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 chickens, to a failed attempt to reform debt obligations, this is London filled with the awesome events that made the medical 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.

behind and weaving in and out of the Story of London for many chapters now, had been the seemingly endless war with the French. But now, Henry V was to march to France, take the port of Harfluer and then accidentally walk into the greatest battle of his life… The story of the Battle of Agincourt and above all, the wild and wild celebrations that took place in London to celebrate it are told in this weeks chapter of the Story.

In January 1414 a small bunch of religious extremists came together to enact the plan of their leader, a veteran solider and captain; a small group of assassins would, posing as actors, attend a Christmas party of the young King Henry V, kill him and as many members of the Royal Family as possible, and then three days later lead an armed force to purge London and then the rest of the country of those Christians who opposed them… the story of the Lollard rebellion of Sir John Oldcastle and the role of the heretics of London is often overlooked, but the brutal judicial killings of dozens of members, many of whom were hung and burnt at the same time, is one which would haunt London for years.

Henry V had just been crowned; but the first crisis of his reign was an attempted insurrection against him in London; a group of religious extremists banded together to kill him… but why? Who were the Lollards and how did events get so serious? In this, the first of two episodes on the rebellion, we look at the secret history of the group, and see that for decades, they had existed hidden in plain sight within London’s streets, growing in number but seemingly ignored by the city authorities…

The reign of Henry IV was coming to an end, and London shivered through tough times; a decrease in population, a wave of bankruptcies, a spike in anti-social behaviour, and a growing desire to avoid civic leadership plays out as the King sickens and his eldest son quietly takes the reigns of power briefly. But across in France, events were spiralling out of control just as the kings health begins to fail…