London History

Episodes

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  166: The Explorer's Room: Guns, Gear and Victorian Travel 06.11.2026 41m

  A water filter, a hunting knife and your own portable bath. What else did a Victorian traveller need before leaving London?Join Hazel Baker as she explores the shops that equipped Victorian journeys — including the intriguing Explorer’s Room at S. W. Silver & Co. on Cornhill. Here, officers, missionaries, emigrants and explorers could find everything from tents and travelling furniture to firearms.An October 1869 advert uncovered through Hazel’s research reveals a connection with Edward London, the gunmaker based at 51 London Wall. His guns were displayed in the very room where customers could assemble the rest of their travelling kit.Hazel is joined by Lucas Micallef, who is researching and reviving the Edward London name. Together, they explore surviving firearms, remarkable craftsmanship and the family stories that help bring a historic business back into focus.Discover a Hackney minister who carried Edward London pistols to Egypt and Palestine, an unusual cane air gun, and the technological changes behind Victorian gunmaking. We also look beyond the romance of polished walnut and folding baths to consider how exploration, commerce and empire shaped these journeys.Have an Edward London firearm, case, label, receipt or family story? Please get in touch with Hazel or Lucas; your discovery could help uncover the next chapter.Explore the streets behind the stories with London Guided Walks. Find our public walks and private tours at https://londonguidedwalks.co.uk
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  165: Inside Kensington Palace 09.10.2026 52m

  In this episode of the London History Podcast, Hazel Baker is joined by City of Westminster tour guide Phil Scott for a reign-by-reign exploration of Kensington Palace. Together, they trace its story from its origins as Nottingham House in the Middlesex countryside, through William III and Mary II’s transformation of it into a royal palace, to its spectacular Georgian state rooms and its defining Victorian associations.They discuss Queen Mary II’s hands-on involvement in furnishing the palace, including her remarkable collection of East Asian porcelain; William Kent’s theatrical King’s Staircase and remarkable Cupola Room; Queen Caroline’s influence on Kensington Gardens and the Serpentine; and the difficult, closely supervised childhood of the young Queen Victoria under the so-called Kensington System.The conversation also explores Queen Anne’s extraordinary relationship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; the palace’s connections to the transatlantic trade in enslaved people; the private and public lives of Princess Margaret, Diana, Princess of Wales, and more recent royal residents; and the overwhelming outpouring of mourning outside the palace after Diana’s death in 1997.Whether you are planning a visit, revisiting a favourite London landmark, or simply enjoy royal history with all its personal drama and political consequences, this episode offers a vivid introduction to Kensington Palace and the people who shaped it.londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast
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  164: Edwardian London: Mario Theodorou’s Historical Thrillers 25.09.2026 39m

  Step into the restless, glittering and deeply unequal London of 1904 with author, screenwriter and director Mario Theodorou, creator of the Felix Grey Mysteries.Mario joins Hazel to explore the Edwardian capital behind his historical thrillers: a city of political power, royal intrigue, rapid technological change and growing demands for social reform. At the heart of the novels is Felix Grey, an idealistic and inexperienced young Prime Minister drawn into dangerous mysteries of abduction, conspiracy and corruption.Together, Hazel and Mario travel across Edwardian London—from Downing Street, Parliament and Buckingham Palace to Fleet Street, the Savoy, the Tower of London, Bow, Old Kent Road and Sailortown. They discuss gentleman’s clubs and imperial power, the changing character of the capital, workers’ rights, the Bryant & May matchwomen, suffrage, the press, secret passages, and the tension between the old Victorian order and a more modern, uncertain future.Mario also shares how his film background shapes the sensory world of his fiction, from the smell of ink on Fleet Street to the energy of the docks, and why he hopes readers will begin to see London as a lived-in city of overlapping stories rather than simply a tourist destination.A richly atmospheric conversation for anyone who loves Edwardian London, historical fiction, political intrigue and the hidden histories beneath the city’s streets.London History Podcast Website
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  163: Fighters and Fashion: The Story of Georgian London's Public Combat 11.09.2026 1h 1m

  Spotify episode descriptionLondon’s forgotten fighting history comes alive in this episode of the London History Podcast. Hazel Baker explores the brutal, theatrical and hugely popular world of Georgian bare-knuckle boxing — a sport that shaped London’s streets, entertainments and social life.From James Figg, celebrated as the “invincible master,” to Jack Broughton’s influential rules of combat and Daniel Mendoza’s revolutionary style, this episode follows the fighters who made the ring a defining feature of eighteenth-century London. Hazel also examines women’s involvement in the boxing world and the writing of Pierce Egan, whose accounts give us a vivid window into the culture of prizefighting.Discover how boxing moved from taverns, amphitheatres and the margins of the city into the centre of popular London life — and why its legacy still matters today.In this episode:The rise of prizefighting in Georgian LondonJames Figg and the early fighting schoolsEntertainment, gambling and the city’s rougher edgesWomen in the boxing worldJack Broughton and the first formal boxing rulesDaniel Mendoza and the changing art of combatPierce Egan and the storytelling of the ringFor full show notes, sources and more London history, visit the London History Podcast website.
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  162: Building Tower Bridge 26.06.2026 30m

  How Tower Bridge Was Built: The Untold Story of London's Most Famous BridgeDiscover the remarkable history behind Tower Bridge, one of London's most iconic landmarks. Learn how political battles, engineering innovation, and Victorian ambition transformed a transport crisis into one of the greatest bridge-building achievements of the nineteenth century.00:00 Building Tower Bridge01:00 Why London Needed a New Thames Crossing03:00 The Engineering Challenge05:00 Early Designs and Political Battles06:00 Choosing the Bascule Design06:30 Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry08:00 The Tower Bridge Act of 188510:00 Building the Foundations Beneath the Thames12:00 The Six Divers of Tower Bridge14:00 Constructing the Steel Superstructure16:00 The Revolutionary Hydraulic System18:00 Victorian Engineering and Safety Standards20:00 Costs, Delays and Human Sacrifice22:00 Legal Disputes During Construction24:45 Why Victorian Critics Hated Tower Bridge27:30 The Grand Opening of 189429:00 Tower Bridge's Lasting Legacy
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  161: Life Below Stairs 12.06.2026 53m

  Below Stairs London: Tracing Victorian Servant Life in Belgravia and MayfairHazel Baker guides listeners through surviving street-level traces of Victorian servant London—area steps and railings, coal-hole covers, bell systems, mews alleys, and service districts—showing how London’s architecture encoded a rigid “upstairs/downstairs” hierarchy and enforced servant invisibility. Using census figures, she explains domestic service as Britain’s largest employer of women, driven by coal soot, class display, and tax incentives against male servants, then outlines household ranks from butler and housekeeper to scullery maid and mews staff. She describes the physical toll of long days, the servant supply chain at Shepherd Market, mews history and later gentrification, and surviving examples including Hyde Park Gardens Mews, Belgravia Mews West’s Star Pub, Bathurst Mews stables, and 18 Stafford Terrace (Sambourne House). She critiques period dramas for softening labor and highlights servants’ documented sexual vulnerability and limited protections.00:00 161: Life Below Stairs00:12 Introduction01:55 The Scale of Servant London14:20 The Architecture of Invisibility17:02 Coal Holes & Bell Systems22:38 The Mews28:50 Shepherd Market33:23 A Day in the Life37:00 Downton Abbey vs. Reality40:04 Sexual Vulnerability & Structural Silence44:47 Why Did Servants Stay?46:32 18 Stafford Terrace48:54 The Dual City51:43 Outro & Related Episodes
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  160: Soho Square’s Untold Stories: From Charles II to Mary Seacole 29.05.2026 29m

  Host Hazel Baker and Westminster guide Philip Scott record in Soho Square, tracing its shift from Middlesex countryside and royal hunting ground—where “Soho!” was cried—to a late-1600s development originally called King Square for Charles II, whose weathered statue remains after being moved and later returned. They highlight residents and landmarks, including Mary Seacole’s blue plaque and her Crimean War work after being refused by Florence Nightingale’s nurses: she built the British Hotel, treated soldiers and went to battlefields, later publishing her 1857 autobiography and receiving a benefit concert. They discuss Seacole’s rediscovery from the 1980s and her statue near Parliament, the square’s 1925 mock-Tudor gardener’s hut and tunnel myth, Huguenot immigration and the French-language Protestant church, Theresa Cornelis and Casanova, and trivia about entertainer Danny La Rue, buried near Seacole. The episode ends promoting a Soho walking tour.
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  159: Unveiling London's Victorian Vampire Legacy 22.05.2026 44m

  London’s Dracula Connections: Victorian Vampires, Penny Dreadfuls & the Lyceum Theatre (World Dracula Day Special)On World Dracula Day (26 May), London History Podcast host Hazel Baker speaks with Lambeth tour guide and Gothic novelist David Turnbull about how a century of Gothic writing and London locations shaped Bram Stoker’s Dracula. They trace early vampire traits through Coleridge’s Christabel, Byron’s circle and the Villa Diodati summer, Polidori’s The Vampyre, and the influence of penny dreadfuls like Varney the Vampire and Lloyd’s publications, before moving to Fleet Street magazines and Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. The conversation highlights Stoker’s Lyceum Theatre work under Henry Irving, the Beefsteak Room’s literary influences (including Burton and Vambéry), Stoker’s research at the British Museum and London Library, and Dracula’s London settings from Piccadilly and King’s Cross to Hampstead. They discuss Dracula’s slow initial success, rivalry with The Beetle, and its 20th-century rise via Hamilton Deane and Bela Lugosi, ending with Turnbull’s Dracula-influenced novel The Hurdy Gurdy Man and related London tours.00:00 Introduction05:39 The Romantic Poets & Vampire Origins17:17 Penny Dreadfuls & Fleet Street31:57 Dracula's London Locations36:19 Dracula's Rise to FameSee Show Notes
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  158: Finsbury Circus: Marsh to Metropolitan Marvels 08.05.2026 28m

  The script traces Finsbury Circus Gardens’ transformation from medieval marshland north of London’s wall—created as the Wallbrook’s flow was impeded—into today’s Grade II listed public garden and commercial centre. It recounts Roman burials, later use as a waste dump and tanning area, failed drainage and quarrying, and the successful draining in 1527. The site became home to Bethlehem Royal Hospital (“Bedlam”) in 1675–76, designed by Robert Hooke, before its demolition in 1814–15 and redevelopment as an elegant oval residential circus planned by George Dance and executed by William Montague (1815–17). It covers the area’s religious institutions, a fatal 1825 construction accident, an unrealized radical monument to Rafael del Riego, its 19th-century medical quarter (including Moorfields Eye Hospital), later office redevelopment and key buildings like Lutyens’ Britannic House and Derwent Wood’s sculptures, public opening in 1900, and 2025 restoration after Crossrail works.Podcast show notes: londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast
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  157: From Factory Floor to Black Market: The Button Theft Scandal 24.04.2026 33m

  Hazel Baker of the London History Podcast describes late December 1870 at the crowded Worship Street Police Court, where three women—Elizabeth Brown (22), Charlotte Quigley (20), and her mother Charlotte Quigley (45)—are charged with stealing large quantities of buttons from Hackney manufacturer Mr. Williamson. The episode explains why buttons had real commercial value in the booming Victorian clothing trade and how stolen goods could be easily hidden and resold. Detective Chapman traces the missing buttons through East End neighborhoods via shopkeepers such as Isaac Levine of Bethnal Green Road and Mr. Hyams near Spitalfields, who admit buying “job lots” without records or reporting suspicions. Magistrate Henry Jeffreys Bushby condemns this normalized receiving of stolen goods, warns traders to keep detailed purchase records, and links the thefts to severe East End poverty and economic distress; the case is remanded and the final outcome is unknown.
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  156: Smithfield: London’s Theatre of Public Execution 09.04.2026 36m

  Hazel Baker introduces Smithfield (West Smithfield near St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Smithfield Meat Market) as a deceptively ordinary open space that for centuries served both as a major market/fairground and a prominent execution site used to project state and church power. With tour guide Maria Alexe’s commentary, the episode traces Smithfield’s execution history from William Wallace’s hanging, drawing and quartering in 1305 to the last clearly documented burning in 1612, noting its particular association with heresy burnings and high-profile traitors, especially the Marian burnings under Mary I (about 48 at Smithfield, per Foxe). It highlights John Foxe’s shaping of Protestant martyr memory through accounts such as John Rogers and Anne Askew, describes execution methods including hanging, burning, quartering and boiling (Richard Rouse in 1531; Margaret Davy in 1547), and explains the crowd spectacle, commerce, and the risk of creating martyrs. It ends by identifying surviving local traces—St Bartholomew the Great, the gateway, street names like Cloth Fair, and modern contrasts—and invites listeners to related walking tours.
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  155: Tea with Churchill: Amelia Earhart's London Story 27.03.2026 30m

  Hazel Baker hosts journalist and author Rachel Hartigan on the London History Podcast to explore Amelia Earhart’s lesser-known relationship with London in 1928 and 1932, from Toynbee Hall’s settlement-house ideals to Selfridges displaying her plane and outfitting her after transatlantic flights with no spare clothes. Hartigan recounts how Earhart, then a Boston social worker, was recruited to join the 1928 Friendship crossing backed by Amy Phipps Guest, landing in Wales before reaching Southampton, and how London’s receptions—Ascot, Wimbledon, and events with figures like Winston Churchill and Lady Astor—revealed the scale of her sudden celebrity. The episode discusses media portrayals, her evolving public persona, sources including Earhart’s own dispatches and archives, and what her London visits show about gender, modern fame, and optimism around aviation.
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  154: White Conduit House: A Lost Pleasure Garden of Georgian Islington 13.03.2026 46m

  Hazel Baker traces the story of White Conduit House in Barnsbury, Islington, from its origins as a 1431 Henry VI–licensed water conduit supplying Charterhouse to its later life as an affordable, working-class pleasure garden. She explains how Robert Bartholomew’s 1750s improvements and famed hot rolls and butter made it a London destination, noted by Oliver Goldsmith, and how resident organist James Hook began his career there. In the 1780s the adjacent White Conduit Fields hosted the aristocratic White Conduit Club; disruptions from a public right of way helped prompt Thomas Lord to secure a private ground in Marylebone, leading to the MCC and cricket’s codified laws. The venue later rebranded with spectacles but declined as urban building and nearby gasworks spoiled the air, and it was demolished in 1849, with fragments remembered in names, gardens, plaques, and a surviving façade.Show Notes
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  153: A Celebration of Sound: The Festival of Britain's Musical Journey 06.03.2026 33m

  Hazel Baker hosts a London History Podcast episode with author and Lambeth tour guide David Turnbull exploring the musical legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain and how, 75 years on, music again anchors South Bank celebrations with Danny Boyle’s “You Are Here.” They discuss the Royal Festival Hall’s symbolic opening night and its British-focused programme, the festival’s nationwide reach through choral competitions, mass singalongs and the HMS Campania tour, and the Arts Council’s opera commissions and controversies, including Alan Bush’s Wat Tyler. The conversation traces how the festival’s optimism and internationalism helped shape later British sounds, spotlighting calypso’s unofficial anthem by Lord Kitchener, the arrival of the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra, and popular dance culture at Battersea Pleasure Gardens, alongside details of Turnbull’s limited-time walking tour.Show Notes
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  BONUS EPISODE 2: The Great London Firsts Quiz 27.02.2026 16m

  Hazel Baker hosts a special bonus edition of the London History Podcast celebrating over 500,000 streams and downloads and continuing a “London’s firsts” theme with a slightly harder, play-along quiz. Listeners get 12 questions with 15 seconds to think, then the show shares the answer and a short story behind each landmark “first,” spanning Norman and medieval London through the Georgian era and beyond. The topics range across royal power, religion, law, theatre, newspapers and magazines, West End planning, docks and trade, botanic gardens, and public art exhibitions. Hazel invites listeners to keep score, compare results with the first bonus quiz, share the podcast, and send in scores via Spotify Q&A or social media.
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  152: The Peasant's Revolt Part I - How it Came About 20.02.2026 45m

  Hazel Baker of London Guided Walks welcomes you to the London History Podcast for the first of a two-part deep dive into the dramatic events of 1381—often known as the Peasants’ Revolt. Joining Hazel is City of London guide and lecturer Ian McDiarmid, as they unpack why “peasants” is far from an accurate label. Contemporary records and post-revolt indictments reveal that many participants were skilled workers or even minor landowners, challenging long-held assumptions about this uprising.Together they trace the revolt’s roots in three powerful pressures: crushing and unfair taxation—especially the infamous poll taxes—England’s costly and faltering campaigns in the Hundred Years’ War, and deep economic tensions following the Black Death. With landowners trying to freeze wages and reassert labour controls, resentment brewed across the country.The episode explores the political turmoil surrounding the teenage Richard II, corruption scandals involving figures like Alice Perrers, William Latimer, and Richard Lyons, and London’s bitter clashes with John of Gaunt over civic rights and Wyclif’s reformist ideas. As rebellion ignites in Essex and Kent, the movement gathers momentum under Wat Tyler, culminating in the rebels’ march to London and their tense first meeting with the king at Deptford.The story closes with the rebels poised to enter London—setting the stage for part two, which follows the uprising as it engulfs the city. You can explore even more through Hazel’s related blog posts on the Marshalsea, London’s aldermen, John of Gaunt’s Savoy Palace, and Alice Perrers.Show Notes
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  151: Love of Jane Austen in London 13.02.2026 43m

  In episode 151 of the London History Podcast, host Hazel Baker is joined by Caroline Jane Knight, who is Jane Austen's fifth great-niece. Caroline discusses her unique perspective growing up at Chawton House, the family estate, and her deep connection to Austen's legacy. She shares anecdotes about Jane Austen's life, her literary works, and her connection to London. Caroline also talks about her efforts to preserve Austen's heritage through her memoir 'Jane and Me,' her role in the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, and her upcoming project to create a family archive. The conversation covers Austen's experiences in London, including her theatre visits and her correspondence with the Prince Regent, as well as her modern cultural significance.Show Notes
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  150: Cracking London's Financial Glass Ceiling: The Story of Mary Harris Smith 06.02.2026 45m

  In this episode of the London History Podcast, host Hazel Baker, a qualified London tour guide, and founder of londonguidedwalks.co.uk, explores the financial history of London and the role of women in this narrative. Joined by Jenny Funnell, a second-generation City of London tour guide, the episode delves into the story of Mary Harris Smith, the world's first female chartered accountant. The discussion covers Smith's origins, her career challenges, her efforts in promoting the employment of women, and her eventual recognition in the male-dominated field of accountancy. The episode also touches on the limited representation of women in London's history as seen through plaques and statues in the city, and discusses the ongoing legacy of Smith's groundbreaking work. Jenny Funnell provides deep historical insights and personal anecdotes, making the episode both informative and engaging.
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  BONUS EPISODE Quiz Time: Uncovering London's Firsts Through History 02.02.2026 18m

  In this special bonus edition of the London History Podcast, the host celebrates reaching over 5,000 followers on Spotify by conducting a quiz themed 'London Firsts through the ages'. The quiz covers significant historical landmarks and events from medieval to Georgian London, asking listeners to identify firsts such as the city's first continually operating hospital, the first long-lived stone bridge across the Thames, and the first systematic building regulations after the Great Fire. The host, Hazel Baker, provides historical context and anecdotes for each of the 12 questions, offering listeners a deeper understanding of London's rich history. The episode encourages audience engagement by asking them to tally their scores and interact via social media.This podcast is produced by Hazel Baker at London Guided Walks
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  149: Milner Square: Through a Hole in the Wall 30.01.2026 45m

  This episode of the London History Podcast, hosted by Hazel Baker, explores the historical evolution of Milner Square in Islington, London. Initially developed in the 1840s to attract the middle class, the square transitioned into a slum by the 20th century, characterised by multi-occupancy and dilapidated conditions. In the 1970s, Islington Council cleared the slums and rehoused residents, leading to gentrification and rising property prices. The podcast features Susan Oudot, a writer and screenwriter who created the film 'Through the Hole in the Wall,' documenting her family's experiences in Milner Square from the 1930s to the 1970s. Oudot discusses the film's inception, driven by a desire to capture fading memories and address the misconceptions about Islington's history. Her film serves as a valuable oral history resource, highlighting themes of housing, work, class, and community bonds. Oudot shares personal anecdotes, reminiscing about the close-knit community, the daily struggles, and the enduring spirit of the residents.🔗 Connect With Us🌐 Website: ⁠⁠https://londonguidedwalks.co.uk/podcast⁠⁠📱 Instagram: @walk_london🐦 Twitter: @guided_walks 📘 Facebook: London Guided Walks