The Victorian Gaslamp Podcast

Dr Mary Murdoch came from a comfortable life and developed a passion of medicine that would see her have a lasting influence on the society she lived in. Advocating women having careers in medicine, a suffragette and car owner she was well known for racing at speed to aid the sick and injured.

Dr Edward Jenner isn’t a name known to most of us yet he can be credited with the title of having saved more people in history than any other person. The hideous disease that is smallpox makes an unwelcome visitor to the podcast this episode and we learn of the man that created a new discipline in medicine.  

In the era before social media we didn’t have the concerns of violent or vacuous influences upon out children. Well actually we did – and their viral influence continues through to this day. Welcome to the incredible phenomena that were the Penny Dreadfuls.  

The 19th century saw many cultural changes in all aspects of life. Not excluded from these changes was how we arrived and enjoyed that Special Day. This episode takes a look at the legacy we still enjoy today of the traditions for when we say ‘I do’

This episode takes a look at some of the history behind tattooing in the United Kingdom and the cultural and social influences that defined this art during this era.

This last episode for 2025 has a look at the lives of two men that were large parts of Queen Victoria’s life after the passing of her beloved Prince Albert. John Brown and Mohammad Abdul Karim (aka the Munshi) served her majesty faithfully over decades of devoted service.

This episode takes a look at the life of Robert Bald. Now regarded as the father of Scottish engineering he was not only technically brilliant but strove to improve the lives of the men women and children working in the terrible conditions in coal mines.

Imagine being a woman in Victorian England well known for having a scandalous father but less well known for your aptitude for mathematics. Except that your mother makes sure that you’re introduced to some of the best minds of the century and you go on to literally help change the future of humanity. Ladies and gentleman, may I introduce Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace  

This episode I take a look at something dear to many of our hearts – those furry or feathered friends that become part of our family!

This episode we’re back in the Royal Navy looking at the remarkable life of Sir James Ross. He would go on to travel the world from top to bottom – literally. Leading an amazing life, one of the ships he served with would be immortalized in an anthem well known to many of you…