Ladies Who London

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...

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; @ladieswholo...

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; ladie...

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.ladieswhol...

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; @ladiesw...

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 ou...

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....

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.la...

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;...

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,...

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; @ladieswholo...

It's the chaotic 100th episode! Wahoo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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:...

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.ladieswh...

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.la...

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...

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...

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/pod...

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 th...

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

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...

Come a-sailing with us and Sir Frankie Drake as we head out onto the high seas for piracy, mayhem and knighthoods. Your hosts this week are slightly the worse for wear, but we've powered through to bring you this tale of top dog Frankie D. Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to each episode. Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Webs...

Things don't always go to plan at the top - we take a look at some of the weird and wonderful things that have happened at coronations! From sleeping kings to tiny queens, rolling lords and backwards crowns, it's not always plain sailing during the big dates in a monarch's reign. Let's dive in and see what's happened... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The second part of the Koh-i-noor diamond story, Duleep Singh's daughter Sophia is up next, as a warrior princess who was part of huge change, and made powerful enemies. Growing up in a place of privilege as Queen Victoria's goddaughter, she eventually rebelled against the system to bring the women's suffrage to the fore...including using her own home at Hampton Court Palace as a tool! Visit https...

Wouldn't you love to live in Biscuit Town? We peek at Peek Frean and find out why they were so important in Bermondsey. From custard creams to twiglets, joy slides to christmas puddings, come along for the ride! Visit https://www.ladieswholondon.com for the show notes to each episode. Get in touch! Instagram; @ladieswholondonpodcast Email; ladieswholondon@gmail.com Websites; www.ladieswholondon.co...