Consistently Eccentric History

When setting up a brand new colony it is important to ensure that you have a long term plan. Unfortunately for the convicts being sent to Botany Bay in Australia, it seemed that their ongoing welfare was more of an afterthought. And when the first Governor left and placed the leader of the New South Wales Corps in temporary charge things went downhill fast. Which is always a likely outcome when al...

To commemorate Remembrance Sunday this week we are talking about a man who gave more than most to the British Army, during a career that spanned both world wars. Despite being born in Belgium, Adrian Carton de Wiart's desire to see excitement saw him lying about both his age and nationality in order to fight for the land of his grandmother against the Boers in South Africa. This was the start of a...

This bonus episode is coming to you from long time listener, two time guest host and now first time main host Pamala Loetterle. Because we at Consistently Eccentric are always looking to encourage other people to start their own podcasts and become more successful than we are! A mystery involving animal bones buried in a coffin in London. Pamala has been investigating the why, the who on a tale th...

How frustrated would you feel if you were the first King of a united England, but practically no one knows who you were? This week we will be trying to do our part to address this injustice by talking about the life and times of King Athelstan. A man who took the chances that were presented to him in order to create a brand new country. With a good quota of vikings, many a fortunate death along th...

This week we are discussing the origins and eventual demise of the most successful women's football team of the 20th century. Starting as a way to keep workers motivated in a munitions factory in Preston, the Dick Kerr Ladies quickly developed a reputation as the best team in the country (and specifically as a better team that the French could muster). Their charitable aims and massive crowds shin...

What would you do for love? This week we are discussing a man who had an extreme answer to this question, Samuel Bellamy. When he was told that he was too poor to marry a Cape Codder by the name of Goodie Hallett, Sam decided that he would just have to get rich as quickly as possible. Which (considering his only skill was sailing) naturally led him down the road to piracy. But would he be good at...

When we found out that some people believe the subject of our most recent episode was Jack the Ripper, we at Consistently Eccentric HQ knew that we needed to come together to decide for ourselves if we would be adopting this theory moving forwards. So enjoy a bonus conversation between Joe, Ollie and Emma to determine if cotton merchant James Maybrick was indeed the most notorious criminal of the...

What happens if you take a hypochondriac with masses of cash and give him unlimited access to whatever medicines / drugs / potions he fancies? Well you might end up with a man like James Maybrick who became obsessed with patent medicines to an apparently deadly degree. A successful Liverpool Cotton Merchant, James married a young American woman called Florence, however he neglected to mention that...

Like all primary school children in Britain, Evie will be studying the Ancient Egyptians at some point. So we have decided to give her a head start by talking about one of the most famous events of the 20th Century, the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. With quick explainers of why Pharaoh's started being buried in the Vally of the Kings, and how Tutankhamun came to die at the age of only 19 (...

Emma has returned! And this week to ease her back into cohosting duties we are becoming paranormal investigators to discuss a potential haunting that took place in South London in 1938. Alma Fielding had it all, a new three bed house, a husband on a good wage and (potentially) a lover that she kept in the shed at the bottom of the garden... though this last one might have been cobblers. But follow...

This week we conclude our search for the last battle on English soil with a trio of conflicts that all centre around the Stuart Dynasty, specifically James II. With Urban warfare, Irish Panic and artful men from Somerset all making an appearance it is also an unintentional summary of the downfall of the house of Stuart... ...Which we cover in reverse order to ensure that you are paying attention....

Prior to recording the second part of our 'Last Battle on English Soil' episodes, Ollie announced that he would only take part on one condition... ....that Joe try Marmite again. It turned out that Ollie was deadly serious, so in order to ensure that the episode would be released on time Joe gave in to the demand. This allowed an opportunity to discuss the historical significance of Marmite (amazi...

This week we are beginning a search for the last battle to be fought in England which, due to some disagreement about what actually constitutes a battle, could be one of at least six separate events which span the course of four separate centuries. In this first episode we are covering an accidental WWII mini-invasion, a mental health crisis that went way too far, and the many ramblings of Bonnie...

The Georgians sure knew how to sensationalise a story. So when a rich mother and daughter went on trial for the murder of their orphaned 13 year old servant girl many a pamphlet was written. This week we are discussing the content of those pamphlets, how reliable they might be, and trying to understand why a person would admit to eating their own poop while giving evidence in a court of law. Guest...

This week we are discussing the life of a lawyer, poet and inventor from the Tudor era called John Harington. When banished from the court of his godmother Queen Elizabeth for saucy translations John had five years to contemplate life, and he came to the conclusion that his life could be made measurably better if he was able to poo in comfort. So he set about trying to come up with an improved def...

It's holiday time! This week we are off to New Zealand to discuss how a misunderstanding in a quickly translated treaty led to all out war between the British and the Maori (despite that fact that they had been united by a hatred of the French). What started out as a mutually beneficial arrangement was quickly ruined by the British insisting on introducing tariffs and otherwise messing with the so...

In honour of the Open Championship (albeit a week late) we are discussing the life of a man considered to be the grandfather of modern golf. A native of St. Andrews, born a short chip shot from the famous old course, Tom Morris was exposed to golf from the time he could walk. However golf-related fallings out would lead to an extended exile from his home town, one that could only be ended by provi...

We are heading stateside this week to discuss the founder of the State of Georgia. James Oglethorpe was a member of the upper classes, soldier, MP and murderer (though he didn't often put this last one on his CV). Despite coming from extreme privilege, James decided to dedicate his career in Parliament to trying to reform the conditions of the common man, both in the Royal Navy and in the prison s...

This week we are talking about the incredible afterlife of a woman called Hannah Beswick. After witnessing her brother almost being buried alive, Hannah developed a bit of a complex about it. So much so that she decided to entrust the care of her body to her family doctor, insisting that he only allow her to be buried when he was certain that she was dead. Unfortunately the doctor in question enjo...

When you think of the bombing raids of WWII most people instantly picture the East End of London. But this week we are talking about a lesser known, and much shorter blitz that took place on the other side of the Irish Sea. Consisting of only four nights over the course of less than a month, the people of Belfast could not have imagined the amount of horror that could be caused in such a short spa...

As everyone is settling in for another big summer of sport, we have decided to discuss one of the first big summer events hosted in the UK, the 1908 Olympic games. Originally due to be held in Italy, a last minute change was required due to an unfortunately timed natural disaster. This allowed London to sneak in and put together a very British games in practically no time. From the eccentric stadi...

We are back to conclude our breakdown of the eight attempts on the life of Queen Victoria during her reign. This time the motives for regicide range from Irish Nationalism to underappreciated poetry and we finally get some variation from simply trying to shoot her... which is nice. If you have not listened to part one yet, I would strongly suggest that you do so, otherwise there will be quite a fe...

This week we are discussing the first four attempts on the life of Queen Victoria, which all took place during a two year span from 1840-42. While most of her subjects seemed to love the young Queen, the inequality in Britain meant that there were plenty of people who felt that life was rigged against them and at least three of these subjects had access to guns. So join us for a tale of poor marks...

It has been a long time, but we are back to the world of true crime this week with the tale of Catherine Hayes, a disgruntled wife who saw a convenient solution to all of her marital problems.... Murder. Hatching a plot alongside not one, but two lovers, Catherine figured that the bustle of London would allow her to get away with bumping off her husband. Just as long as they could quickly get rid...

This week we are talking about one of the longest lived of all royals as part of our ongoing series focused on queen consorts of England and the UK. When little Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born at the dawning of the 20th century it would have seemed practically impossible to her family that she would also see the beginning of the 21st, while being one of the most recognisable people...