Extraordinary Stories of Britain

Epizode

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  The Gin Craze - When England was Drunk 20.07.2026 32min

  The Gin Craze was one of the darkest chapters in British history. In this podcast we tell the extraordinary true stories behind the epidemic that gripped Georgian London—from murder and corruption to secret gin shops, riots and Hogarth's famous Gin Lane. It's the story of how one drink nearly destroyed a nation, and the lessons it still has to teach us today.
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  The Bow Street Runners - Law & Disorder in the 1700s 05.05.2026 35min

  During the 1700s London was a lawless capital plagued by theft, violence and corruption. We tell the dramatic story of the Bow Street runners, Britain's first police force formed by Henry and John "the blind beak" Fielding.  Hear how they brought thieves, and pickpockets to justice, and how the runners broke up a plot to behead the prime minster and his cabinet. 
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  Love Letters, Spies and Stolen Mail - The History of Britain’s Post 20.03.2026 40min

  From the first Valentine’s letter to postal highway robbery, from spies to street wars and the invention of the first postage stamp, this British history podcast tells the story of how the Royal Mail evolved into a network that connected a nation.
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  History of Money Part 2 – Forgers, Firesticks & Financial Fiascos 06.02.2026 40min

  Discover how war, crime and chaos shaped Britain’s money. From wooden money to lusturous gold Guineas to Isaac Newton hunting forgers, this episode reveals the stories behind Britain’s currency. The dramatic history that gave us the coins and notes still used today.
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  A History of Money - Coin Clippers, Con-Men and King Coppernose 20.12.2025 40min

  The extraordinary history Britain’s money.  Where kings mutilate moneyers, coins spark riots and fortunes are made, debased, clipped and forged.  This podcast shows how money isn’t just metal — it’s about power, violence, trust, and the magic of the philosopher’s stone
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  The Diary of a Graverobber - London's Darkest Trade 24.10.2025 31min

  The Diary of a Graverobber dramatises the true-life story of Joseph Naples, a London gravedigger in the early 1800s who slips into the city’s darkest trade — stealing corpses to sell to surgeons. Driven by poverty and desperation, Naples is lured into ruthless Borough Gang, only to be consumed by guilt, betrayal, and the ghosts of those he unearthed. 
• 
  About Time: The History of Timekeeping 16.09.2025 45min

  From Stonehenge to Greenwich, Celtic seasons to Roman calendars, candle clocks to knocker-uppers  -  and John Harrison’s chronometer. This podcast tells the story of how language, and technology shaped the way we keep time.
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  Murder at the Theatre - The William Terris Story 28.07.2025 39min

  The story of William Terriss - Victorian London’s beloved stage hero. While audiences flocked to the Adelphi Theatre, a troubled bit-part actor plotted his downfall. What followed was a sensational courtroom drama, and a ghost story that haunts the theatre to this day.
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  Dr Johnson - The Man Who Made the English Dictionary 20.05.2025 44min

  Hear the story of the extraordinary life of Samuel Johnson.  The sicky, part blind, provincial boy, a failure at Oxford University he went on to create the first great dictionary of the English language.
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  Heratic? Homosexual? Spy? - The Life and Murder of Christopher Marlowe. 06.03.2025 42min

  Christopher Marlowe was the star writer of the 1580s.   The Elizabethans flocked to his plays.   But Kitt’s life was shrouded in mystery. Was he a secret agent? A Catholic spy? A double agent for Queen Elizabeth’s government.  There is evidence that he was heretical atheist.  And he may have been England's first gay poet   Hear how this ended with a murder mystery on May 30, 1593.
• 
  Strange Stories of Animals - From Pigs to Pigeons, Ravens to Elephants 14.01.2025 46min

  Amazing stories of animals in Britain.  From performing pigs, to medal-winning pigeons.  From war elephants to bears who appeared in Shakespeare plays.  From a runaway goose to the famous ravens in the Tower of London. 
• 
  History of Christmas - From Carols to Cards to Canterbury Riots 11.12.2024 18min

  Hear the history of Christmas traditions.  Who invented the Christmas card?  Why do we say Merry Christmas? Who put up the first Christmas tree in England?  How old is Father Christmas? And why did Canterbury riot over Christmas?   Find out in this podcast
• 
  248 Days  – The Story of the London Blitz 21.10.2024 53min

  From September 1940 to May 1941 London was the target of a brutal bombing campaign.  We tell the story of the eight months of misery and resistance.    From the spirit of London’s East End,  to a special team that saved St Pauls Cathedral. From the evacuated children, to the families sleeping on the underground.  Hear about the firefighters, bomb squads, the home guard and the unique role of London’s women.  
• 
  Charles Dickens - The Writer Who Changed Britain 18.08.2024 1h 7min

  This podcast tells the dramatic story of the life of Charles Dickens.  When his father was imprisoned for debt,  he had to work as a child labourer.   The excitement of his first publication,   his troubled early romance, eventual marriage, success and secret affair – and relentless campaigning to improve the life of the poor and needy
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  Bedlam - The Story of a Madhouse 27.05.2024 49min

  St Mary’s Bethlem was England’s first psychiatric hospital.  This podcast tells the story of the hospital, from its medieval origins to its home in a grand 17th century palace.  We follow the lives of its famous inmates: the woman who tried to kill King George III, the first documented case of paranoid schizophrenia and a brilliant Victorian artist who murdered his father.  
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  Trapped by the Plague - Eyam Village 1665 01.04.2024 29min

  In 1665 plague devastated England.  The remote Derbyshire village of Eyam was spared the horror - until a tailor bought a roll of cloth from London.   To stop the pestilence spreading, the local vicar closed down Eyam -  and the villagers were locked in.  Hear the dramatic story of the plague village in this podcast.
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  A History of London Pubs - Pilgrims, Parrots, and Phantoms 26.02.2024 33min

  Our history of London pubs pubcast visits the oldest tavern in London, including a pub haunted by phantasmal spirits.  Hear about Parliamentary boozers, the smallest bar in the world, the Pilgrim Fathers Mayflower pub,  and Gandalf’s riverside alehouse.
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  Pub Names, Ghosts and Flying Ale - A History of Beer Part 2 31.01.2024 39min

  What is the oldest pub name in Britain? And the most popular pub name in the country? Where is our oldest pub?   What are the boozy origins of the nursery rhyme “Pop Goes the Weasel”? What caused the London beer flood?  And where is Britain’s most haunted pub? Find out in our latest History of Beer podcast
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  Boozy Britain – History of Beer. Part 1 19.12.2023 36min

  The story of Beer.  From Britain’s first brewer,  to ancient  ales made with psychedelic plants.     From rules on Viking drinking horns to the English king who drank himself to death.   From the rise of female brewers,   to a drunk Queen Elizabeth I.  From the legend of the ale-conner, to pubs forced to change names.  
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  Lav Affair - The History of Sewage Podcast. 01.11.2023 46min

  The story of sewage:  from the Romans taxing urine,  to York's Bog on the Bridge; from Henry VIII's Groom of the Stool, to pure finders selling dog faeces.  Hear about the life of a Gong Farmer,  and how a lav affair with toilets lead to the Great Stink, which brought London's mighty Thames to a standstill.