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London HistoryAuthor: londonguidedwalks.co.uk
Learn things about London that most Londoners don't even know in weekly episodes with qualified London tour guide Hazel Baker from londonguidedwalks.co.uk There's so much we can't fit into our tours, no matter how hard we try. This London history podcast is where we can get down and dirty with the detail! You're not going to find this level of detail in any guidebook. Leave us a voice message to get featured! Language: en Genres: Places & Travel, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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157: From Factory Floor to Black Market: The Button Theft Scandal
Episode 157
Thursday, 23 April, 2026
Hazel Baker of the London History Podcast describes late December 1870 at the crowded Worship Street Police Court, where three women—Elizabeth Brown (22), Charlotte Quigley (20), and her mother Charlotte Quigley (45)—are charged with stealing large quantities of buttons from Hackney manufacturer Mr. Williamson. The episode explains why buttons had real commercial value in the booming Victorian clothing trade and how stolen goods could be easily hidden and resold. Detective Chapman traces the missing buttons through East End neighborhoods via shopkeepers such as Isaac Levine of Bethnal Green Road and Mr. Hyams near Spitalfields, who admit buying “job lots” without records or reporting suspicions. Magistrate Henry Jeffreys Bushby condemns this normalized receiving of stolen goods, warns traders to keep detailed purchase records, and links the thefts to severe East End poverty and economic distress; the case is remanded and the final outcome is unknown.
