💬 There’s a ruined archway sitting among the trees of my local park - but what grand building did it once belong to? A castle? A church? A grand manor house?

In this episode I take a trip to Worden Park in Leyland. Rich in history, this park was once the estate of James Nowell Farington, who set about a major programme of improvements when he inherited it in 1837.

⚡ Join me on a trip to visit an archway with a very strange backstory, a Victorian-era ice house decorated with ancient ornaments, and a stone that landed in the park during the last Ice Age.

Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:

https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Image Credits:

Paul Brooker / Ralph Allens Castle

Sham Castle, Bathampton by Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Sham Castle, Bathampton Down by Elliott Simpson, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

buzzard525, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Artur Kozioł, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

St. Andrew's Church by philandju, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Colin Smith / Inside Broome Park Ice House

You had lots of questions about the Victorian job of the "Bleach Packer". So I invited Judith Wilde from Catalyst museum back for a Q&A.Together we dig deeper into the fascinating history of this gruelling job, that helped build the chemical industry.🎧 Judith answers questions like: Stay tuned to learn about:➡ Why didn't their eyes burn?➡ Did the muzzle actually work?➡ Why were some of them drinking ten pints a day?➡ Did this really continue into the 1950s?➡ What is the area of Widnes like today?Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before Visit Catalyst Museum: https://www.catalyst.org.uk/ About the podcast:What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.About your hosts:Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning.Connect with Ollie:Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

💬 Many islands all over the world are known for their finance industries - and especially for being “tax havens”. But this is just the latest ways islands have reinvented themselves over thousands of years.

As far back as the Stone Age, islands have served as stepping stones, trading hubs, military outposts and gateways between nations.

⚡ In this episode we use the island of Guernsey as a case study, showcasing just how varied - and incredible - its history has been. And guiding us is archaeologist and author Jason Monaghan.

Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:

https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before

🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ Why islands became some of the most important trading hubs in the ancient world

➡ How Roman traders, Viking raiders and medieval merchants shaped island life

➡ Why Guernsey spent centuries caught between England and France

➡ How islands repeatedly reinvented themselves through trade, shipbuilding, quarrying, tourism and finance

➡ Why many modern islands ended up becoming financial centres and offshore jurisdictions

Check out Jason’s books on Guernsey:

Story of Guernsey; Glint of Light on Broken Glass; Occupation to Liberation; A Brush With Life; Roman Guernsey

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Bleach packers had one of the worst jobs of the 19th century.At Catalyst Museum in Widnes, discover the history of these workers, why they wore muzzles, and how they helped build the chemical industry.

This is a highlight from a longer episode filmed at Catalyst. Scroll down in your feed if you'd like to learn more.About the podcast:What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.About your host:Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.Connect with Ollie:Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

💬  One March 29th 1974, a Chinese farmer was working the field as he always did - when suddenly his shovel struck something hard. Little did he know he had just stumbled upon one of the most important archaeological finds in history.

⚡In this special episode we share two fantastic episodes from our friends over at History Daily. If you love them - subscribe to History Daily here: https://podfollow.com/history-daily

The first is the discovery of China’s Terracotta Army - which turned a small Chinese village into a tourist hotspot. The second takes us to the Scottish Highlands and the first photograph ever taken of the Loch Ness Monster.

🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ Why villagers were suspicious about extracting pieces of the Terracotta army

➡ Why the  Terracotta Warriors were first made, over 2000 years ago

➡ How discovering the army felt more like a curse to the farm who found it

➡ How the legend of the Loch Ness monster first caught mainstream attention

➡ The human story behind the famous “Surgeon’s photograph” of Nessie

➡ The role the Daily Mail played in stoking the flames of the legend

About History Daily:

History Daily does history, daily. Every weekday, host Lindsay Graham takes you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. A co-production from award-winning podcasters Airship and Noiser.

About What We Did Before:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your hosts:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou
Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

💬 Neanderthals have been shown to use many incredible tools - but none quite as surprising as this. After studying rhinoceros teeth from a cave chock full of them - researchers managed to figure out why they were covered in strange markings.

⚡Alicia Sanz-Royo and her team of archaeologists examined the teeth that had remained a mystery for many years. By recreating ancient Neanderthal activities, they managed to reproduce the same markings - showing these rhino teeth were probably used as tools!

In this episode we find out how they managed to finally figure out this mystery, how Neanderthals managed to hunt rhinos, and why they chose to use rhino teeth at all. We also delve into two other amazing animal tools used by Neanderthals - vulture bones and deer antlers.

Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:

https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before

Read the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248426000230

🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ The ancient mystery hidden in dozens of rhino teeth

➡ Whether Neanderthals hunted or scavenged rhinoceroses

➡ The surprising reason rhino teeth made great tools

➡ How deer antlers helped shape Stone Age technology

➡ The bizarre vulture-bone tools that changed our view of Neanderthals

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your hosts:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Image Credit:

Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

💬 Much of the myth of Cleopatra was crafted by her during her lifetime. An intentional process to shape how the citizens of Egypt - and the world - saw her. But without social media, how did great rulers of the ancient world fashion their own brand?

Cleopatra was unusually good at shaping her own image - and the brand she built has endured for over 2,000 years. But who was the woman behind the myth?

⚡ That’s the Cleopatra Natasha Solomons explores in her new book, where she reimagines the life of this ancient queen.

Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:

https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before

🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ Why Natasha wanted to detangle Cleopatra’s story from the men in her life

➡ How Cleopatra understood sex as power - and leant into the story of politics

➡ Why she chose to make her nose look big on coins

➡ How she dressed as Isis to portray the image of her as a goddess

➡ What Alexandria and its Great Library might have felt like in ancient times

➡ What it takes to fictionalise and reimagine parts of such a famous story

Buy Natasha’s book: https://amzn.eu/d/02eG3udG

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

💬 For a big portion of human history, we shared the planet with other human species. What was that world like to be part of? How often did we interact with prehistoric humans - and would we have recognised the differences between them and us?

⚡ Michael Marshall is a science writer and expert voice on ancient human species. In this episode he paints a picture of this ancient world, where Neanderthals, Hobbits and Denisovans and other early humans walked alongside us.

Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:

https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before

🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ The many species of the Homo genus that have existed - and those who lived with us

➡ Whether any other hominins attempted to reshape the landscape - and conquer it

➡ What the likes of Homo erectus and Homo naledi got up to in their spare time

➡ Just how similar looking Neanderthals were to modern humans

➡ The LRJ people - a group of Homo sapiens that tried to push into Europe and failed

➡ The types of tools, art and rituals other hominins demonstrated

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Image Credits:

Tim Evanson, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cicero Moraes (Arc-Team) et alii, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Neanderthal-Museum, Mettmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cicero Moraes, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons