Presenting The Story of London, a podcast dedicated to telling the history of London as a single narrative tale; from it’s birth until the present day.
Each episode takes us along the tale of the most fascinating and vibrant city on Earth.
The format is every episode is self-contained, while also continuing to the next part in the chronicle. It covers events as they happened, from the actions of the great and the ...
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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.
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!