We celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Story of London with the first of two episodes dropping this week, as we return to the story of the birth of London’s livery companies. As London was dividing between its political factions, the nation as a whole became caught up in the issues related to the King’s favourite, Piers Gaveston; and this episode explores why he became one of the most contentious people in England and how the national factions began to impact upon London. Above all, how three mayors in quick succession (a goldsmith, a pepperer and a mercer) all tried to keep London balancing on a tightrope…

Edward I was dead… a new era was about to begin in the story of London. But to understand what was to come we need to go back in time a decade or so. Because under the surface, deep political divisions were brewing in London; the city was at odds with itself over how it should be ran. This episode we go back a few years to examine the events that had taken place over the last 5 episodes, but in a new light; as we focus on a series of growing political issues that were to cause savage bloodshed on the streets of the city. And this episode? A small, much overlooked and utterly forgotten document that was to drive the cities politics into violence…

One of the most famous executions in London during the medieval period was that of William Wallace, the great hero of Scottish indepedence. And yet, there was more to his execution… why was he dragged all the way TO London to be killed? And why were the great and the good of the City so heavily involved in seeing him to his grisly fate? These questions, plus the building of medieval Southwark’s most famous inn, the White Friars being the victim of a vicious smash and grab robbery and the death of King Edward I, all coming up in this episode…

The Great Robbery of the Crown Jewels and the entire Royal Treasury of Westminster had been discovered and the culprits found… or had they? This episode we look at the FULL circumstances behind the robbery, follow the story of the vast cabal of criminals who pulled off this most daring raid and discover that London and many of its most important citizens (as well as many of its poorer ones), went to extraordinary lengths to cover up London’s role.

A saga within a saga; in 1303 a daring band of robbers raided and plundered the royal treasury of King Edward I, making off with a fortune in gold, silver, precious items and jewels. What was worse was that the robbery seemed to have been an open secret known by dozens in and around London… but no one seemed to have bothered to tell then king for weeks. The story of the circumstances, the people and the events involved in this epic tale begin the first part of this, the story of ‘The Westminster Job’.

We take a break from the recent events by looking at London’s behind the scenes economic situation; and the rise of the importance of what was for a while one of cities most important places- the lost street of Soper’s Lane. Why did dozens of merchants move here and what has this to do with the sudden and dramatic changes in the fortunes of London’s merchants? And why did the rope-makers of London go from craftsmen to multi-faceted merchants with powerful import/export businesses? All of this in a bumper issue all based around that most golden of rules… follow the money!

In the final years of the 13th Century, England was gripped in a crisis caused by a series of ongoing wars all around them; economically, socially, as well as militarily, the country was being pushed to its limits. And in this episode, which details a lot of what was going on around it, the City of London, and a former mayor of London, saw an opportunity to exploit this situation for their advantage… and to try and blag from the brutal Edward I the return of something long thought lost…

The Story of London returns with England slipping into a huge war with Scotland (and Wales, oh and France) and the circumstances behind this. In London we see the circumstances behind the rising of Charing Cross (and its sister Cheapside Cross) and the city continue under the Wardens, but we also have Vikings (no, honestly, they still around), 4 year old Scottish queens, Gascony pirates, and why someone fortified the Savoy. All of this and more…

London was without a mayor; a new regime of a City Warden ran the city, and the community tried to come to terms with what that meant. But while this was going on, while fairs were being held, and exotic animals were being shipped to the Tower of London and the stench from the rivers became bad… forces beyond everyones control were about to impact upon the city… and London’s Jewish community was about to be destroyed, leading to a horrific incident, on a sand bank, far down the river Thames…

In 1280 London was carrying on, seemingly as it had always done; a thriving, bustling city by the banks of the Thames, with a Mayor who ran the city and a bridge across the river which was known across Europe. By 1285 BOTH these things were gone; the Story reaches five years where London’s fortunes took a dramatic turn, as terrible weather, a hostile King, and above all, a scandalous murder and a salacious cover up, destroyed the iconic symbols of the cities independence.