A guided walk that looks at how the urban landscape has evolved to provide cues to human behaviour to control behaviour.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
A talk by Jane Audas, author of forthcoming book on Charles Hasler, will explore his engaging and witty collection of typography, graphic design and illustration.
6:30pm to 9pm
Hampstead
Free
In our modern world we are constantly exposed to the opinion of the group. When is the crowd wise and when is it prone to madness?
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
More London events on Thursday 25th June
Friday 26th June
The annual celebration of student work from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.
10am to 8:30pm
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Camden
Find out how cutting-edge microscopy has helped recover text that has not been read in 250 years.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Camden
More London events on Friday 26th June
Saturday 27th June
Highlights include the Horse Show, the Fun Dog Show, hundreds of arts and crafts stalls,
10:30am to 5pm
Wimbledon
Twice a year, the island opens up to the public and the studios open their doors to interested visitors on this usually closed island.
10:30am to 5:30pm
Twickenham
This local amenity and conservation society welcomes visitors to view an exhibition on the famous composer Henry Purcell.
11am to 4pm
Pimlico
This year's fair will feature a crafts and produce market, family sports, children's attractions
12pm to 4pm
Mortlake
Traditional summer fair on the edge of the Barbican estate.
1pm to 5pm
Free
A debate about Denys Lasdun's National Theatre building on the South Bank.
Starts at 3pm
Southwark
More London events on Saturday 27th June
Sunday 28th June
Twice a year, the island opens up to the public and the studios open their doors to interested visitors on this usually closed island.
10:30am to 5:30pm
Twickenham
The event will be to celebrate Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month
12pm to 6pm
Bow
Monthly opening of the railway cutting based nature reserve.
1pm to 4pm
Forest Hill
An exceptionally rare event -- as a huge cold-war Avro Vulcan bomber makes a flypast over North London.
Starts at 2pm
See silent comedies as they were meant to be -- on a big screen with live music accompaniment.
Starts at 3pm
More London events on Sunday 28th June
Monday 29th June
£10.00
9:30am to 5pm
Camden
An evening of expert talks & displays commemorating London’s Great Plague of 1665.
Starts at 5:30pm
Join the Royal College of Physicians for an evening of pestilence, death and disaster
5:30pm to 9pm
Free
An exclusive preview of the Summer Science Exhibition, packed full of exciting, interactive exhibits and events.
6pm to 10pm
Thomas Heatherwick will give the NLA Annual Lecture 2015, focusing on designing spaces that encourage interaction between people.
Starts at 6:30pm
More London events on Monday 29th June
Tuesday 30th June
Anthony Geraghty will reveal how Sir Christopher Wren went about rebuilding over fifty churches in the decades after the Great Fire.
Starts at 6pm
Holborn
James Attlee and Will Gompertz discuss the rich history of the Great Western railway.
Starts at 6:30pm
Covent Garden
A panel of defence and foreign policy experts will debate the options of a British exit from the EU.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
Free
Join us for a weird and wonderful night of science comedy, music and performance.
Starts at 7pm
This talk explores Spring-heeled Jack’s appearances in and relationship to Victorian London.
7:30pm to 9:30pm
