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Trailer - 700 Years of the Thames
Audio transcript for "Trailer - 700 Years of the Thames"
Sarah Castagnetti:
From frozen festivals to royal polar bears, from wartime recovery to medieval merchants... the River Thames has been the stage for some of Britain’s most extraordinary moments.
I’m Sarah Castagnetti, and I’m a Visual Collections Specialist here at The National Archives.
This is On the Record at The National Archives, uncovering the past through stories of everyday people.
In this episode, we’re exploring 700 years of Thames history through documents in our collections.
From legendary frost fairs...
Jessica Nelson:
“Many fantastical experiments are daily put in practice as certain youths burnt a gallon of wine upon the ice and made all the passengers partakers.”
Sarah:
...to medieval polar bears swimming while chained near the Tower...
Paul Dryburgh
the keep was allowed to buy a muzzle and an iron chain which would hold the bear while it was sort of out of the water. But he also was allowed to buy a long cord which would allow the bear to swim in the Thames and go fishing.
Sarah:
...and royal tragedies that changed the course of history.
Ralph Thompson:
Henry died from typhoid fever on the sixth of November, 1612, after swimming the Thames near Whitehall Palace...
Sarah:
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