Extraordinary Stories of Britain

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.

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

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.  

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.  

This special history podcast brings to life the stories of beloved pets and their owners during the dark days of WW2.   From a cat who lost his tail, to a pussy who warned its family about an impending air raid.  From a heroic church cat, to felines in the trenches.   All brought together using personal stories, newsreel, dramatised events and music. 

We investigate the history of cats:  from mummified felines in the British Museum to George the Lion who lived in the Tower of London;  from the world’s favourite pantomime cat, to the pussy who helped write an English dictionary. Hear about only cat to win the prestigious wartime Dickin Medal, and political cats  - from Churchill's mouser to the famous Downing Street Larry.  

In 1666, a stray ember turned London into a blazing inferno.  Our podcast brings to life the Great Fire of London:  dramatising the lives of the people caught up in the worst disaster the capital has ever witnessed.
 

400 years ago,  in 1623,  Shakespeare’s plays were brought together in one book:  The First Folio  -  the most important work in English literature.   This podcast tells the story of the Bard’s life in London: how the writer left the tiny village of Stratford-Upon-Avon in search of success in the capital,  how he became an actor, writer and theatre owner; how his company dismantled an entire theatre building and moved it across the River Thames -  and how his beloved Globe burned down.   And why we,  very nearly,   lost half his plays forever.