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Season 2, Episode 8 15:25 running time

Seven Dials

In this episode, we tell three stories around an iconic London landmark.

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Hosted by

Robbie Stamp

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Sound Editing

Viel Richardson

Listen now:
  • Seven Dials, London

Why Seven?

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Written by

Joanna Clarke

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Performed by

Kate Reid

About this story

After the success of Inigo Jones’ Covent Garden, in 1692 entrepreneur Thomas Neale draws up building plans to make the most of his neighbouring property and presents it to architect and Surveyor General Christopher Wren.

Delve Deeper

If you like this story and want more information, here are some suggested links:


SevenDials website has a picture of the original plan for the junction in an article about its history, and also a biography of the extraordinary Thomas Neale, the landowner and architect.

  • Seven Dials, London

The Black Loyalists

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Written by

Viel Richardson

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Performed by

Jasmine Elcock

About this story

During the US War of Independence, the British offer liberation and repatriation to enslaved black Americans who fight on their side. After the war some come to the UK and many settle in Seven Dials. But what next?

Delve Deeper

If you like this story and want more information, here are some suggested links:


Black Presence, a website about the contribution of Black people to British history, has an article about the Black Loyalists in London. The London School of Economics has an article about the founding of Sierra Leone. Wikipedia has a page about The Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor, an 18th Century group instrumental in the Sierra Leone ‘repatriating’ project. (incidentally, Georgiana Cavendish, leading lady of our Episode ‘Georgiana and Diana’ was a member of this committee), and also pages on the Black Loyalists, many of whom were resettled in Nova Scotia. 

  • Seven Dials, London

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar…

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Written by

Zak Ghazi-Torbati

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Performed by

Stephen Fry

About this story

Writer Charles Dickens wrote a ‘Boz’ Sketch of Seven Dials for Bell’s Life in London. Our writer Zak Ghazi-Torbati takes a sideways look at that 1835 view of the area, from the point of view of Dicken’s Irishman.

Delve Deeper

Learn more about this story’s themes with these links:


Website Charles Dickens Page has his full ‘Sketch’ on 7 Dials, from which this story was conceived.