The Real Dick Whittington

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

Dick Whittington - who died 600 years ago this month - is a familiar name to generations of pantomime goers. But Richard Whittington’s real life was far more compelling than the theatrical story suggests. He was a civic reformer, an enemy of corruption, the author of an extraordinary social legacy, who contributed to Henry V’s victory at Agincourt, building works at Westminster Abbey, and to London’s ceaseless development.

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis is joined by biographer Michael McCarthy, to trace Whittington's life - from his arrival in London as a young boy to his death in 1423.

This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Transcript

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1:24.4	lrb.me forward slash hit now. Welcome to this episode of Gone Medieval, I'm Matt Lewis.
1:36.1	No pantomime season would be complete without Dick Wittington, Thrice Lord Mayor of London
1:40.9	and his cat. But did you know that Dick Wittington is based very very loosely
1:46.4	on a real person who really was Mayor of London. Michael McCarthy has been on the hunt for the
1:51.6	real Richard Wittington and you can meet the basis of the Panto favourite in Michael's book
1:56.6	Citizen of London Richard Wittington the boy who would be Mayor.
2:08.2	Thank you very much for joining us Michael. Thank you Matt, thanks for inviting me.
	...

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