Consistently Eccentric History

We are heading back to the time when years only contained 3 digits to talk about a Roman who wanted nothing more than to expand his empire. Septimius Severus was, in many ways, exactly what you would expect a Roman Emperor to be; a charismatic, tactically astute strongman, who enforced his right to rule at the point of a sword. But then everyone thinks they are tough until they try to invade Scotl...

100 episodes down and we are celebrating with a feast of culture from north of the border! William Topaz McGonagall was a man who knew that the had the spirit of an artist. Unfortunately he had the occupation of a weaver and would have to wait until he was over half a century old before he could begin pursuing his dream in earnest. With a long-suffering wife in tow he vowed to become the greatest...

It is off to a small street in London this week to look for a ghost. A tale of sex, death, money and betrayal that required investigation from a super team of professionals, the Cock Lane haunting captured the imagination of the Georgian public... well, for a month or so at least. Was it real? Was it a hoax? And what was the interest rate on a 13 Guinea loan in 1760? We answer these questions and...

In the week leading up to Bastille Day we are celebrating one of the most enduring of Anglo-French cultural exchanges. Anna Maria Grosholtz! We follow Anna Maria as she navigates the decadence of Pre-revolutionary Paris, the uncertainty and paranoia of 'The Terror' and the absolute horror of marriage (Though it did provide a snappier name). It is a story of death, extortion and above all lies upon...

On a slightly longer episode we are covering two teachers who influenced educational practices in late Georgian / early Victorian England, for all the wrong reasons. Joseph Lancaster and Thomas Hopley both started out as idealistic young educators, convinced that they would be the person to bring good quality education to the poor of the industrialised cities. However the near absolute power they...

This week we are talking about a half Scottish, half Indian gentleman who had the misfortune to be the chosen successor to one of the most formidable leaders India has ever produced. With no discernible skills in diplomacy, war or financial management David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre would have found the transition from heir to ruler hard at the best of times, but at a time of East India Company expan...

We are heading about as far north as it is possible to get on mainland Britain this week, to the shores of a lake near John O Groats to meet a young Scottish inventor who had the misfortune of having to travel south to London in order to try and make a go of his passion for electrified clocks. Alexander Bain was a man with hundreds of good ideas but an unfortunate habit of encountering people dete...

Sometimes a truly awful person can find themselves in the right place at the right time to become a hero. This was definitely the case for Harold Cole, a career fraudster who found himself behind enemy lines in Northern France in 1940. Presented with a chance to save hundreds of British Soldiers by organising a clandestine people smuggling network it looked like he was destined to be remembered as...

We are in the Stuart Era this week to look at a few generations of the Herbert family, holders of the title 'Earl of Pembroke'. Specifically the 4th Earl and his incredibly cosy relationship with James I and the 7th Earl who was once described as 'a homicidal maniac.' But don't worry, it is very unlikely that anyone in this story will face any consequences for their actions* Guest host: Ollie Gree...

We are heading back to the early part of the 20th Century to meet Emily Davison, a woman who believed in action. After being shafted once too many times by the patriarchal society she lived in Emily joined the cause of the Suffragettes, quickly becoming one of the most notorious members. Starting out writing pamphlets for the group she quickly progressed to taking part in direct action, engaging i...

Let's go North of the border to Glasgow to meet an engineer and football superfan called Archie. Disillusioned with building factories, Archie wanted nothing more than to somehow contribute to his beloved Glasgow Rangers. But what could an engineer specialising in large-scale functional buildings possibly offer to a football team who had more fans wanting to attend than their stadium could hold? G...

We are learning all about the Pacific theatre of WWII this week as we discuss the Japanese invasion of China and the impact this had on the British Empire; looking at the counter offensive through the eyes of one particular sergeant in the Indian Artillery Division, Umrao Singh. Umrao was the son of a farmer who had an affinity for big guns and when he was given a big gun all of his very own he wa...

Let's talk about female empowerment, Tudor England style. Meet Elizabeth, a young daughter from a family that barely classed as nobility. Not satisfied with the idea of being married off to incrementally improve her family's standing Elizabeth set out to climb the social ladder right to the very top using a carefully blended mix of good business sense, keen political instincts and of course aggres...

Today we are talking about a truly remarkable feat of engineering, made all the more impressive by the fact that no engineer was involved in the project for over half a century. William of Orange wanted to make Plymouth his main naval dockyard, with the only slight issue being a square mile of razor sharp rocks 9 miles offshore. But not to worry, it would be a simple fix. All it needed was someone...

We enter the world of the supernatural this week as we discuss a Scottish Woman who claimed to be able to summon spirits. Helen Duncan and her pet spirit Albert spent the inter-war years happily reuniting the living and the dead at seances in the two most important cities in Britain... Edinburgh and Portsmouth. However when WWII started Helen's knack of 'knowing' sensitive state secrets led to one...

This week we are heading back to the middle ages to tell the tale of the most bombastic end to a blood feud in Scottish history. Not content to wait for the complex politics of the Clan system to resolve a dispute that had lasted for over 26 years, King Robert III decided to get a bit Roman and built a mini colosseum in Perth where the two sides could thrash things out (literally). Featuring booze...

We explore the world of the spiritual in this week's episode, heading back to Tudor times to meet a Polymath called John Dee who wanted to know all the things. Convinced that Mathematics was the key that could unlock the gates of heaven itself all he had to do was convince the royal family that he was not a heretic, and find some way of talking to angels. Both tasks that proved to be quite difficu...

This week we are going to Hull to follow the romantic career of trawlerman William Burkitt. Forced to support his mother and eight siblings from the age of 14, William never had the chance to let his hair down and sow his wild oats at the time that most young men do. However after a (very) brief jaunt in the Navy William finally found time for love. Join us as we see how this worked out for Willia...

On this week's episode we switch allegiances to talk about a woman who was a spy for the Axis powers in WWII. But mainly, she was a hairdresser. Born in Scotland, Jessie Jordan was a woman on a lifelong mission to find a place to belong. Burdened with a family curse forbidding her to be able to find a satisfying romantic relationship she was more than willing to seek a sense of family in more clan...

This week we will be going further back than we ever have before (by at least 3 billion years) to try and answer the question 'why did anyone ever want to settle on this rainy little rock that we call Britain in the first place?' In order to answer that question we have to discuss the origin of Humans, the rise of the Homo Sapiens and, of course, bears. With special appearances by: Diprotodon! Gig...

This week we are looking into the origin of a piece of Naval Slang from the Victorian Era. An origin that has nothing to do with sailors, boats or the sea. So join us in the Market Town of Alton to see how a little girl called Fanny Adams became famous in the worst possible way, with a legacy that endures to this day, Guest Host: Ollie Green *WARNING - This episode does contain graphic description...

Join us this week to meet a man who wanted nothing more than to be famous. Aubrey Beardsley was a truly modern artist, a man who curated his persona and artistic output to create the most drama possible in pursuit of his goal to be more notorious than any one else in 1890s Britain (Oscar Wilde included) With a bold style and liberal use of nipples and penises he quickly rocketed to the top of the...

This week we are heading back to the Georgian era to meet what may be the only example of a dishonest Quaker. John Tawell was a man who only wanted to do two things in his life; join a strict religious organisation and lie, cheat and steal his way to fabulous wealth... ... and no, he didn't see the inherent problem in wanting these two diametrically opposed things at all. As you can imagine his li...

This week we are heading across the channel to Flanders for the story of a very special hill. A focal point for some key conflicts in WWI, Hill 60 became a hot potato that was occupied multiple times by both sides until the British finally decided they were going to settle the question of who got the high ground once and for all. Their decision, interestingly, turned out to be no one... Guest Host...

This week we are talking about a little boy from Wales who wanted to live a life of adventure on the high seas. Unfortunately with no actual sailing skill he was forced to resort to nefarious means. Meet Perce Blackborow, a man who managed to pick the absolute worst way to try and live his dreams. But don't worry, at least he didn't lose any body parts... ...probably. Guest Host: Jack Heathcote Ho...