Happened Here
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Season 3, Episode 2 14:51 running time

Mixed Fortunes

In this episode, we tell three tales of punishment, prostitution and pugilism.

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Hosted by

Dame Joanna Lumley

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Sound Editing

Jon Jardine

Listen now:
  • Charing Cross, London

Ritual Humiliation

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Written by

Joanna Clarke

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Performed by

Lulu Freeman

About this story

Writer Joanna Clarke imagines a child spectator keen to participate in the degradation of two women condemned to spend time in the Charing Cross pillory (the stocks) in 1719.

Delve Deeper

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


The Royal Institute of British Architects has a picture of the pillory at Charing Cross. Old Bailey online has an article about policing London over time. Pillory History has the stories of people put in pillories over the centuries in the UK.

  • Holy Trinity Church, Wensley, Yorkshire

An Unlikely Purchase

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Written by

Sarah Fleming

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Performed by

Olivia Bell

About this story

The Rags to Riches story of Lavinia Fenton, 1708-1760. From waitress/ prostitute to heroine in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. But how much further can she rise?

Delve Deeper

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


The British Library has a copy of William Hogarth’s painting of a scene from The Beggar’s Opera. The Tate Gallery has Hogarth’s portrait of an older Lavinia Fenton as Duchess of Bolton.  Google Books has pages of Lavinia Fenton’s autobiography. Pip’s Patch has pictures of Wensley Church and the opera box-pew.

  • Moulsey Hurst, Surrey
  • Horse and Dolphin, Leicester Square, London

“The Celebrated Professor of the Fist”

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Written by

James Rampton

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Performed by

Cassius Konneh

About this story

Born enslaved in British America, Bill Richmond comes to Britain and rises to fame as a boxer in the early 19th-Century.

Delve Deeper

Want to know more? Try starting here:


The National Portrait Gallery has a picture of Bill Richmond. Black History Month has an articleabout Richmond as does The Independent newspaper.