The Story of London

210 épisodes

Chapter 206- “Some for one thing, some for another…” (1543-1546)
23/07/2026 | 51 min
The Story finds itself in the last years of the reign of Henry VIII- and we find our metropolis a place where innocent simple teenagers are burned alive, where security clampdowns see curfews and house searches, where ships explode on the Thames, where thousands of men leave the streets to march out to war, where the economy contracts, where no one is safe, and where all of this is caused by an obese, diseased, angry, foul tempered man, playing games with people and dragging all down into insanity.
Cover includes portrait of Henry VIII by Cornelis Metsys.
Chapter 205- “Lombard street shall be exercised…” (1520-1550)
15/07/2026 | 52 min
An episode where we look under the surface to see what the cities merchants were doing- and run into some surprising truths; this was London at the birth of modern capitalism, and this chapter takes you though the sophisticated financial operations taking place in the city, the newly emergent international trade in credit, why Antwerp was showing the way London had to follow, and introduce a family who would dominate trade in the city over a few generations; the Gresham dynasty.
Welcome to the ground floor in the revolution that will change London forever…
Cover includes altered picture of the Mercer’s Maid, symbol of the Mercer Livery Company, Dryden Street, London
Chapter 204- “No man dare speak against…” (1539-1544)
08/07/2026 | 54 min
Henry VIII was a tyrant. He was a brutal, wilful, petulant king, whose desire to do whatever the hell he felt like and deal with the consequences later, had driven his country into uncharted and dangerous waters. And this is his reign made manifest upon the streets of London- a city filled with massive mock battles on the river, accidental shootings of washerwomen, new churches to prevent bodies being dragged through Whitehall Palace, confusing mass executions of both Protestants and Catholics on the same day, parades of soldiers never destined to fight, and the king going through wives faster than some residents went though a decent jacket.
And in all of this- that highest ranked of all London residents, Thomas Cromwell was to fall from power and be put to death. The sheer madness of the king made manifest in a city just trying to cope with his whims…
Cover includes altered version of the portrait of Henry VIII, done by Hans Eworth based on the original by Hans Holbein the Younger (1540-1547)
Chapter 203- Gregory Sweet Lips (1536-1540)
25/06/2026 | 52 min
This weeks chapter examines four busy years in the story of our city- culminating in the first death by shooting in its history; along the way we explore a country descending into resentment, resignation and eventually rebellion as Henry VIII descends into tyranny. We examine the seeming madness of his actions, from the speed and ferocity with which he turned on Ann Boleyn, to the dramatic sudden marriage to Lady Jane Seymour, to suddenly being married to a German princess…
Along the way we look as the city copes with massive rebellions in the north, violent turmoil in Calais, and crucially, explore why the city itself remained peaceful- discovering that while the king increasingly gave way to his own dark passions, perhaps driven there by a near fatal accident, London’s mercers and others began to look to each other for continuity.

Cover includes detail from the portrait of Queen Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein the Younger.
Chapter 202- “With force and arms break down the gate” (1536-1550)
17/06/2026 | 54 min
We take a pause from the narrative, to examine, in detail, what the dissolution of the monasteries of London meant for the city- literally, who gained the land and the buildings, what did they do with them, and how much money was made from this?
What we see is series of deals that will influence London for the next few decades, as a plethora of new landlords and new homes erupted, and how a small bunch of people were able to make a fortune out of this.
Cover includes photograph of the blue plaque denoting the site of Grey Friars Monastery, the City of London

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À propos de The Story of London

Welcome to The Story of London, a podcast dedicated to telling the history of London as a single narrative tale; from its birth until the present day.Each episode takes us along that tale, a chronicle of the most fascinating and vibrant city on Earth.There is a lot of content in here and each listener can enjoy it in a variety of ways. You can listen to an episode by itself for a slice of life from London’s past; or, if you have a favourite period of time you want to explore, find the era and follow the Chapters in that section.Or maybe you want to join us on the grand journey, starting at the beginning and following along? Whatever option, welcome to the chronological tale of this amazing place.The Story of London covers events as they happened, from the actions of the great and the good, down to those of the poor and marginalised. We try to be as historically precise as possible, sometimes stumbling upon little gems of history that change the way we see the past, and never take ourselves too seriously.Feel free to join us… new episodes every week.

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