Viewpoints – Placecloud (English)

Oberlangen Germany In 1945, the German town of Haren was evacuated to make room for a sizeable population of Polish displaced persons (DPs). Many of them ex-/army members who had fought alongside the British. The entire town was requisitioned and turned into a microcosm of Polish society in the heart of Germany for 3 years before the whole process was reversed.

As the New Atlantic Charter was recently signed to reaffirm Anglo-American commitment to democracy and strengthen trade deals, how was the original Atlantic Charter received and who did it benefit? Held up as a blueprint for the post-war order, the original charter signed in 1941, signalled new international cooperation - but for some, it signalled betrayal as the principles were applied haphazard...

Washington United States The United Nations started with the UNRRA. Created in 1943, driven my Anglo-American interests, UNRRA was a champion of post-war peace, stability, and safety. Although largely forgotten today, UNRRA was a revolutionary organisation that aimed to not only relieve hunger and prevent disease, but to rehabiltate people and land to prevent conditions similar to post-1918 from r...

Saint L France On the West Coast of France in 1945, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) requisitioned buildings in Granville and Jullouville to set up training centres for those who were tasked with helping Europe's Displaced Persons. Becoming an UNRRA worker was, for some, much more than a job but a second chance at a different life. These centres, with a high turn...

Shrewsbury United Kingdom Little is known about the medieval Welsh poet Gwerful Mechain, but she wrote some absolute bangers, including ‘Cywydd y cedor’, or, to non-Welsh speakers, ‘Poem to the vagina’. In the opening, she says that men have written some great praise poetry about women, but they are incomplete, because they don’t include detailed praise of genitalia. She then gives us a further th...

Diocese of London United Kingdom In 1497, Joan Rokker called Joan Sebar a whore on her front doorstep then threw bread at her. How, where, and why did medieval women publicly sexually defame other women?

Kingdom of East Anglia United Kingdom It's winter in Suffolk, and you and your friends are bored of sewing. What next? Why, a round of ‘Have Your Desire’, of course! In this quick fire dice game, you roll to reveal your fortune. Spoiler alert: you're probably going to have sex. Further Reading: Nicola McDonald, 'Fragments of Have Your Desire: Brome Women at Play', Medieval Domesticity, ed. Kowales...

Diocese of London United Kingdom If you were sure you had married someone but they didn’t agree, the London consistory court was the place to be. Here, ecclesiastical judges heard contested marriage cases. Disgruntled non-couple couples brought all kinds of evidence: gifts, exchanges of vows, sexual relationships. But for one woman, denying marriage was as simple as admitting that they had made ou...

York United Kingdom Impotence was sufficient grounds for annulment, but how to prove that a man experienced erectile disfunction? In 1433, one court asked ‘seven honest women’ to ascertain whether or not the defendant was capable of an erection with that timeless method, a lapdance. Further Reading: Bronach Kane, “Impotence and Virginity in the Late Medieval Ecclesiastical Court of York,” Borthwic...

Diocese of London United Kingdom In 1394, a sex worker and a Yorkshireman are arrested in a stable for public sex, and specifically for ‘committing that detestable unmentionable and ignominious vice’, sodomy. The ensuing deposition reveals that Eleanor has been known as John at various times in their life, and has had sex with both men and women. This episode places Eleanor in conversation with ot...

former Roman catholic diocese of London United Kingdom In an obscure early printed song book that survives only by chance, a woman sings about seeing her lover out with a ‘mistress bastard’. Her reaction? She calls him a fuckboy and goes dancing.

Hereford United Kingdom In c.1340, a professional scribe of Shropshire copied down a fun fireside tale. Three women are off on a pilgrimage. On the road, one of them finds ‘a great huge penis, draped about with just its muzzle peeking out’ from behind a hawthorn bush. This episode considers a variety of stories of wandering genitalia, and the problems with picking up a disembodied penis off the ro...

York United Kingdom Joan was forced to enter a nunnery by her parents. In 1318, she faked her own death and ran away to live a life of ‘carnal lust’ in Beverley. We’ve all been there.

former Roman catholic diocese of London United Kingdom Recounts the story of Fireman George Lee who, in 1876, lost his life while attempting to save people from a fire in St John Street, Clerkenwell.

London United Kingdom Recounts the story of Charles Edward Emery who tried to save a boy from drowning in the River Thames and lost his own life in the attempt.

London United Kingdom Recounts the story of Ellen Donovan, who lost her life in a house fire near Covent Garden while trying to save some children.

Diocese of London United Kingdom On 1st October 1815, John Keats enrolled at Guy's Hospital to undertake his medical training. Though he did well at Guy's, Keats eventually gave up his studies to become a poet. Listen to find out more about Keats's time spent training in the medical profession, including details about some of his more grisly duties.

London United Kingdom In December 1818, Tom Keats, the youngest of the three Keats brothers, died at number 1 Well Walk. In the final stages of his consumption, Tom was nursed by his elder brother, the poet John Keats. Listen to find out more about how Keats undertook his responsibilities as Tom's sole carer.

London United Kingdom Home to London's wits, Button's Coffee House held a vision for a new way to socialise and the improvement of society via the ideal coffeehouse. To achieve it, they enlisted the help of a lion to root out the city's misdemeanours.

former Roman catholic diocese of London United Kingdom Bartholomew Fair was held in Smithfield annually from the 1133 to 1855 at the end of August on the days around St Bartholomew's Day. Originally a cloth fair, the event expanded to include a variety of other wares and a number of entertainments and sights. Listen to this recording of a 17th Century broadside ballad to hear a description of the...

Diocese of London United Kingdom New coffeehouses brought not just a new drink to drink, but a new social space away from courts and universities. If you had visited in the late seventeenth century you would have heard financial deals and the latest news from across the globe. If you went to Garraway’s Coffee House in Change Alley, you may have also seen the latest scientific experiments, from tes...

London United Kingdom Wentworth Place (now Keats House) was home to the Romantic Poet John Keats from December 1818 - September 1820. Listen to discover more about the history of the house and Keats's time spent living there.

Diocese of London United Kingdom Recounts the story of Constable George Funnell who died in 1899 while attempting to rescue people from a fire at a Hackney pub.

Diocese of London United Kingdom Recounts the story of Solomon Gellman, aged eleven, who was run down and killed on Commercial Street in 1901 while trying to save his little brother from being injured.

Diocese of London United Kingdom Recounts the story of three men who lost their lives in 1901 while trying to rescue their workmate at the Three Mills Distillery in Bow.