We return to a London in the middle of a wild few years… the Great Fire of Southwark; the destruction of Baynard’s Castle; a plot to kill King John; an invasion by the French; three crusades and the death of the cities first Mayor, all conspire to make London in these few years, a very intense place to be.

We arrive at the first dozen years of the reign of ‘Bad King John’; and enter a decade where the principal focus of the Kingdom was the disintegration of the great Empire of Henry II. But who was John? What drove this King? And how did events in these years dictate the events to come?

The story takes a moment to reflect… there has been a lot going on over the last few years, but for all the events happening elsewhere, what can we work out was going on ‘behind the scenes’ in London itself? How did economic and societal factors drive London politics; and were the actions of the oligarchs of the city driven by greed… or survival? An in depth look at trade, the relations with the crown, and the arrival of a new King.

A very special episode of the Story, as we examine the circumstances around one of London’s most overlooked but important characters; William FitzOsbert aka William Longbeard, who man who appears to have briefly almost took over the city and defied the highest powers in the land… so who was he? And what did he do? And why does his tale complete the story of the First Mayor of London? Let’s find out shall we…

The story of the First Mayor of London continues as we cover 4 intense years of English political history; the King’s Crusade rages across the Holy Land; the King of France seeks to destroy the Angevin Empire; Prince John is endlessly trying to take the throne, and the Mayor of London is to find the city called upon to do a most ancient duty… and in the distance, something terrible was coming to the city.

The story finally reaches the pivotal moment in London’s history; the arrival of the first mayor. But what exactly WAS a mayor in this era? Where had this idea come from? How did this new post in the city come about? And above all, just WHO was this first mayor and what was his remarkable background? A detailed look at this most remarkable of circumstances that changed the way the city would be run forevermore…

While London recovered from from the bloody massacre upon its streets, events elsewhere rapidly began to spiral out of control. The King was lumbering towards the Holy Land, ineptly making scores of enemies along the way, while in England various factions began to draw up battlelines. And London suddenly found itself at the heart of all of this… and yet, London had seemingly changed.

The story returns with an episode dedicated to just a few months in the city’s saga… but a dark, terrible few months that were to see the city changed forever. We are in the year 1189 and the circumstances around the elevation of King Richard I, which led directly to the darkest moment in the cities history; how this useless King was to scar the city forever with his ineptitude and selfishness within only a few weeks, sets up the next part of the tale of London’s first mayor…

The end of the reign of Henry II is one filled with high level visits from dignitaries to London, the implosion of the Royal Family, a new status quo in Europe, and headline grabbing events in the Middle East dominating even domestic politics… welcome to start of the tale of the elevation of the first mayor of London.

The story returns with a seemingly ‘quiet’ decade from London’s history; but one filled with many mundane things- including legal reforms, much gossip and above all, the rebuilding of London Bridge in stone. Welcome to the calm before the next storm… picture rights for episode cover: "London Bridge. City of London Boundary Dragon. East Side." by amandabhslater is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.