Consistently Eccentric History

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was left to her own devices as a child. She responded by teaching herself to read and write before cataloguing her entire life via a constant stream of letters to anyone and everyone in high society. We can't say she always made the best choices, but her constant desire for new experiences led her to save the lives of potentially hundreds of thousands of British people......

We here at Consistently Eccentric believe that you should always chase your dreams, even if those dreams are a bit morbid and disturbing. With that in mind meet James Billington who, as a child, dreamed of being able to hang fellow humans from the neck until dead. This week we will follow his struggles to land his dream job and the subsequent career he forged as a hangman without equal. We even ha...

We return to the depressing world of Asylums this week, only this time in Yorkshire. Following an unexplained death one York Quaker will challenge the system by setting up his own version of a hospital for the mentally ill, one without restraints and where you aren't even purged regularly. I mean can you even call it healthcare? I bet he doesn't even embezzle. Guest Hosts: Jack and Harry Heathcote...

This week we are finally going to talk about the battle of Flodden Field, the biggest scrap between England and Scotland that has ever occurred (apart from Wembley 1977 obviously). And for the fans of our random snippets of unrelated conversations, we have added it to the end of this episode. Also, you are weird and we like you. Guest Host: Matt Hare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

We are heading into uncharted waters this week as we present the first part of a two part episode on the history of England and Scotland beating ten bells out of each other. In this episode we chart the beginnings of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. Special guest appearance from a plucky Wales! Guest Host: Matt Hare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet William Williams, son of a Cornish miner of limited imagination. This week we will be following him as he chases his dreams across the ocean to the New World. Unfortunately those dreams are questionable and lead directly to his morbid claim to fame. Guest Host: Jack Heathcote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Golden Age of Alpine climbing (meaning the bit where the British were suddenly doing rather well at it) and the race for the last great unconquered summit; the Matterhorn. Join us as we follow a young Brit called Edward Whymper attempting to make a name for himself in the crowded field of Victorian adventurers and explorers by reaching the summit of a mountain thought by many to be...

Lewes is a little town is Sussex that happens to have many claims to historical fame. Today we try to cover a few of these, culminating in a macabre record that was set in 1836 during the Christmas Holidays. It also happens to have been only 7 miles from where my Guest Host lived for 3 years... There is a chance he might actually guess this one. Guest Host: Jack Heathcote Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Today we look at the globetrotting life of Freya Stark, a woman who overcame a traumatic childhood only to willingly place herself in danger to explore the most remote regions of the middle east. This episode was written over a year ago so it was just as much a journey of discovery for me as Freya's travels were for her! Guest Host: Emma Heathcote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Join us as we take you on a brief tour of the British relationship to slavery, from Pre-Roman times to the colonisation of the New World. We will cover all the different re-branding and moral arguments that were used to justify the ownership of others before reaching our final destination of Virginia. There will be some laughs along the way, I promise. Guest Host: Jack Heathcote Hosted on Acast. S...

This week we engage in a whistle stop tour of prostitution through the centuries in England, culminating in the pinnacle of saucy Georgian erotica; The Harris List. A collaboration between a drunk poet from Dublin and the self-proclaimed 'Pimp Master General of All England' This little leather book proved to be a Christmas bestseller and a high tide mark for the sex trade in the country. Guest Hos...

Meet sensitive young Francis Galton; a polymath from Birmingham who wanted to travel the world and do all of the things. Expect international sexual misadventures, a gumption reviving machine and lots and lots of statistical analysis. And that is just his average Tuesday... Guest Host: Jack Heathcote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Odin be praised! These Christians don't seem to want to put up a fight!" After over half a century of raiding with practically no consequences, Ivar and his brothers decided that they might as well stay a while longer. Join us this week as we tell the tale of the time that the vikings almost conquered England. Featuring a special guest appearance by Alfred (not yet great), who's reaction to the t...

Mary Ann, the daughter of a Colliery Sinker, lived a quiet life in the Northeast of England. But when tragedy strikes she will gain the superpower of complete disregard for other human lives! This is the kind of woman you definitely wouldn't want to bring home to your parents (as they might not survive the experience.) Guest Host: Jack Heathcote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

People from Yorkshire are as tough as they come, however no one is tough enough to stand up to an onrushing wall of water. Join us this week as we talk about how two of the biggest dam related disasters in British history are linked by a single family. Guest Host: Matt Hare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After civilising (read 'exploiting and ruining') the Gujarat region of India the British you can imagine their indignation when the locals suggested that maybe they could do a better job on their own. Enter Dadabhai Nasroji, a man who held a mirror up to the hypocrisy of Britain's administration of India, kick-starting the push for home rule and taking his mission all the way to Parliament. He is...

Join us this week as we learn about how black magic informed laws that are still in force in England to this day! We talk through two important cases of attempted regicide from two of the worst named magicians in history; John and Roger. Learning how the paranoia of Kings can have unforeseen consequences for centuries. Guest Host: Matt Hare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

We are sailing into the golden age of Piracy this week with a Welshman who could pirate harder than any pirate had pirated before, and look fabulous while doing it. Terrorising honest sailors (and less-than-honest sailors) on both sided of the Atlantic Bartholomew Roberts was a force of nature who seemed naturally gifted in the art of taking things that didn't belong to him while floating on a bod...

Bonus Episode! It's time to share a transatlantic tale of a malevolent medical misfit with the only American I know. We discuss the life and career of Dr Thomas Neill Cream a man who had a level of ambition and self confidence which was far above his actual abilities. Join us as we see how white male privilege in the Victorian era could literally help you get away with murder. Guest Host: Ang from...

It's our April Fools day episode! (A day late but the Friday scheduling MUST be maintained) So we are telling a tale that starts in Germany and doesn't even have a human protagonist. Meet Oscar, a cat forced to sea who was going to make sure everyone knew how upset it made him. He was a true agent of chaos who arguably had more of an impact on WWII than entire battalions of soldiers. Guest Host: J...

This week we head off to South America to meet a man who had the audacity to think his British owners might be terrible people (hint: they were!) It's a story of how businessmen have always put profit before human decency and how the British myth of civilising the people they subjugated doesn't stand up to even the most casual analysis. On the other hand it it harder to become obscenely rich if yo...

Finally, a person who truly embodies the term 'eccentric' meet Edward Walker. Pilot. Inventor. Avid fan of nudity. A man never afraid to take a risk (or your hand in marriage) we follow Edward as he steers his own course through the 20th century, seeing more than anyone from his parent's generation could ever have imagined. Often quite literally. Guest Host: Ollie Green (our brother from another m...

Maureen O'Sullivan had survived two wars by the time she was in her teens. So naturally when WWII kicked off she had all the skills needed to take on one of the most difficult jobs available. We'll follow Maureen through five countries and two continents during a whirlwind adventure which proves without a doubt that all the cool spy gadgets in the world are nothing compared to the quiet competence...

The Dark Ages are the time that Britain forgot. With that in mind let's try to pierce the veil with a story that almost definitely didn't happen! When the Romans abruptly pack up, leaving the locals with no protection one enterprising British Warlord will look to upgrade with some German muscle in the form of two guys who can trace their lineage back to the gods themselves. As long as they don't h...

What could you do when you wanted to be a rock star centuries before the advent of rock and roll? If you were John Rann you dressed yourself up to the nines and became a notorious highwaymen in good old London Town. Join us for the tale of one of the most fashionable and polite criminals England has ever produced (though he really could have done to have bought his own pocket watch). Guest Host: J...