Sometime in the 1050’s Edward the Confessor constructed two new buildings which were to play a pivotal role in the cities history going forward- Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. But the stories of their creation hide a deeper secret about what was going on in the court of the king… Full script will be available on https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM soon.

The epic conflict between King Edward and Earl Godwin properly erupts as they clash over power and influence… leading to a dramatic meeting in South London. A script and write up will be posted here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM in the next week or so.

Around 1000 years ago there began a political fight that was to change the fate of the nation beyond all others; a clash of two men, two ‘Godfathers’ of the nation, whose struggle for domination would cause profound changes to the fate of London. This is part of a three part special, which explains the backdrop to this argument. A full script will be available on https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM.

Warfare has changed a lot over the centuries; but somethings remain constant. This episode looks in detail at the power and might of the fleets of England in the 11th Century, and how London became not just the centre of them, but the focus of the power of England. A crucial episode in the story of London; a rough script will be found on https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM in the next few days.

A new King takes the throne of England… and London gets to witness a series of really unfortunate events. For years. We start the reign of Edward the Confessor with a plethora of natural disasters and how Londoner’s may have conceptualised the world to come to terms with them. A script will be available here:https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM in the next few days. As well as that- here is the link to the podcast mentioned in the show https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qgm8e4jMRuAssbgnXF0Hv?si=7iRw1NmdQT6WOec40JVvhw for all things Vikings (of the Irish Sea)

Cover art: "Edward the Confessor - Lichfield Cathedral" by ell brownis licensed under CC BY 2.0.

In June 1042 a wedding feast take places in Lambeth; who got married at that wedding and what happened at that wedding, and the stories of those people, offer a unique insight into the power politics that led to the rise of King Edward the Confessor. Feasts, politics and sly insults from Monks abound… A full script with pictures of this episode will be available on https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM soon.

The 1030’s were a tough decade for London. It started with Cnut as Emperor of Northern Europe; it saw natural disaster, political crisis and three kings having been in control. How London (and England) coped and how London ended up dictating who was going to rule after Cnut (or trying to) is the subject of this episode. Script will be available here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM for any who want to read along.

London finds itself with a King who would be an Emperor; an episode trying to explain how Cnut went on to become overlord of Denmark, Norway, parts of Sweden and more… and how London was very much part of this. A version of the script will be available here for those who like to read along, https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM.

The complex and difficult relationship between Cnut and London carries on as we look at the reasons behind many of Cnut’s early political moves, the reasons why these are hard to fathom, and the most insane robbery ever carried out by a King of England. Script will be posted here https://imgur.com/gallery/hajiHGM But the bad South London accent is free!