London History

About London History

The London History Podcast uncovers the stories, people, and places that have shaped London over 2,000 years. Hosted by historian & tour guide Hazel Baker, each 20–40 minute episode feels like an audio walking tour, covering everything from Roman Londinium and medieval guilds to Dickensian streets, Georgian scandals, and modern social change. Perfect for curious Londoners, visitors, students, and history lovers who want to go beyond the usual tourist highlights.

Publisher

londonguidedwalks.co.uk

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 Mar 2020

Latest episode

25 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

9 of 168 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   25 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   164: Edwardian London: Mario Theodorou’s Historical Thrillers

   Host Hazel and author Mario Theodorou explore Edwardian London's political intrigue and social reform through the lens of his historical thrillers.

2. 

   11 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   163: Fighters and Fashion: The Story of Georgian London's Public Combat

   Host Hazel Baker explores Georgian London's bare-knuckle boxing, revealing its impact on society and featuring fighters like James Figg and Daniel Mendoza.

3. 

   26 Jun 2026

   162: Building Tower Bridge

   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 Engineering Challenge 05:00 Early Designs and Political Battles 06:00 Choosing the Bascule Design 06:30 Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry 08:00 The Tower Bridge Act of 1885 10:00 Building the Foundations Beneath the Thames 12:00 The Six Divers of Tower Bridge 14:00 Constructing the Steel Superstructure 16:00 The Revolutionary Hydraulic System 18:00 Victorian Engineering and Safety Standards 20:00 Costs, Delays and Human Sacrifice 22:00 Legal Disputes During Construction 24:45 Why Victorian Critics Hated Tower Bridge 27:30 The Grand Opening of 1894 29:00 Tower Bridge's Lasting Legacy

Inside a recent episode

164: Edwardian London: Mario Theodorou’s Historical Thrillers

Published 25 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Actually, there's a lot of great reform acts that happened during the Edwardian period that gave workers rights and everything else. We found ourselves in a situation where a lot of the industrialised parts of Britain were underfunded. There were so many accidents. There were so many people who had been killed or maimed in these sort of mines and factories and everywhere else. And we'll talk about the matchmakers, O'Brien and May, and the use of young children, particularly young girls in that situation. But workers' rights were at the forefront of that sort of workers' movement during the Edwardian period. coupled with the suffragist movement gathering momentum and women pushing for equal voting rights. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

47 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

69 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 66 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

94

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

Contact London History

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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