In this episode we take a ride in Fitzrovia’s very own time machine. Hanway Street W1 is not much more than a quiet little alley, but it echoes with the shouts of Victorian schoolchildren, and the choruses of music-hall songs, and the murmured conversations of New Women taking tea without a chaperone, and ‘Rock Island Line’ belted out over the hissing of a Gaggia machine. Join us on a journey into the lost history of the West End.

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 If you’ve enjoyed this, please consider supporting the wonderful Coram, who’ve been creating better chances for children since 1739. You can find out more and donate here: https://www.coram.org.uk/support-us/donate/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sunstreetpassage.substack.com

Welcome to the first episode of Sun Street Passage – a new monthly podcast with historian Richard Barnett, telling the story of London one street at a time. Richard introduces the themes, places and people that inspired the podcast, before taking a walk around Trinity Square on the eastern edge of the ancient City.

As we’ll discover, this quiet little garden has remarkable historical and global connections – to London’s mythological origins, to the brutality and vindictiveness of high politics, to the importance of ships, sailors and the sea in British history, to the power and reach of the British Empire, and to the wars this maritime kingdom fought.

You can subscribe to Sun Street Passage for free on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow @sunstreetpassage on Instagram for photos to accompany each episode.

If you’ve enjoyed this, please consider supporting the wonderful Coram, who’ve been creating better chances for children since 1739. You can find out more and donate here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sunstreetpassage.substack.com