In a new guessing game Alex tries to pick the material chosen to sculpt the Prince of Wales. 100 years ago the crowds were gathering in Wembley for the extraordinary spectacle that was the British Empire Exhibition. A showcase for trade, manufacturing and, it turns out, people. Problematic? Just a tad. But there was a miniature railway, a palace of…

Calling all penny farthing enthusiasts, we need answers! New records have been set, and we want to know more. Alex takes a dive into the Thames this week. Not the modern Thames, oh no, she's bravely gone back to 1858, the year of the Great Stink. What's that got to do with Bexley? The Crossness pumping station, that's what. An important part of Baz…

We're very excited about our guest this week. With a suitably seasonally episode. What do we think about Spiritualism? Are mediums in contact with those who have passed. Doris Stokes held audiences enthralled, was it all smoke and mirrors? But how did she know about the money? There's relocated bodies, fancy tombs, and a Bermuda Triangle in Blackhe…

Get your buzzers ready. We get competitive this week. Can you beat Alex in spotting the links to past episodes? Who'd have thought that Gladdie Park could be so well connected? And just around the corner was a unassuming building with a big story to hide. Partly the underground bunker, and partly their contribution to code breaking in WW2. Bletchle…

You might not know her name but there's a decent chance you know her face. Fanny Eaton worked as a model for the Royal Academy and painters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Was she chosen for her beauty or seen as an exotic other? Alex goes in search of the beautiful Mrs Eaton. Possibly the most seen woman of colour in Victorian Britain. Learn more …

Project 32, this week we're south of the river in Bromley. Home to Margaret Finch, Queen of the Gypsies. (We're using the term as that's how she would have been known at the time). A mysterious figure who loitered by a lychgate. Margaret was elected Queen by the Roma community. Part figurehead, part ambassador, part advisor, she drew visitors to No…

The radical preacher who served in Parliament and the son who followed in his footsteps, but maybe for very different reasons. Between them they span the 1600s,a time of great change in London, and the century that might just be Fiona's favourite. Praise God for the Barebones family. And the bricks and mortar legacy of one of London's most ambitiou…

The 2nd week of project 32, and London's 2nd most populous borough. This week we are stumbling around in the fog of the Battle of Barnet. Who is fighting who? who trusts who? We're in the midst of the Wars of the Roses, and the kingdom is at stake. The biggest failure of the battle - it's Heraldry itself. Hang your head in shame heraldry, you cost …

We're in between boroughs this week as Alex goes gaga for Miss Lala (as painted be Degas). She wowed the crowds in Paris and London with her phenomenal strongwoman act, on the trapeze, holding herself, and others, with her teeth. Her portrait is still wowing the crowds at the National Gallery. Pop in to pay her a visit and decide for yourselves, wh…

It's the long awaited, hotly anticipated, much hyped launch of Project 32. Our deep dive into all the boroughs of London. And Alex is kicking off this week with Barking and Dagenham and a group of women who changed the world of work for the better. It's 1968 and the female sewing machinists of Ford are not happy. Not surprising when they are classi…

We're BAAAACK! Oh gang, we've missed you! After an eventful summer, Alex and Fiona are back in your ears, and we have been out and about. Following on from our episode with the Gasketeers a while ago, we have been to meet the very lamp lighters whose job it is to keep the London gas lamps lit - we have visited HQ and nerded out about finials, housi…

We're off travelling this week, from London to Oxford, via Greece and Egypt, to find out about the female manifestations of the rivers Thames and Isis. How did the Thames get its name? Is it as simple as it sounds? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesעל ידי Ladies Who London Podcast

1966. A year that lives on in the memory of the English as the year that England won the World Cup. But it's also the year that England LOST the World Cup too. Huh? Alex delves into the last topic she thought she would ever discuss, which is FOOTBALL. Not her natural home, but there's a good reason why, on this one. Because, like everything, there …

What does the 6th June have in common this year? It is both D-Day and national fish and chip day. So we are spreading two themes in one here, which have a bit of an odd link. We are not just talking f&c, but we are looking at how it links in to WW2, as well as seeing how the very unlikely gooseberries and mulberries fit into the picture. Confused? …

Fiona is back, and cracking out a fantastic story, picking up a loose thread from a few weeks ago, Mary Wortley Montague. An intriguing woman, Mary disappeared to Italy after her marriage went a bit wonky, and also took up the mantle of innoculating children well ahead of the UK more generally, and showed people how it could be done, and how it cou…

Alex is flying solo this week, as we take on the story of Dido Belle, the young mixed race woman, born to am enslaved woman, and brought up in British high society. Born to a British ship's captain, and an enslaved woman being transported to Jamaica, Dido was brought back to the UK and entrusted to one of the highest Judges in the land. Her story w…

We don't half love an Operation here at the Ladies Who London podcast! This, however, is no military operation, although it is no less audacious or finnickity. How do you build huge infrastructure when the place you need to build is one of the busiest spots in London? Well, that is the question. Operation Umbrella was the answer to this exact quest…

Heave ho me'hearties, this week we are setting sail aboard the good ship Hamilton, as we take a look at one of history's most famous mistresses, Emma Hamilton. But does she deserve such a reductive title? Surely there is more to her than we think we know? Boy are you in for a treat! We careen from the Temple of Health and the Celestial Bed (remembe…

Well this is an episode, kids. Fiona has seen a squirrel and gone on a mad goose chase through the annals of history, chasing down the elusive Montagus. Where will we end up?! Heaven only knows...Alex certainly doesn't! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesעל ידי Ladies Who London Podcast

This sounds like one of Sherlock's great cases - the mysterious disappearance of Elizabeth Canning, but it is a true story. What you may not know is that she comes back - after about a month, and in a pretty dire situation. So far, so horrible but straightforward. But then, once her kidnappers are tried, convicted, and thrown in prison, something r…

We've been threatening this one for a while, gang! Here is the unedited history of Titus Oates, and who exactly is he? Is he a brave, whistleblowing legend, or a deluded fantasist who is about to put his foot in it? Come with us to find out more And podcast pedestal returns! After overwhelming support, the pedestal makes a comeback, and you get to …

A week late to Trans Visibility Day, but that is on brand for us! This week's episode is all about the Chevalier d'Eon, spy to King Louis XV, and all round enigma! Were they trans? They lived as both man and woman in both France and England over many years. What weird stipulation did the King make in a deal with the Chevalier and why? We delve into…

It is time. We've been threatening it for a year, so let's get down and dirty with the City of London livery companies! I know, I know, it's hard to contain your excitement. Fiona gets into an A-Z of livery companies, everything you never knew you wanted to know, and we find out why the loving cup is a thing, whether the Upholders really make bras,…

It's us, but different! We come to you LIVE, recorded last week at the Wanstead tap in east London. There are few audio teething issues at the start, but bear with, as it does come together! We had the great pleasure of talking to the lovely Leo Hollis, author of Inheritance - the tragedy of Mary Davies, and what a story it is! A little-discussed b…

TRIGGER WARNING - contains themes of murder and violence against women. It's the return of Katie from Look Up London! Twice in one month, aren't we lucky?! Katie joins us to talk about some of the women involved in the famous case of the 19thC serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. But we are not focusing on him and his action. We are focusing on …

We're on site this week at the new, fantastic exhibition of Women of the RNLI at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the RNLI. We talk to former Tower lifeboat station manager Janet, archivist Hayley Whiting, and photographer Jack Lowe about his amazing project to photograph every single lifeboat station …

It's International Women's Day! So we have invited back one of our regular guests, Katie Wignall, to help us talk about 3 fabulous London women. Bella Burge - boxing impresario Mary Somerville - the first scientist Ada Coleman - one of the best bartenders who ever lived. And it wouldn't be us without having a competition about who is the best! Take…

It's the first of your podcast picks, and the winner was Elizabeth Fry, the angel of Newgate. Shocked by the abject conditions she found in the most notorious of prisons, Newgate, she put her whole life on hold to try and improve the situation for the women imprisoned there. If she could make even one person's experience better, then it would be wo…

Londoners will tell you that London Bridge was once sold to a man who thought he was buying Tower Bridge. That man was Robert Paxton McCulloch, who in 1964 bought London Bridge and had it shipped to Arizona. But did he really think he was buying Tower Bridge, or is that just a fantastical myth spun for a bit of a laugh? This week we delve into the …

Well gang, we've been threatening this one for a while. And you know what happens when we threaten a topic? Yes, we get round to it after about 3 years. Don't say we never treat you. This week we are FINALLY getting round to chatting all things Great Exhibition. From Tempest Prognosticators to naked statues in tents, huge chunks of gold and coal, a…

LONDON IS BEING INVADED BY DRAGONS! Well, they mostly have been here for a while, and almost all of them are made of stone, but let's not let that get in the way of a good headline. Fiona's off on the hunt of some of London's most fearsome dragons this week, with a sprinkling of St George, a dash of Chinese New Year, and a boundary marker or two fo…

Inspired by Emily's episode from last week, Alex is going back to an old favourite, the story of Dorothy Lawrence, the woman who, in WW1, set off to war-torn France armed with nothing but a notebook and a bicycle. Her aim? To get to the front and be the only female war correspondent, and jump start her journalism career. Will she make it? Come and …

Our guest this week is the lovely Emily Laurence Baker, fellow Blue Badge Tourist Guide and champion of women's history. So it is only right that we get her to talk about one of her favourite women, Kit Cavanagh. Kit was one of those women we love - fearless and determined, who decides to go incognito into a man's world! When her husband disappears…

WARNING - discussion of the Georgian sex trade in this episode The marvellous Moll King is the subject of this week's episode - a wonderful businesswoman in the 1700s, who skirted the line of the law with loopholes and cunning. From growing up in Covent Garden and learning the lay of the land, Moll met her husband Tom King, and together they establ…

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London calling! Have you even visited London if you haven't stood in a queue to have your photo taken in a classic red heritage phone box? This week we chat all things phones - from the first phone call made, to where you can find little cherubs on the phone on some London buildings! Why are phone boxes red? What exactly IS a K2? And how can you sp…

Happy New Year! We are starting the year off strong with the tale of a London eccentric, William Reginald Bray. Known as the 'postal prankster', Bray took it upon himself to test the (then) newly formed postal service by sending ever wackier things through the post, culminating in having himself delivered by the postman! It is a story almost too ma…

Happy Christmas, folks! It's time to open up the grotto again for this year and welcome back one of the friends of the pod, Mr Lee Ingleby. We take a look at some festive traditions, and where they all come from. Dead birds and hares on bicycles, anyone?! See you in 2024! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

Picture this - you are dug into the trenches in France during WW1, and suddenly a red double decker with a Tetley's tea advert trundles past. OK, we are being dramatic, but a large number of Transport for London's buses and drivers were shipped over to the continent during WW1. What happened to them? Did they come home?! And what happened in London…

We are joined by a friend of the pod this week, our tame black cab driver, Ollie, for a deep dive into the iconic mode of London transport. We're going to rewind further than you might think to get to the origins of the hackney carriage, the little black cabs with their orange light punctuating the dark nights. Hop in, let's get going! Learn more a…

Fleming?! Pah! Behind every famous man is a team who made it work - this is the amazing story of how that team took Fleming's discovery of penicillin to the people. While Fleming discovered it, the development and production of what was hailed as a miracle drug is a much more interesting story than you would think. It's wartime England, and in a la…

It's spooky season, so we have to give you a good ghost story, don't we? And it's a right royal rumpus, this one, as we head to St James' Palace. Enter the troublesome Duke of Cumberland, who - despite getting himself embroiled into many a scandal - was haunted his whole life by what happened to his valet, Joseph Sellis. As the Duke returned at nig…

Tart Hall - a cheeky little spot on a map opens the key to a very interesting person... Fiona has gone off at a tangent this week after checking some blog images for the last episode - and oh my goodness, she has unearthed a whole family chest of exciting characters and more skulduggery. First stop on a multiepisode tour of one famous family, perha…

Ever dreamed about stealing the Queen's underwear?! No, us neither, but we know someone who did just that. Come and enjoy the story of a plucky urchin known as the Boy Jones, who around the age of 14-16 broke into Buckingham Palace on several occasions and spent days...DAYS!...exploring and spying on Queen Victoria! Who was he, why did he do this, …

We're back! Hello team, we've missed you! We're starting back with a bang, and we are off to Piccadilly. Central London, the hustle and bustle, a tourist's playground. Beneath the shiny shops and West End's twinkling lights, there's a lot more going on, and history lurks around every corner. Fiona chats to Midge Gillies, who is the author of a new …

A little bit of news from the pod - a short hiatus Alex and Fiona are taking a couple of weeks to regroup, but we will be back in August! See you soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesעל ידי Ladies Who London Podcast

It's the 1700s, and theatre is all the rage, kids. One of the biggest stars of the era was the phenomenally successful Sarah Siddons. How did Hollywood bring her back to prominence in the 20th century in a really strange way? Fiona takes a look at one of the hugest name in London's theatre, and also tracks down her statue hidden in 2 rather intrigu…

We rise at dawn! It's the showdown of the two big names in recipe book development - one well known and celebrated, and one overlooked and forgotten. How did that happen? Get your oven mitts at the ready, rolling pins in hand, let's go. This week's episode is a listener request (thanks Despa!) and we take a look at the two women who were instrument…

A cheeky little mid-week bonus for you, gang - we revisit the match girls with a descendent of one of the major players in the match girls strike! Find out more on the website - https://www.matchgirls1888.org/home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesעל ידי Ladies Who London Podcast

In the middle of a Victorian artistic revolution comes Evelyn de Morgan, breaking rules and expectations as she goes. A pre-raphaelite artist, Evelyn took the rules of the movement and bent them to her own unique style. Evelyn was a woman who trod her own path, and really went where others hadn't yet gone. She's the subject of a stunning exhibition…