The Story of London

The 1430’s was a dark decade for London, as the most brutal weather to ever hit London landed in a series of freezing winters, that drove up prices and froze the river in a way not seen before and never since. This was the backdrop to a decade which saw London’s economy utterly collapse, and the War with France take a dramatic turn for the worse. From lavish processions through the city, to self-d...

The Story returns with an unusual chapter- how a royal wedding, a Eastern European reform movement, an adulterous noble, and a violent teenage girl, conspire, to not only produce a sudden crusade being called by the most powerful man in south London… but also how that crusade ended up being instrumental in causing a sudden royal coronation. A wild tale of London’s history…

A bumper chapter where the Story of London follows the tale of the city as it deals with the aftermath of the death of Henry V; a tale of the city’s economy starting to be reborn; why it came within an inch of seeing a pitch battle on London bridge between residents north of the river and those from Southwalk; whose side it picked in the growing partisan politics of the new regency; and above all,...

A special episode as we leave the city for a few years and look to the ever-so-important war with France raging across on the Continent. Picking up after Henry V’s victory at Agincourt, we look at why the next few years of this war were entirely different from any other part of it so far, look at the situation in France that allowed Henry do so bloody well, follow the King as he rampages across th...

We return to the story with a chapter that unashamedly bases itself deep in the heart of daily life; a few years filled with accidents on the Thames; massive stock takes of wine; crimes big and small and much more. From burning heretics to banning people trying to avoid public office; from punishing housewives for overcharging for chickens, to a failed attempt to reform debt obligations, this is L...

A special episode to celebrate our 150th Chapter, with a look at the rather seedy side of London in the 15th century- its sex life. This is a city where the sheer bewildering variety of events in this field leave us wondering what to focus upon. Threesomes with Franciscan monks; respectable political figures profiting from the sex trade; women pimping out their daughters; and what appears to be th...

behind and weaving in and out of the Story of London for many chapters now, had been the seemingly endless war with the French. But now, Henry V was to march to France, take the port of Harfluer and then accidentally walk into the greatest battle of his life… The story of the Battle of Agincourt and above all, the wild and wild celebrations that took place in London to celebrate it are told in thi...

In January 1414 a small bunch of religious extremists came together to enact the plan of their leader, a veteran solider and captain; a small group of assassins would, posing as actors, attend a Christmas party of the young King Henry V, kill him and as many members of the Royal Family as possible, and then three days later lead an armed force to purge London and then the rest of the country of th...

Henry V had just been crowned; but the first crisis of his reign was an attempted insurrection against him in London; a group of religious extremists banded together to kill him… but why? Who were the Lollards and how did events get so serious? In this, the first of two episodes on the rebellion, we look at the secret history of the group, and see that for decades, they had existed hidden in plain...

The reign of Henry IV was coming to an end, and London shivered through tough times; a decrease in population, a wave of bankruptcies, a spike in anti-social behaviour, and a growing desire to avoid civic leadership plays out as the King sickens and his eldest son quietly takes the reigns of power briefly. But across in France, events were spiralling out of control just as the kings health begins...

Five years of London history that crams a surprisingly large amount into it… from desperate battlefield surgery, to why the Guilds of London are called ‘worshipful companies’; from open marriages for cash, to never ending economic troubles; this chapter covers a busy period, filled with rebellions, battles, piracy, dodgy latrines, and of course the rebellious fishermen of Barking.

Henry IV was king; a new start, a new hope, a new world… and quickly, very quickly indeed, everything started to fall apart. London found itself in the front row as the regime was assailed on all sides and an intense few years followed. A fast-paced chapter focusing especially on life in the city, and featuring a couple of riots, many executions, the screams of men being burned alive, urban renewa...

In 1398 King Richard II of England was all-powerful and seemingly all secure upon the throne of the land. Two years later he was dead, wasted away in a dark, dismal cell, and England had a new king. In this episode we examine how the King fell from power and also how London managed to avoid being involved in almost all of it. The fall of the “White Hart’ (the white stag which Richard used as his p...

The Story returns with an episode that examines one of London’s loveliest folklore tales- the tale of Dick Whittington and his cat; beloved of pantomimes and children’s books, This week we peer behind the scenes to look at the actual events in London behind the elevation of this man to Mayor of the City… and the dangerous political climate he found himself in. A tale of an increasingly erratic kin...

King Richard II was to have an incredibly large impact upon London- without warning or fuss, he fell upon it and effectively destroyed it as a political force. What drove him to this? Why did he strike so true? And with the Mayors of London suspended, and the residents facing a fine the like of which the city had never seen before in its history? How was it that London managed to survive this sudd...

The great political saga that had rocked London for the last decade or so APPARENTLY was over; but out in the streets the old forces which had instigated so much chaos found new issues to fall out over and London seemed about to engage in a new era of infighting and politics… and yet, within only a few short years? Everything changed. London united as it had not done in decades, and started to com...

And so the story comes to its surprising ending… having destroyed their political rivals, having gained the favour of the King AND his enemies, having destroyed the Jubilee book, Nicolas Brembre and Nicolas Exton seemed unassailable in their control over London and her politics. But events elsewhere suddenly changed the political calculations, and as Brembre began a new campaign to go after the Me...

In 1387 a book was burned outside of London’s Guildhall by the fishmonger turned mayor Nicolas Exton. But the story of that book, of who made it, of why they made it, and what it contained, is a story of a hidden aspect of London’s life in the 14th century. This special episode of the Story of London looks back over the Jubilee Saga to see how it has danced in and out of the endless arguments and...

Nicolas Brembre was mayor. Again. His political opponents were jailed. He had the ear of the King. All seemed to be going well for the wool merchant, turned politician. But down the river Thames, in Westminster, national events began spiralling out of control and the young king and Parliament seemed to be on a collision course. Trying their best to navigate this unexpected twist was London, and th...

The ongoing struggle between the two political giants of the City, Nicolas Brembre and John de Northampton, was about to reach its crescendo. Brembre was Mayor for a second time, but de Northampton had learned well what to expect from his last term in office; and so a game of cat and mouse erupted on the streets, leading to riots, snatch squads, secret arrests, attacks upon the Guildhall and sudde...

In the aftermath of the Peasants Revolt, London’s ongoing political tensions roared back to life, and the seemingly endless dance between the various factions of the city suddenly dominate everything. London was forced to unify again in the face of the dangers of a furious King’s Uncle and suddenly the John de Northampton gains control of the city and sought to destroy his rivals. Betrayal, intrig...

In this special episode we cover the last two days of the Peasants Revolt of June 1381- the destruction and carnage of the previous few days is dwarfed by the mayhem that is to follow; the Archbishop of Canterbury is hacked apart before a baying crown; scores of foreigners are massacred in the streets and the young king forced to hide out in a house in Blackfriars, as the city descends into utter...

June 1381- and the peasants revolts slams into London… but what really happened on those crowded and violent streets. The Story of London finally gets to examine the opening part of a terrible few days, where we see far from being angry yokels falling upon an unsuspecting city, rather it is the residents of London who use this as an excuse to settle old scores. From neighbour turning on neighbour...

Of all the events of Medieval London that seemingly came out of nowhere and impacted upon the city, few matched the sudden ferocity and violence of the ‘Peasants Revolt’ of 1381. From Essex and Kent, two vast hordes of rural workers suddenly appeared at the edge of the city, demanding to se the king and leaving in the wake a score of burned houses, and murder and mutilation. But what had triggered...

In the last episode we saw how the ‘Stapler’ faction of London’s Aldermen had betrayed the ‘Radicals’ and gained the concessions they wanted from Parliament, but refused to support the Radicals demand for the return of London’s traditional rights. And this leads to a political backlash. Welcome to an episode that drags us into the heart of explosive politics, as political control swung from one fa...