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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Poor Henry VI was a baby when he was crowned. His troubled reign ended with his cruel death in the Tower of London. Hear what happened to him in our Strange Royal Deaths podcast: tinyurl.com/4v842chx #history #royalty #murder #britishhistory

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Born #OTD 1847, Annie Besant campaigned to end the terrible toxic working conditions and improve the poor pay of the Bryant and May factory Match Girls in the East End. Then moved to India to support home rule. Hear her story in our Women and Protest podcast: tinyurl.com/2p8fek9r #history

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Mary Prince was born #OTD 1788 in Bermuda the daughter of slaves. She was sold four times before travelling to England with her enslavers. Her autobiography is the first British book by a black women. Hear her story in our Women and Writing podcast: tinyurl.com/jrcjkwwc #history #slavery

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Some monarchs died suddenly, some violently and some in circumstances so strange that their final moments have remained mysteries for centuries. Hear about the strange stories of royal deaths in our British History Podcast: tinyurl.com/4v842chx #history #kings #britishhistory

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#OTD 1915 Cecil Chubb went to an auction to buy some chairs and walked out with lot number fifteen: 30 acres of land including #Stonehenge. We tell the story in our Stonehenge Podcast: tinyurl.com/44ddu6ww #history #ancienthistory #henge #britain

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Died #OTD in 1933 Annie Besant campaigned to end deadly working conditions and improve the pay of the Bryant and May factory Match Girls in London’s East End. Then moved to India to support home rule. Hear her story in our Women and Protest podcast: tinyurl.com/2p8fek9r #history #london

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Born #OTD 1709 in Lichfield, Dr Johnson came to London where he struggled to earn a living. But went on to write the dictionary that defined the English Language. Hear his life story in our podcast: tinyurl.com/r6x2d9m7 #history #dictionary #london #words

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Born #OTD 1721, John Fielding was a blind magistrate. Recognising criminals by their voices he became the scourge of Georgian London’s thieves. Hear how the “Blind Beak” brought hundreds of offenders to justice in this podcast: tinyurl.com/4h4nsaxn #history #crime #london

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

King Haakon IV of Norway sent English King Henry III a white bear. It was taken to live in the Tower of London. Hear about the Pale Bear in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #bear #polarbear #toweroflondon #bears

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

#OTD 1940 a bomb fell next to St Paul’s Cathedral. It failed to detonate. A bomb disposal team worked to remove the explosive. One of the sappers volunteered to drive it through London to #Hackney Marshes. Hear the story in our Lea Valley Podcast: tinyurl.com/447v6fya #history #ww2 #blitz #london

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

From wooden money to “elephant” coins, from shops minting their own cash to protesters storming the bank of England, and the troubled origins of paper money. All in our History of Money Podcast: tinyurl.com/yc7hpckb

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#OTD 7 September 1940 the first raid of the London Blitz. We tell the story using moving testimony from people who witnessed the raid in our London Blitz Podcast. Listen at: tinyurl.com/mrx4huz4 #history #WW2 #London #blitz

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

In 1665 plague devastated England. The Derbyshire village of Eyam seemed safe from infection, until a tailor bought a roll of cloth from London. To stop the pestilence spreading, the vicar closed down the village. Hear the story of The Plague Village podcast: tinyurl.com/2hhejvpw #history

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Died #OTD 1780, John Fielding was a blind magistrate. Recognising criminals by their voices, he brought thousands to justice - becoming the scourge of Georgian London’s thieves. Hear how the “Blind Beak” brought hundreds of offenders to justice in this podcast: tinyurl.com/4h4nsaxn #history

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Died #OTD 1850 Ikey Solomon, East End fence and thief. He was imprisoned in Newgate Jail - the darkest, dirtiest and most miserable dungeon in The City. His escape and adventures in England, New York and #Australia became legend. Hear all in our Newgate Podcast: tinyurl.com/ycyp92cs #history

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The Great Fire of London started #OTD in 1666. It burned for five days and destroyed 13,000 houses. We bring the story of the fire to life in our dramatic podcast: tinyurl.com/33vfpwds #history #london #britishhistory

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Born #OTD 1797 Mary Shelley. She endured the death of her mother, children and husband. Her legacy is one of the greatest books of world literature: Frankenstein. Hear the story in our Women and Writing podcast: tinyurl.com/jrcjkwwc #history #literature #gothic

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Hanged in 1612. Alice Nutter was accused of witchcraft by nine-year-old Jennet Device. The respectable Nutter protested her innocence, but was hanged at Gallows Hill in Lancaster. Hear the story in this podcast tinyurl.com/58rkzrk6 #history #witches #witchcraft #witch #curses #lancashire

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Died #OTD Rowland Hill who revolutionised our postal system. His idea: charge a cheap, uniform postage based on weight, rather than distance. His reforms led to the the Penny Black in 1840. Hear the story in our History of the Post Podcast at: tinyurl.com/2s3cjbrt #history #postalsystem #letters

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Ben Jonson died #OTD 1637. The writer and actor was Shakespeare’s great friend and rival. Jonson risked a hanging when he killed an actor in a duel. Hear the story in our Shakespeare in London podcast: tinyurl.com/wmzsxwk2 #history #shakespeare #theatre #tudors #plays #london

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

The Mad Hatter pub reminds us that London was home to a thriving hat industry. Thousands of hatters toiling in Southwark workshops. But the hat makers paid a price, leading Victorians to think they were “mad”. Hear the story in our two-part Men’s Fashion podcasts at: tinyurl.com/4xtkxth4 #history

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

London sweltered at 35°C during the long, hot summer of 1858. Raw sewage filled the Thames, and the stench became so unbearable it sparked the infamous Great Stink. Hear the story in our History of Sewerage Podcast: tinyurl.com/2ys6jpf3 #history #london #heatwave #sewers #weather #toilets

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Florence Nightingale died #OTD in 1910 in London’s Mayfair. Her innovations changed medicine. She was a pioneering statistician: not so much the “Lady With the Lamp”, more the Lady With a Pie Chart. Hear her story in our Women in Science podcast: tinyurl.com/mms5su69 #history #medicine

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Hodge the cat lived with Samuel Johnson while he wrote the great English dictionary. Listen to the story of Dr Johnson and his “very fine cat” in our History of Cats podcast: tinyurl.com/3nbvs34b #history #cats #literature #dictionary #internationalcatsday #drjohnson

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

One of the first public toilets in Britain was York's Bog on the Bridge. Kept clean by Agnes the poor widow. Hear the story in our History of Sewage podcast at: tinyurl.com/2ys6jpf3 #history #sewers #york #toilets #pollution #publichealth #podcast

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

In 1944, British troops stationed in France for D-Day were desperate for beer. So the RAF hatched a plan for flying pubs. Spitfires were loaded up with ale and flown to Normandy. Listen to the story of the beer bombs in our beer history podcast: tinyurl.com/47yrta2v #history #beer #WW2

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

#OTD 1786 Margaret Nicholson approached the king with a petition. She made two lunges at his chest with a dessert knife before she was brought under control. Hear her story in our podcast: Bedlam – History of a Madhouse at: tinyurl.com/2whtb2xh #history #bedlam #mentaldisorder #podcast #mad

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Born #OTD 1817 artist Richard Dadd. He suffered delusions, leading him to commit a brutal crime. Confined to Bedlam, he painted the The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke, a work that inspired a Queen song. Hear his story in Bedlam – History of a Madhouse at: tinyurl.com/2whtb2xh #history #art

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Died #OTD 1994, Dorothy Hodgkin was a Nobel–winning scientist who revealed the structures of penicillin, insulin, and vitamin B12. Her work transformed modern medicine, yet her name remains little known. Hear her story in our Women and Science podcast: tinyurl.com/4fh5tpe8 #history #STEM #science

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

England’s first one pound coin was worth both more and less than £1, was stamped with an elephant, made Samuel Pepys furious and was a problem solved by Issac Newton. All in our History of Money Podcast: tinyurl.com/yc7hpckb #history #coins #money #pepys #gold #sterling

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

St Giles was a London Rookery. A slum where during the 1730s one building in four was a gin shop, and its people lay “promiscuously drunk” in flop houses. Listen to the story in our Gin Craze Podcast: tinyurl.com/yfzrpzzu #history #london #slum #gin #drunk

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Died #OTD 1958. Rosalind Franklin’s work creating Photograph 51 was fundamental to the understanding of the DNA double helix - the key to life. Her pioneering #science was not properly acknowledged in her lifetime. Hear her story in our Women and Science podcast: tinyurl.com/mms5su69 #history

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Dr James Barry died #OTD 1865 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. One of the most important surgeons in the British army, on his death Barry’s great secret was revealed. Hear the story in our Women and War Podcast: tinyurl.com/yu4yedh6 #britishhistory #kensalgreencemetery #womenandwar

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Artist and model Elizabeth Siddal was buried in Highgate Cemetery. Her husband, painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, placed an original poetry manuscript in his wife’s coffin. What happened when he wanted it back? Find out in our Death and Burial podcast: tinyurl.com/4d293tjn #history #burial #death

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

In the 1700s England was in the grip of a gin epidemic. With Londoners drinking pints of the sprit every day, the city was out of control - leading to death, crime and riots. Hear the story in our Gin Craze Podcast: tinyurl.com/yfzrpzzu #history #gin #london #hogarth #epidemic #alcahol

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Who gave us the word dawn? What are the origins of day, month and calendar? And when is ereyesterday and overmorrow? Find out in our History of Timekeeping Podcast: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history #timekeeping #shakespeare #clocks #calendar

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

#OTD in 1535 Thomas More - chancellor and advisor to Henry VIII - was taken to Tower Hill, where he was beheaded. What happened to his head following the execution is a strange tale. Hear the story in our Talking Heads podcast: tinyurl.com/hw5zwfdm #history #tudors #execution

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

In July 1888, thousands of women working in an east London factory walked out. Girls as young as six protested against breadline wages, industrial cancers and bullying. Hear the story of the Matchgirls’ Strike in our Women and Protest podcast: tinyurl.com/mr3d49uz #history #protest #london

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

#OTD 1613 The Globe Theatre burned down when a theatrical cannon misfired during a show. Thousands of people ran for the exit and one man’s trousers caught fire. Hear the story in our #Shakespeare in London podcast: tinyurl.com/5e3dfydd #history #theatre #tudor #actor

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Born #OTD 1491, Henry VIII had suits of armour with giant codpieces, hoping this would help him sire a male child. There are strange fertility legends associated with the royal codpiece. Hear the #history of the codpiece in our Men's Fashion Podcast: tinyurl.com/mrhnfmtc #tudors #fashion

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

William Terris was the hero of the Adelphi Theatre melodramas. But behind the curtain, a bit-part actor nursed a deadly grudge. What followed was a trial — and a ghost story that still haunts the Adelphi. Hear the story in our Murder at the Theatre podcast: tinyurl.com/56nnmbfp #theatre #actor

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Some people believe this London cemetery tomb is a time machine. The memorial has no name inscribed on it - and the key has vanished. Hear this strange story in our Death and Burial podcast: tinyurl.com/4d293tjn #history #cemetery #timetravel #mystery #graveyard

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Today people are gathering to celebrate summer #solstice at Stonehenge. But why was it built? How were the giant stones transported 180 miles from Wales? What is inside is hundreds of burial mounds. Find out in our Stonehenge Podcast: tinyurl.com/44ddu6ww #history #stonehenge #druids

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Born #OTD 1566. King James I was obsessed with #witchcraft. He interrogated women accused of sorcery and blamed the death of his mother on curses. He even published a book about dark magic. We tell the story in our Women & Witchcraft Podcast: tinyurl.com/3st7u6j4 #witch #magic #witches

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

John Snow died #OTD in 1858. When cholera broke out in Soho, Snow proved that it was the local street pump that was infecting people. His work lead to thousands of lives being saved. Hear the story in our History of Medicine Podcast: tinyurl.com/3e8bj827 #history #medicine #london

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Is this the oldest pub in London? Why is it famous for Dutch Courage? Why does the pub cat wear a special collar? Find out in our London Pubs Podcast: tinyurl.com/y34k8jxd #beer #pubs #history #london #britishhistory

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

One of the first public toilets in Britain was in York. The Bog on the Bridge was kept clean by Agnes the poor widow. Hear the story in our History of Sewage Podcast at: tinyurl.com/2ys6jpf3 #history #sewerage #toilets #publichealth #york

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Ben Jonson, born #OTD 1572. The writer and actor was Shakespeare’s great friend and rival. Hear his story in our Shakespeare in London podcast: tinyurl.com/wmzsxwk2 #history #literature #tudor #elizabethan #shakespeare

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

London. 1810s. A ruthless gang of graverobbers terrorised the city. One of the gang writes a diary detailing the stories of the bodies the sold to the surgeons. We bring the true story to life in our podcast: The Diary of a Graverobber. Listen here: tinyurl.com/rhswu35f #history #burial

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Extraordinary Stories of Britain Podcast @storiesofbritain.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Died #OTD 1870 Charles Dickens. Age 12 he was sent to work in a rat-infested riverside factory - and it seemed his future was ruined. Hear his life story in our dramatized podcast: Dickens - How One Writer Changed Britain: tiny.cc/t769001 #history #dickens #victorians #englishliterature

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