The Most Daring Escapes From The Tower of London
Early Modern • 16m
For more than 900 years, the Tower of London has occupied its place at the heart of English life. At various times a royal citadel, palace, menagerie, observatory, public records office, mint, arsenal and, even to this day, the home of the crown jewels of England, since 1100 it has famously served as a prison for notorious traitors, heretics, and even royalty. Out of the more than 8,000 unfortunate souls, many who were imprisoned in the Tower never left. Those who did, often did so without their head. For a small number, however, the supposedly impenetrable walls proved merely a minor nuisance. Author and historian Matt Lewis visits the Tower of London to tell the story of those fortunate few who succeeded in escaping one of history's most famous prisons.
Up Next in Early Modern
-
Festive Folk Song Bash
As a way of life, as heritage, and as art, folk singing has long met at the crossroads between the past and the present. It draws old songs into common memory, hearkens back to a simpler way of living, reminds us of the communities that came before us and enshrines new traditions into living memo...
-
Sex in Pandemics
I invited Kate Lister to join me after the enormous popularity of her last appearance on the pod. But this time we talked about how our sexual habits are both dulled and invigorated in unprecedented times - wars, plagues, pandemics. We discussed licentious widows who let loose during plagues, the...
-
Coronavirus: Lessons From History
In the past few months more than a billion people have faced restrictions unlike any seen before. Shops are closed; the death toll is rising; people across the globe have been forced to rise to an extraordinary challenge. But it is important to remember that humans have experienced pandemics befo...
