A rare royal for us, we are taking a look at the exciting, unusual, sexy Queen Caroline - how she broke the mould and shaped her own future. Left in a pretty sorry state by her parents, Caroline needed to think smart to escape. Fiercely intelligent, savvy and ambitious, her life reads like a soap opera, with family feuds, peacekeeping and very exciting friendships with some of the most interesting members of society. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondon...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 120
Octavia Hill is one of the heroes of Victorian philanthropy, with a legacy that is huge even today. Find out why you will have heard of her achievements in the modern day, and explore her history with us. Plus there is big news on the podcast, with changes ahead. What's happening? Find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 04, 2023•47 min•Ep. 119
Get your Dickens out, it's time to get Christmassy! Welcome to our little grotto, curl up by the fire and welcome this week's guest, Simon Whitehouse. Find out more about The Man That Made Christmas, and why we associate him so heavily with the festive period. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 22, 2022•53 min•Ep. 118
Can you imagine London being underwater? Well that's pretty much what happened in the shocking flood of 1928. After a freezing December, London was overwhelmed with water, flooding huge swathes of the city and famous landmarks like the Tower of London, and forcing the government to think of ways to protect London from high tides. How did London deal with this flood? What was the legacy of the flood and clean-up operation? Find out more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...
Dec 15, 2022•47 min•Ep. 117
Move aside MayFair, there's a better fair in town, with blindfolded pigs, wife selling, and glass wigs, oh my! Enjoy 700 years of history of one of the greatest fairs in London's history, which started with a cloth market and grew over centuries. Which famous execution fits into the fair's history? How does a ghostly monk feature? And what exactly is a Pie-powder? Find out on this week's episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 07, 2022•47 min•Ep. 116
Welcome to the Wellcome! The medicine man will see you now, and will probably show you something interesting too… Grab your tabloids (eh?!) and buckle up for some weird and wonderful medical stuff. Where did Henry Wellcome come from? What is his lasting and very famous legacy? Find out on this week’s podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 30, 2022•55 min•Ep. 115
Travel with us to 19thC Old Nichol slum, to meet the inhabitants, and find out who Dicky Perrott is, and why he helped bring about huge changes in the area. Emily and Alex are off to visit one of the most dangerous places in East London in the 19thC, and find out what it was like and how changes came about through the publication of a crucial book. What will happen to poor Dicky Perrott?! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondo...
Nov 23, 2022•54 min•Ep. 114
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Nov 16, 2022•47 min
When history gets weird - what exactly did a whipping boy do? Was a tosher really a job? And what was a necessary woman? This week as Emily is indisposed, Alex is joined by Fiona Lukas again, who brings her own lovely brand of random information to our pod. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and www.alexlacey.com/podcast where you can also book for our virtual...
Nov 09, 2022•54 min•Ep. 112
What are ragged schools, and who were they for? How did the help the poor of London, and what exactly is a Blue Coat School? This one is a listener request, so let's delve into the murky world of abjectly poor London of the 18th and 19th centuries and go back to school! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and www.alexlacey.com/podcast where you can also book fo...
Nov 02, 2022•57 min•Ep. 111
Halloween week! And we are going back in for the grisly stuff - from photographic evidence to royal skulduggery. Emily picks up some pictures to see where ghosts have been spotted in London, and Alex goes for one of the grisliest murders in a royal palace, with the intrigue and conspiracy theories that went along with it. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and...
Oct 26, 2022•51 min•Ep. 110
Let's head to sexy, subversive Soho, where toffs rub shoulders with ne'er do wells, and Kate Meyrick comes to fame in the darker corners of the area. Please excuse the bad audio this week - Emily's internet is still rubbish, and Alex is away in the sticks, so it's a bit of a weird format this week! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and www.alexlacey.com/podca...
Oct 19, 2022•42 min
Here's a weird one, a prank which made 54 Berner's street the most talked about address in London...for one day only! Our mischief maker is the cheeky Theodore Hook, whose antics created a stir for a very short few hours, but whose laughter will have continued for many years. Find out how he pulled off an audacious hoax, and what exactly he did to become this renowned! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for more info Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmai...
Oct 12, 2022•38 min•Ep. 108
Come with us on a little stroll through Kew Gardens to the world's smallest palace, a little place with a big history. Emily is back her her favourite place this week, a garden! But we're going rummaging through the undergrowth to find a picture perfect palace, which was home to King George III amongst others. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com to find out more Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.co...
Oct 05, 2022•48 min•Ep. 107
Where magic meets medicine, Great Ormond Street has links to two renowned authors, but for very different reasons. We trace the history of the first dedicated children's hospital in the English speaking world, and find out how one little boy will have an impact on the hospital forever. Yet another 4 month old boy had a very different impact on the hospital and one particular treatment - we find out more on this week's episode. Plus, we meet Alex's dad, and find out more about his role as Gentlem...
Sep 27, 2022•58 min•Ep. 106
How do you solve a deadly problem when you don't know what the cause is? Enter John Snow, a radical thinker with the solution...This week we are in dirty, gritty 19thC Soho, looking at a famously deadly cholera epidemic, and the solution that came from a doctor who nobody believed. How did he prove it? How was it received? Find out more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 21, 2022•54 min•Ep. 105
Found in the forests in Germany living wild, Peter the Wild Boy was a popular curio at the royal court. Who was he, and what happened to him when he was brought to the UK? This week's story is a but tragic, but with a slightly happier ending. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for more information Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and www.alexlacey.com/podcast where you can also book for our v...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 104
Where do lion tamers go when their animals get the better of them? Into one of the Magnificent Seven! Come find out about Frank Bostock, the famous lion tamer and the beautiful Abney Park cemetery where he ended up. Ever heard about the chimp who travelled in first class?! Now you have! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to find out about the podcast Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guide...
Sep 07, 2022•49 min•Ep. 103
Nobody puts Millicent in the corner...because she will come out fighting! This week we look at Millicent Garrett Fawcett, just one of 10 children born into a radically thinking family, and Millicent is one of the headline children. Aged 17, she travelled to London to watch something happen that would light a fire in her belly, and set her on course to be one of this country's greatest campaigners, with a legacy almost unrivalled. Join us to find out more! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com fo...
Aug 30, 2022•46 min•Ep. 102
We're going all modern and arty this week as we look at the best, the worst, and the maddest of the 4th plinth project installations. Find out more about a horse skeleton, what the inside of the plinth looks like, a hotel for birds, a human pigeon, and the newest one to grace the plinth. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to each episode. Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com an...
Aug 24, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 101
It's the chaotic 100th episode! Wahoo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 18, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 100
From the seemingly ordinary if impressive Wimbledon champion, to a historic, heroic WW2 jail break, this week we look at the fascinating and completely unexpected story of Jean Borotra, one of France's most famous tennis players. Don't worry, it's not all tennis - the story takes a much more unusual turn during WW2. Last chance for our 100th episode next week! Sign up to get the link here - https://www.ladieswholondon.com/event-details/100th-episode-live-recording Learn more about your ad choice...
Aug 09, 2022•42 min•Ep. 99
What's a woman to do when Romans run rampage through your tribe? Only one thing for it - a bloody rampage, burning everything to the ground. Join us to discover the story of the legendary warrior queen Bouddicca, including the possibility of where she might be buried...or is she? Don't forget to sign up for our 100th episode live zoom recording! Get your link to join us here - https://www.ladieswholondon.com/event-details/100th-episode-live-recording Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...
Aug 03, 2022•47 min•Ep. 98
How London fell to the panic and fear of a group of criminals who had new and more effective ways of robbing and mugging the city folks. But was the panic all it was cracked up to be? And how did the locals try to protect themselves? This week, join us for one of the maddest periods of group panic in the capital. DON'T MISS OUR LIVE 100TH EPISODE! 15th August, sign up for free here; https://www.ladieswholondon.com Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com ...
Jul 26, 2022•42 min•Ep. 97
Take a trip with us to Battersea Power Station, once a part of London's infrastructure, now a moneyed retreat for the wealthy, and all the turmoil in between! From a new structure in the early 1900s which invited criticism and protest, it became a huge part of London's modern landscape, and has featured in everything from Hollywood movies to rock album covers. It is finding a new life as a rather pricey part of London's real estate, so we thought it about time we took at look at the stories behi...
Jul 20, 2022•51 min•Ep. 96
Women dressed in furs and dripping with diamonds arrive...and then you're in trouble. This week we look at the Forty Elephants, a group of women who enjoyed luxury and decadence, but who were not all that they seemed. This group was around from the 1870s for nearly 100 years, and what they got up to would make your hair curl - much like Maggie 'Babyface' Hughes, whose curly hair and small stature made her seem adorable and harmless. SPOILER - don't make that mistake! REMINDER - our live zoom rec...
Jul 13, 2022•48 min•Ep. 95
Nestled along the river Thames in Richmond is a little house with a big history. Sweet nothings whispered in gardens before political downfalls. Welcome to Ham House Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to each episode. Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.com www.guideemily.com and www.alexlacey.com/podcast where you can also book for our virtual and real life walking tours. Thanks to Susie Riddell fo...
Jul 06, 2022•47 min•Ep. 94
Bring the tissues - it's a weepy one this week. Meet Thomas Coram and his foundling hospital for abandoned babies - yeah, it's a heartbreaker. We find out about the home for abandoned children set up by Coram on his return from sea, and the 25,000 children the home helped over 2 centuries. We look at what brought a mother to leave her child at the home, and what that meant for the children left there. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to each episode. Get in touch! Instagr...
Jun 28, 2022•51 min•Ep. 93
Ever wondered what happened to the beautiful Crystal Palace? Us too! Let's find out where it went. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 22, 2022•52 min•Ep. 92
James Barry was a surgeon with a big secret. Fitting in nicely with Pride month, we take a look at Barry, and what exactly he was hiding. As a military surgeon he rose through the ranks to one of the top surgeons in the army. He made friends and enemies along the way with his foul temper and rude ways of speaking to people, ,but could this have been a defence mechanism? Beneath the gruff exterior was a secret that - at the time - would have been truly shocking. Come and find out what it was. Vis...
Jun 14, 2022•44 min•Ep. 91
