London History

How Tower Bridge Was Built: The Untold Story of London's Most Famous Bridge

Discover the remarkable history behind Tower Bridge, one of London's most iconic landmarks. Learn how political battles, engineering innovation, and Victorian ambition transformed a transport crisis into one of the greatest bridge-building achievements of the nineteenth century.

00:00 Building Tower Bridge

01:00 Why London Needed a New Thames Crossing

03:00 The...

Below Stairs London: Tracing Victorian Servant Life in Belgravia and MayfairHazel Baker guides listeners through surviving street-level traces of Victorian servant London—area steps and railings, coal-hole covers, bell systems, mews alleys, and service districts—showing how London’s architecture encoded a rigid “upstairs/downstairs” hierarchy and enforced servant invisibility. Using census figures, she...

Host Hazel Baker and Westminster guide Philip Scott record in Soho Square, tracing its shift from Middlesex countryside and royal hunting ground—where “Soho!” was cried—to a late-1600s development originally called King Square for Charles II, whose weathered statue remains after being moved and later returned.

They highlight residents and landmarks, including Mary Seacole’s blue plaque and her Crimean ...

London’s Dracula Connections: Victorian Vampires, Penny Dreadfuls & the Lyceum Theatre (World Dracula Day Special)On World Dracula Day (26 May), London History Podcast host Hazel Baker speaks with Lambeth tour guide and Gothic novelist David Turnbull about how a century of Gothic writing and London locations shaped Bram Stoker’s Dracula. They trace early vampire traits through Coleridge’s Christabel, Byron&rsq...

The script traces Finsbury Circus Gardens’ transformation from medieval marshland north of London’s wall—created as the Wallbrook’s flow was impeded—into today’s Grade II listed public garden and commercial centre. It recounts Roman burials, later use as a waste dump and tanning area, failed drainage and quarrying, and the successful draining in 1527.

The site became home to Bethlehem Royal Hospi...

Hazel Baker of the London History Podcast describes late December 1870 at the crowded Worship Street Police Court, where three women—Elizabeth Brown (22), Charlotte Quigley (20), and her mother Charlotte Quigley (45)—are charged with stealing large quantities of buttons from Hackney manufacturer Mr. Williamson. The episode explains why buttons had real commercial value in the booming Victorian clothing trade and how sto...

Hazel Baker introduces Smithfield (West Smithfield near St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Smithfield Meat Market) as a deceptively ordinary open space that for centuries served both as a major market/fairground and a prominent execution site used to project state and church power.

With tour guide Maria Alexe’s commentary, the episode traces Smithfield’s execution history from William Wallace’s hanging, drawing a...

Hazel Baker hosts journalist and author Rachel Hartigan on the London History Podcast to explore Amelia Earhart’s lesser-known relationship with London in 1928 and 1932, from Toynbee Hall’s settlement-house ideals to Selfridges displaying her plane and outfitting her after transatlantic flights with no spare clothes. Hartigan recounts how Earhart, then a Boston social worker, was recruited to join the 1928 Friendship cr...

Hazel Baker traces the story of White Conduit House in Barnsbury, Islington, from its origins as a 1431 Henry VI–licensed water conduit supplying Charterhouse to its later life as an affordable, working-class pleasure garden. She explains how Robert Bartholomew’s 1750s improvements and famed hot rolls and butter made it a London destination, noted by Oliver Goldsmith, and how resident organist James Hook began his caree...

Hazel Baker hosts a London History Podcast episode with author and Lambeth tour guide David Turnbull exploring the musical legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain and how, 75 years on, music again anchors South Bank celebrations with Danny Boyle’s “You Are Here.” They discuss the Royal Festival Hall’s symbolic opening night and its British-focused programme, the festival’s nationwide reach through chora...

Hazel Baker hosts a special bonus edition of the London History Podcast celebrating over 500,000 streams and downloads and continuing a “London’s firsts” theme with a slightly harder, play-along quiz.

Listeners get 12 questions with 15 seconds to think, then the show shares the answer and a short story behind each landmark “first,” spanning Norman and medieval London through the Georgian era and beyond...

Hazel Baker of London Guided Walks welcomes you to the London History Podcast for the first of a two-part deep dive into the dramatic events of 1381—often known as the Peasants’ Revolt. Joining Hazel is City of London guide and lecturer Ian McDiarmid, as they unpack why “peasants” is far from an accurate label. Contemporary records and post-revolt indictments reveal that many participants were skilled worker...

In episode 151 of the London History Podcast, host Hazel Baker is joined by Caroline Jane Knight, who is Jane Austen's fifth great-niece. Caroline discusses her unique perspective growing up at Chawton House, the family estate, and her deep connection to Austen's legacy.

She shares anecdotes about Jane Austen's life, her literary works, and her connection to London. Caroline also talks about her efforts to preserve Austen's heritag...

In this episode of the London History Podcast, host Hazel Baker, a qualified London tour guide, and founder of londonguidedwalks.co.uk, explores the financial history of London and the role of women in this narrative.

Joined by Jenny Funnell, a second-generation City of London tour guide, the episode delves into the story of Mary Harris Smith, the world's first female chartered accountant. The discussion covers Smith's origins, her...

In this special bonus edition of the London History Podcast, the host celebrates reaching over 5,000 followers on Spotify by conducting a quiz themed 'London Firsts through the ages'.

The quiz covers significant historical landmarks and events from medieval to Georgian London, asking listeners to identify firsts such as the city's first continually operating hospital, the first long-lived stone bridge across the Thames, and the fir...

This episode of the London History Podcast, hosted by Hazel Baker, explores the historical evolution of Milner Square in Islington, London. Initially developed in the 1840s to attract the middle class, the square transitioned into a slum by the 20th century, characterised by multi-occupancy and dilapidated conditions. 

In the 1970s, Islington Council cleared the slums and rehoused residents, leading to gentrification and rising...

The London History Podcast, hosted by Hazel Baker from London Guided Walks, explores the rich history of Seven Dials in London during the 1920s and 1930s.

In this episode, Professor Matt Holbrooke discusses his book, 'Songs of Seven Dials,' which delves into the cultural history of the area through vibrant archival research. Seven Dials was a diverse and vibrant community, home to migrant communities, working-class families, and bo...

📜 London History Podcast | Victorian Britain & Pandemic Fear

In January 1892, London went dark. Theatres closed. Streets filled with black crepe. A young royal heir lay dying — while thousands of ordinary Londoners froze, starved, and quietly disappeared.In this episode of the London History Podcast, we explore one deadly week during the Russian Flu pandemic, when Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, died in royal lux...

Step back in time with the London History Podcast as we revisit one of the city’s most daring and heartwarming moments. On a cold, smoggy evening in December 1952, bus driver Albert Gunter faced the unthinkable when Tower Bridge began to rise beneath him. With 40 passengers on board, Gunter made a split-second decision that would make him a local hero and capture the imagination of Londoners everywhere.

🏙️ About The London Hi...