Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Story of London

The Story of London reaches Book 5 of its epic saga… covering the era between the arrival of the Black Death to the rise of the Tudor Dynasty. And era of great change for the city and the country as the 100 Years Wars ended and the insanity of the War of the Roses erupted… welcome then to London’s Roses.

The year is 1348 and everything changes… welcome as we take a detailed look at what London was doing in the year of the arrival of the Black Death; and how it coped when the terrible disease took hold of the city, leaving hundreds dying every day. We close out book 4 of the story, with a guide to how London responded to the first advent of the disease that was to shape the City for centuries to come.

We celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Story of London with the first of two episodes dropping this week, as we return to the story of the birth of London’s livery companies. As London was dividing between its political factions, the nation as a whole became caught up in the issues related to the King’s favourite, Piers Gaveston; and this episode explores why he became one of the most contentious people in England and how the national factions began to impact upon London. Above all, how three mayors in quick succession (a goldsmith, a pepperer and a mercer) all tried to keep London balancing on a tightrope…

Fresh from the defence of the city, the residents of London suddenly have to cope with some dramatic changes. A new Bishop of London exploded upon the city, with barnstorming sermons and a ferocious legal mind… and the King suddenly began a new, aggressive foreign policy. Rough script used for this episode to be found here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

London suddenly, and without warning, found itself facing a giant fleet sailing right up the Thames to sack the place but the Vikings were running into a town who had come a long way from the small village it use to be. What follows? Sounds like a bloodbath… the first battle of London had begun. A rough script for this chapter can be found here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

As England lurches from crisis to crisis, London finds itself growing, becoming more influential and eventually spearheading a new offensive against the Viking raiding fleets… only to be met with betrayal at the highest level. Rough script available for any to read here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

So in order to get to just how drastic some of the future actions by London were to be, we need to look at what drove them to do what they will do. This episode (which has way too many Vikings in it), looks at the political and military crisis tracking place in England and elsewhere that would trigger the events that would see London become the capital of England. Rough script is available here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM for folks to read along if they want.

London during the 10th century began to transform into a town known for its strong religious feelings; a chapter that examines some of the causes of this, plus how it was to witness the chaos caused by the sudden death of the King… rough script of this episode available here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

We get stuck into tenth century London with a detailed look as to the era when the city began to go from A Saxon town, to THE Saxon town and why this process began during the reign of King Æthelstan. Rough script of this episode to be found here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

We return to the Story of London by briefly going over the events in Britain going on around London, and which would influence London over the next few decades. A massive series of wars between the Kings of Wessex and the forces of the Vikings… welcome, then, to the Great Game. Rough script available for listeners here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

We come to a natural end in the Story of London; all that was past is prologue. This is a special episode, where we go over the history of the place in a nice short summery, condensing the previous 17 episodes in a nice re-cap. After all, we have covered a LOT of territory. Link to the rough script used is here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

We return after a brief hiatus with a slightly longer look at the start of the 10th century- an episode that tries to reconstruct what London looked like, when EXACTLY London Bridge was rebuilt and more than that… explore the birth of the London mob. A copy of the rough script will be shared to https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

Continuing the tale of the war of 893-897; London faced the prospect of a large Viking fleet upriver that promised to bring war and destruction upon the town… and yet greater threats lay hidden in its future. An episode that takes us to the end of the reign of Alfred the Great. Rough script available here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

Edward I was dead… a new era was about to begin in the story of London. But to understand what was to come we need to go back in time a decade or so. Because under the surface, deep political divisions were brewing in London; the city was at odds with itself over how it should be ran. This episode we go back a few years to examine the events that had taken place over the last 5 episodes, but in a new light; as we focus on a series of growing political issues that were to cause savage bloodshed on the streets of the city. And this episode? A small, much overlooked and utterly forgotten document that was to drive the cities politics into violence…

London was about to discover it was no longer utterly helpless in the face of Viking raids. For the first time the residents of the town were empowered to mobilise as an army… and over the course of a war that is much overlooked these days, suddenly found they had teeth… a copy of the rough script of todays episode is available here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

We finally reach the year the City of London as we know it was created- 886. But the story behind it, and the confusion it seems to generate, are examined in a wild episode involving war, political gestures and Viking’s Vikinging other Vikings.

You can follow along the rough script used for this Chapter as well as links to support it here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

The second part of this bumper section, we now examine the actions of the other two candidates for the murder of London- the Viking leader Guthrum and Alfred the Great. Links to the rough script used in this episode (and all the others so far) to be found here: https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

A special two part episode, as we try and work out who was responsible, ultimately, for the death of Saxon London as it was. In the first part, we examine the role of the King’s of Mercia and the great Viking Leader, Halfdan… Links to all the scripts found here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM

The Story of London gets to the part where the Viking attacks increase as we explore two things impacting upon it- the start of the reign of Alfred the Great and the Great Heathen Army! And how the Viking’s came to occupy the town… draft script and pictures/maps available on the website.

The Vikings had raided London… how did the survivors cope and how did this change them? The Story continues looking at both the aftermath and potentially what created the identity of the city of come. A rough script and support materials can be found on the website.

An deep dive into both the evolution of the tactics and scale of the early Vikings and their impact upon London; how the small collections of pirates grew and escalated their attacks to the point they could take on huge towns, and accounts of the first two raids upon London in 842 and 851.

The second part of the special looking closely at the advent of the age of the Vikings; exploring why the residents of London would have seen these guys as highly fashionable merchants and not raiders for a whole generation… and exploring the complexity of the era in some depth.

The first of a two-part special; it’s 820, and London is part of the powerful and strong Mercian Kingdom; and yet within 15 years the world was to turn upside down, and on the horizon, something scary was looming…

We return to the story of London with the tale of the most powerful of the Mercian King’s of the city, and why London was producing coins with faux Arabic script on them…

One of the most famous executions in London during the medieval period was that of William Wallace, the great hero of Scottish indepedence. And yet, there was more to his execution… why was he dragged all the way TO London to be killed? And why were the great and the good of the City so heavily involved in seeing him to his grisly fate? These questions, plus the building of medieval Southwark’s most famous inn, the White Friars being the victim of a vicious smash and grab robbery and the death of King Edward I, all coming up in this episode…

The story continues as we look at how Lundenwic (London) thrived and grew due to it’s relationship with the Kingdom of Mercia; also look at some of the wider implications of the towns story so far.

The story of London continues as we look at how the weak kingdom of Mercia ended up taking over the town of Ludenwic, starting a centuries long relationship with the city.

The story of London continues with the tale of the formation of the Saxon settlement of Lundenwic, the market town built one mile west of the old Roman ruins, and the complicated and obscure changing world around it…

Welcome back to the second episode of the story of London; this one with added controversy. We do the entire history of Roman London in one episode.

Why? Because… reasons…

All music courtesy of artlist.io

Welcome to the Story of London. Our opening episode quickly introduces the scale and size of what we will be trying to do, before getting stuck right into our first part of the story; an account of the region before the Roman’s came. What WAS there before London was built?

All music & SPFX courtesy of artlist.io

The Great Robbery of the Crown Jewels and the entire Royal Treasury of Westminster had been discovered and the culprits found… or had they? This episode we look at the FULL circumstances behind the robbery, follow the story of the vast cabal of criminals who pulled off this most daring raid and discover that London and many of its most important citizens (as well as many of its poorer ones), went to extraordinary lengths to cover up London’s role.

A saga within a saga; in 1303 a daring band of robbers raided and plundered the royal treasury of King Edward I, making off with a fortune in gold, silver, precious items and jewels. What was worse was that the robbery seemed to have been an open secret known by dozens in and around London… but no one seemed to have bothered to tell then king for weeks. The story of the circumstances, the people and the events involved in this epic tale begin the first part of this, the story of ‘The Westminster Job’.

We take a break from the recent events by looking at London’s behind the scenes economic situation; and the rise of the importance of what was for a while one of cities most important places- the lost street of Soper’s Lane. Why did dozens of merchants move here and what has this to do with the sudden and dramatic changes in the fortunes of London’s merchants? And why did the rope-makers of London go from craftsmen to multi-faceted merchants with powerful import/export businesses? All of this in a bumper issue all based around that most golden of rules… follow the money!

In the final years of the 13th Century, England was gripped in a crisis caused by a series of ongoing wars all around them; economically, socially, as well as militarily, the country was being pushed to its limits. And in this episode, which details a lot of what was going on around it, the City of London, and a former mayor of London, saw an opportunity to exploit this situation for their advantage… and to try and blag from the brutal Edward I the return of something long thought lost…

The Story of London returns with England slipping into a huge war with Scotland (and Wales, oh and France) and the circumstances behind this. In London we see the circumstances behind the rising of Charing Cross (and its sister Cheapside Cross) and the city continue under the Wardens, but we also have Vikings (no, honestly, they still around), 4 year old Scottish queens, Gascony pirates, and why someone fortified the Savoy. All of this and more…

London was without a mayor; a new regime of a City Warden ran the city, and the community tried to come to terms with what that meant. But while this was going on, while fairs were being held, and exotic animals were being shipped to the Tower of London and the stench from the rivers became bad… forces beyond everyones control were about to impact upon the city… and London’s Jewish community was about to be destroyed, leading to a horrific incident, on a sand bank, far down the river Thames…

In 1280 London was carrying on, seemingly as it had always done; a thriving, bustling city by the banks of the Thames, with a Mayor who ran the city and a bridge across the river which was known across Europe. By 1285 BOTH these things were gone; the Story reaches five years where London’s fortunes took a dramatic turn, as terrible weather, a hostile King, and above all, a scandalous murder and a salacious cover up, destroyed the iconic symbols of the cities independence.

We rapidly race to the end of Book 4 of the story, with a chapter filled with London spending fortunes to rebuild parts of the walls, the king triggering a national political crisis, fake rugs, drunken spur makers, and canons being fire as gun crews learned how too use them…

6 years in the life of the city as it tried to stay on top of ongoing economic difficulties, mayors suddenly dying, and above all, a war like no other. Across the channel, in the fields of northern France, Londoners helped make up a brutal army that fell like angels of death upon the French, and a glorious series of victories graced the English… but something far more terrifying was on its way. Welcome to the story of London in the years before the Black Death.

The story of London returns to the onward rush of events as we cover the years 1275-1280- the oligarchs choices of mayors run the city without serious political opposition; the day to day difficulties of the growing city always there; there is redevelopment of some prime real estate; a war in Wales and the hiring of mercenaries… and something else. In the shadows of hate and anger, London witnesses over 600 citizens killed simply because they were not Christian.

After all the excitement of the recent events, we slow things down a little, as we examine the bylaws, rules and regulations that governed daily life in London. What WAS it like to live in London in the early reign of Edward I. An episode filled with rules about prostitutes, street cleaners, bad haircuts, grim advertisements, and gutters. So much about the gutters!

A Chapter in two halves… firstly the story of the 8th Crusade, and how Edward I of England was to find himself in the Middle East; fighting off assassins, avoiding winter storms and furious at everyone seemingly all the damn time. But it’s also the story of one of THE biggest political arguments in London’s long history; two men claim to be mayor. One has the support of the people. The other? The Oligarchs. And with a dying King, who will prevail? Let’s find out in the tale of the years leading up to the coronation of Edward I.

As a special 100th episode, we cover the final years of Henry III’s reign; and witness an extraordinary few years for the city; in between deadly floods and churches collapsing, the City descends into a series of wars in the shadows- be it gangs of Londoner’s prowling the streets at night and murdering each other; secret inquisitions leading to mass purges of citizens; subtle campaigns of manipulation against foreign merchants, or even a whole bunch of folks trying to avoid their tax bills, this is a London of grand passion and vicious conflict.

So, London had just been part of a huge rebellion against the King. And they had lost. The clampdown by the victorious royal forces continued, and London was systematically stripped of its ancient rights, privileges and positions. So how should London respond to this? Well… apparently? Stage ANOTHER rebellion it seems. A Chapter filled with politics, violence, murder, hastily erected defences and a bunch of guys nipping down the river and looting Westminster. I mean… what’s the worst that can happen?

After the battle of Lewes, the residents of London sang wild songs lampooning the supporters of the King and rejoicing in the victory of Simon De Montfort. But by the end of the next year… it was done. London had picked the wrong side and now, stripped of the position of mayor, and its sheriffs, and with the King ordering the most brutal clampdown ever seen in the city, the residents of London had to cope with the end of an era.

A bumper episode as finally all the things that have been building during the long reign of Henry III come to a head… a massive bank robbery; a terrifying moment for the Queen; a genuine pogrom; vigilante gangs wandering the streets of the city and tearing down whole buildings; and the armed forces of London finding itself in a field in Sussex… facing down a wall of horsemen led by a furious prince. A prince who was furious at just them! The story covers a much overlooked important couple of years in the history of the city.

England slowly but with relentless inevitability, slipped into civil war… and London was dragged along with it. But while the actions of the powers that be made what was to come unavoidable, the City carried on as best it could; it was sometimes funny, sometimes proud, and sometimes fearful. And then, for reasons that will become clear, it found itself armed to the teeth. And this… this was never a good thing to do to London.

A country teetering on the verge of becoming a failed state… famine kills thousands and disease kills more; the economy is shrinking in the face of the pandemic; the king is away following wild dreams of foreign glory that could bankrupt the nation; powerful landowners move to seize power; everyone becomes convinced that a rash of poisonings are taking out the powerful… and London was going to have to cope with this, mobs killing French squires, what we THINK is the city’s first ‘bank robbery’ and finding itself unsure IF it should side against the king who had vexed them so much. This is 1258, and it’s one hell of a year…

London faced relentless attack upon it by the regime of Henry III- city officials would find themselves dragged into the courts again and again, as the King seemed determined to find any excuse- no matter how stupid, to extract money from it. But take this, foreign policy misadventures, a devastating famine that killed thousands, and a terrible flood? Even the distractions caused by royal visits and wild animals being placed in the Tower of London could not derail the City from hurtling headlong towards an inevitable conflict with the crown… matters political and legal dominate as the Story carries on.

So after chapters focused on London, its time to cast our gaze outwards for an episode… as Edward III, the young, dynamic and energetic King of England, finds himself dragged into a war with Scotland, which in turn leads to a war with France… and how this, mixed with complicated French dynastic politics, to produce the conditions that led to the start of the 100 Years War.

Covering how the country slid into this war, the seemingly constant set backs and occasional brilliant victory at sea, and Edward virtually bankrupting the nation, ‘Thunderbolt’ sets up the situation in London, with the king turning up in the Tower and trying to purge his entire government for backsliding. Wild times abound.

London and King Henry III were NOT getting on; and while the 7th Crusade was gloriously sailing towards disaster in Egypt, and the affairs of the nation carried on regardless, the city and the king would repeatedly clash as he provoked the place endlessly. And then? There was a huge fight in the beloved St Barts church. Who caused it, and why it led to mobs of Londoners prowling the streets and swearing vengeance on the VERY high powered offender, is covered this episode.