We approach 1450 and are introduced to the opening salvos of the rebellion of Jack Cade… but on the way examine the situation in London and the South-East in the years leading up to his rebellion; London faced a new coin shortage (not to be mistaken for the previous half-dozen or so), but this one was producing unexpected side effects; while many went under, some thrived; and London began to see a light at the end of a tunnel… but it was a distant light. As 1450 dawned rebellion and violence and murder seemed everywhere and then, suddenly, an army appeared in the south…

The story reaches the background to the rebellion of Jack Cade and we begin this cycle with the events taking place across England in the years leading up to that violent rebellion, starting with a perfect day… the coronation of England’s new 15 year old King. But as London rejoiced in the pomp and circumstances, powerful men were beginning a series of missteps that was going to bring the city, and the country, to the edge of crisis…

We slow down the break neck pace of the Story of London, to take the time to stop and look at how, in practical terms, London WORKED as a city; how all the disparate parts of it, the mayors, the Aldermen, the mass of poor, managed to coexist and function. In a chapter that draws upon the awesome work of historian Barbara Hanawalt, we explore how the city functioned as a living space… while setting up for a crazy few years ahead and dealing with a huge, high profile fire!

The Story this week focuses upon several things- fighting between lawyers and butchers over by the Fleet River; the massive attack upon Calais by the French; the political intrigues between the Duke of Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort as the 100 Years War dragged itself to its inevitable conclusion… but mostly we focus upon the greatest political scandal of the 1440’s; the downfall of the Duchess of Gloucester. But more than that… we go beyond the public acts of contrition undertaken by this woman, to focus on the story of an overlooked figure; a woman who lived on the outskirts of the city, and whose story illuminates dark aspects of London life- this is the story of the Witch of Eye.

The 1430’s was a dark decade for London, as the most brutal weather to ever hit London landed in a series of freezing winters, that drove up prices and froze the river in a way not seen before and never since. This was the backdrop to a decade which saw London’s economy utterly collapse, and the War with France take a dramatic turn for the worse. From lavish processions through the city, to self-destructive politics, to the decline of London’s merchants under the onslaught of foreign traders, this chapter sees the city trying to cope with part of London Bridge itself collapsing into the river…

The Story returns with an unusual chapter- how a royal wedding, a Eastern European reform movement, an adulterous noble, and a violent teenage girl, conspire, to not only produce a sudden crusade being called by the most powerful man in south London… but also how that crusade ended up being instrumental in causing a sudden royal coronation. A wild tale of London’s history…

A bumper chapter where the Story of London follows the tale of the city as it deals with the aftermath of the death of Henry V; a tale of the city’s economy starting to be reborn; why it came within an inch of seeing a pitch battle on London bridge between residents north of the river and those from Southwalk; whose side it picked in the growing partisan politics of the new regency; and above all, we look at the legacy of Dick Whittington, the three-and-one-half times mayor of the city, whose legacy transformed the city and remains to this day.

A special episode as we leave the city for a few years and look to the ever-so-important war with France raging across on the Continent. Picking up after Henry V’s victory at Agincourt, we look at why the next few years of this war were entirely different from any other part of it so far, look at the situation in France that allowed Henry do so bloody well, follow the King as he rampages across the nation, seemingly invincible… and look at why his sudden death was not the complete disaster it could have been. A chapter where we look to the external forces that were going to influence events in London for decades to come.

We return to the story with a chapter that unashamedly bases itself deep in the heart of daily life; a few years filled with accidents on the Thames; massive stock takes of wine; crimes big and small and much more. From burning heretics to banning people trying to avoid public office; from punishing housewives for overcharging for chickens, to a failed attempt to reform debt obligations, this is London filled with the awesome events that made the medieval city such an exciting place. Welcome then to the Affairs of the city…

A special episode to celebrate our 150th Chapter, with a look at the rather seedy side of London in the 15th century- its sex life. This is a city where the sheer bewildering variety of events in this field leave us wondering what to focus upon. Threesomes with Franciscan monks; respectable political figures profiting from the sex trade; women pimping out their daughters; and what appears to be the first recorded case of a transwoman sex worker; all come along in a remarkably fluid era where many of the ideas of how we imagined sexuality in the Middle Ages was conceptualised seem to run into a city whose intent was to break as many rules as possible. Obviously, this episode contains adult content.