Toffs and Toolers: A Criminal Victorian Adventure

Institutions of control under the guise of benevolence - the Victorians used both movement and restraint to occupy parts of society that they'd rather not have directly in sight. Join me as we explore their historical use, or tune in to find out all about the Asylum and Workhouse on the main podcast : https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dGt3GI2LmckvxiRPg5yCg?si=ya0VpDwQSvCHNhZD6I526w

Think your landlord is bad? Try being a Victorian pauper. This week, we’re diving into the 'charm' of the Victorian workhouse and the terrifying ease of being locked away in an asylum. We’re dissecting the Vagrancy Act, the infamous Andover workhouse scandal (where the conditions were quite literally bone-chilling), and the true story of Georgina Weldon—a Victorian powerhouse who decided t...

When the Metropolitan Police were founded, they didn't have tasers and radios to deal with criminals. They had far more humble equipment. Join me as I explore the Police Rattle and Bullseye Lantern, or stop by the main podcast and learned about the formation of the Metropolitan Police : https://open.spotify.com/episode/2elgAorEOyJQdEFoJGf6q0?si=s0HPPIZ1QhiywYjXr1lIyg

Grab your top hats and button up your blue coats—this week we’re hitting the historical beat with the birth of the modern police! In this episode, we’re unpacking the chaotic early days of Robert Peel’s Metropolitan Police. From how a bunch of raw recruits ended up being mocked as "The Blue Lobsters," to the high-stakes drama of the very first officer to tragically die on duty, we’ve got...

Shaun usually spends his time wading through the muck of various Victorian jobs literally no-one would really want to do if they had a choice; but today we’re taking a break from the fog and grime and allowed Shaun to wander off on his own devices.  We're certain this has nothing to do with his latest hobby: Mesmerism. We certainly wouldn't be falling for that malarkey. Before we had actua...

Is a Prig Casing your Crib? Unsure what I mean? Perhaps you need a Flash Dictionary to give you some guidance. Alternatively, if you haven't yet learned about Thieves Cant and Voker Romany - head over to the main podcast to find out more : https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RDsCaOrzO2wozPBTteDL4?si=Vfu88aWAQ7K8LXuXM4u2Ew

Toffs & Toolers — Episode 3: Voker Romany & Thieves' Cant Uncover your ears and sharpen your wits, gentle listeners, for today we are inducting you into the most exclusive, lawless, and utterly baffling secret society of the Victorian underworld. Welcome back to Toffs & Toolers , the audio-chronicle of nineteenth-century high-life and low-crooks. This week, we aren't just looking at th...

Baby Farming was hiding just below the surface in Victorian England, but the other side of the coin was thrust into the limelight. Today we examine the Victorian Baby Incubator, and the spectacle that went along with it. If you haven't listened yet, find out all about Baby Farming on the main podcast : https://open.spotify.com/episode/7347n4ntzxjpSchWNllQd0?si=IwYlo-uiSMyUR0ARK56lBw

Toffs & Toolers — Episode 2: The Baby Farmers Draw your chairs closer to the hearth, gentle listeners, and steady your nerves. Welcome back to Toffs & Toolers , the audio-chronicle where we peer beneath the polished veneer of the nineteenth century to examine its most harrowing secrets. This week, we navigate away from the foggy street corners of the footpad and enter the domestic sphere t...

You may have seen our main podcast episode on the Garrotting Panic in Victorian London. Join me as I take a slightly closer look at the Victorian Invention resulting from that very panic - the Anti Garrotting Collar. If you haven't listened yet, find out all about the Garrotting Panic on the main podcast : https://open.spotify.com/episode/3z9cyVuIhD2RTC0vZqa1CR?si=zPtAh5n-TImcA_xY4QsmPw

Toffs & Toolers — Episode 1: Garotting Gather ’round, gentle listeners, and step away from the gaslight into the foggy underbelly of the nineteenth century. Welcome to the inaugural broadcast of Toffs & Toolers , the audio-journal wherein we dissect the high-born eccentrics and the low-born scoundrels who populated the grandest, grimiest era in history. For our maiden voyage, we cast our e...