In the summer of 1858, London was overwhelmed by a horrific stench emanating from the River Thames, which had become a vast, polluted cesspool. The unbearable odour disrupted daily life, with Parliament nearly relocated due to the health risks. The crisis, known as the Great Stink, spurred action, leading to the construction of a modern sewage system designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. This monumental project, initiated to address the sanitation emergency, marked a turning point in public health and urban infrastructure. The episode highlights how this historical event reshaped London's approach to waste management and sanitation.

📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast

💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!

Sources:

http://www.choleraandthethames.co.uk/cholera-in-london/the-great-stink/ https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/photographs/the-great-stink/ https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-great-stink-londons-unbearable-summer-of-1858

Explore one of the most little-known and unsettling cases of poltergeist activity ever to take place in the UK. This is the case of 12-year-old Mary Jobson from Sunderland, who was brought almost to the brink of death by a series of disembodied phenomena which could not be easily explained away. Where did the music come from? And was she really hearing the voice of God?

📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast

💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!


Sources:
A Faithful Record of the Miraculous Case of Mary Jobson by W.R Clanny
The Sunderland Echo, December 1950
The Yorkshire Post, June 27, 1932
Newcastle Chronicle September 19 1874  

Music: "Night Vigil" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How do you go about finding someone who walks round a corner and disappears, seemingly without a trace? This is what happened in the curious case of Benjamin Bathurst…

📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast

💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!

An extraordinary sighting of a comet over London in 1664 heralded a double disaster of the following two years: The Great Plague and the Great Fire. But it wasn’t just Londoners who suffered. The Peak District village of Eyam made an incredible sacrifice, dooming themselves to the pestilence to stop the disease spreading further, in a curiously progressive approach that became the forerunner to modern-day quarantines.  

📢 Get in touch & support the show
Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast
💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain
🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!



Sources:

https://www.eyamvillage.org.uk/plague
https://www.eyam-museum.org.uk
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Why-Is-Eyam-Significant/   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35064071
https://britishheritage.com/travel/derbyshire-village-of-eyam-the-town-that-stopped-the-plague   https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/03/02/bubonic-plague-coronavirus-quarantine-eyam-england/  
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Nursery-Rhymes/   https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/great-plague#:~:text=In%201665%20a%20devastating%20epidemic,in%20London%20suddenly%20in%201665   https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/three-myths-you-believe-about-great-fire-london   http://smhccg.org/folklore-legends/lost-love-of-rowland-torre-and-emmott-sydall/

The heavy snowfall overnight in Devon in February 1855 was unusual. But what was even more unusual was the trail of footprints that appeared in the snow, ranging for over 100 miles, crossing rivers and 20-foot-high obstacles. They didn’t seem to be made by any recognisable animal. So who, or what, was walking through Devon that night?


📢 Get in touch & support the show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast

💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!



Sources: 
Cheshire Observer, Saturday 24th February 1855
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000158/18550224/014/0004
Fanthorpe, Lionel & Patricia, “The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries”, 1997, Dundurn Press

In 19th century England it seemed that having a distinctive moustache was risky, as chemist Adolf Beck found out to his misfortune. At the time, eyewitness descriptions of criminals were accepted as fact, in a world without DNA and the scientific advances we now rely on. How was Beck mistaken for a conman who, except for his moustache, didn’t really look like him at all?

📢 Get in Touch & Support the Show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support Us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by becoming a patron at Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories.

💰 Make a One-Off Contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: [Donate Here]

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep Curious Britain alive. We truly appreciate it!



Sources: ·
Arkowitz, Hal & Lilienfeld, Scott, 2010, “Why science tells us not to rely on eyewitness accounts”,

Scientific American Mind, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/  

Futility Closet Podcast, Episode 165: A Case of Mistaken 

Identity https://www.futilitycloset.com/2017/08/14/podcast-episode-165-case-mistaken-identity/

The Evening Times, December 24, 1909

The Sun, May 31, 1914, “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a detective in real life” https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1914-05-31/ed-1/seq-47/#date1=1789&index=8&rows=20&words=Adolph+Beck&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1924&proxtext=Adolph+Beck&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

Wikipedia, Court of Criminal Appeal, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Criminal_Appeal   ·      Wikipedia, “George Edalji” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Edalji

Few birds are as quintessentially British as the humble pigeon, but at best, they’re seen as comical, at worst, as vermin. But did you know that pigeons served as daring message carriers in the World Wars? In this episode, we’ll explore the contributions of these noble and under-appreciated birds who risked their lives to carry top-secret messages to the front-line in all weather conditions, frequently coming under fire.

Operation Turtle Dove: https://www.operationturtledove.org
Check out Penny's Pigeon Aid at https://www.pennyspigeonaid.com — a wonderful organisation dedicated to improving pigeon welfare through education and awareness. 

Music:

"March of the Spoons" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sources:
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/homing-pigeons-contributions-world-war-2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-17138990 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11400814 https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-incredible-carrier-pigeons-of-the-first-world-war https://www.rpra.org/pigeons-in-war/ https://www.rpra.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/national-pigeon-service.pdf https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-awards-programme/pdsa-dickin-medal/gi-joe https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/poultry-101/heroic-pigeons-in-world-war-ii/ https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/poultry-101/the-sport-of-racing-pigeons/ https://www.onekindplanet.org/animal/pigeon/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-62362307 https://www.gchq.gov.uk/information/pigeon-takes-secret-message-grave https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-entrusted-its-secrets-birdbrains   https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/1760047/winkie-broughty-ferry-homing-pigeon/ https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-entrusted-its-secrets-birdbrains “Birds”, Collins Gem British Birds: A Pocket Guide

Hampton-on-Sea, a once-thriving Kent village, now lies beneath the waves—forgotten by time but not by history. Among its final residents was Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, famed for his role in the Jack the Ripper investigation. As the sea devoured homes, Reid waged a desperate, good-humoured battle to save his own. But could anything stand against nature’s relentless march? Join me, Prash, on Curious Britain as we uncover the lost village swallowed by the tide.

📢 Get in touch & support the show
 Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast

💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!



Sources:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mystery-heartbreaking-remains-drowned-village-27041964 https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/hampton-sea-drowned-herne-bay-6321829 http://www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/hampton.html

Fraud, deception, a striking red cloak, and a crashed car on a lonely Welsh clifftop road. What was the enigmatic story behind this curious little-known incident, and why is this spot still known as “Violet’s Leap” today?

📢 Get in Touch & Support the Show
Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support Us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by becoming a patron at Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories.

💰 Make a One-Off Contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: [Donate Now]

🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep Curious Britain alive. We truly appreciate it!


Sources:
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/welsh-woman-who-stole-2m-24779142 https://www.welshcountry.co.uk/january-1909-the-motor-car-mystery/
Magazine Echo, 2 October 1954, British Newspaper Archive

If you shoot a ghost that’s been frightening people to death, is it against the law? This could be one of the strangest murder defences in history, when Francis Smith armed himself with a pistol and went in search of the ghoulish apparition that was haunting Hammersmith in 1804.

📢 Get in Touch & Support the Show Have a story idea or just want to say hello? Drop us an email at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

💡 Support us on Patreon
Enjoying Curious Britain? Help us keep the show going by joining us on Patreon. Your support allows us to keep exploring Britain’s most intriguing stories. https://www.patreon.com/CuriousBritainPodcast

💰 Make a one-off contribution
Every little bit helps! If you'd like to make a one-time donation, you can do so via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/curiousbritain

 🙏 Thank You!
Your support means the world to us and helps keep the show alive. We truly appreciate it!


Sources:
https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18040111-79?text=Francis%20Smith
Hull Packet, 17 January 1804
London Courier and Evening Gazette, 9 January 1804
The Lore of the Land by Westwood & Simpson