Mitre Nights

Wednesday, 1 May 2020

Mitre Nights

Welcome to Mitre Nights – a podcast celebrating the history and richness of the English language. Recorded in a variety of locations in and around the heart of London’s Fleet Street, this library of conversations will examine how it is that one tiny neighbourhood became identified with printing and with publishing – and the rapid evolution of the world’s premier language.

With so many of the first bibles and dictionaries printed in little courtyards not more than a stone’s throw from where these podcasts were recorded, it’s not surprising that these cobbled streets, these back alleys and their many pubs and coffee houses became a magnet for the leading literary lights over five centuries. And much of this before the first daily newspaper rolled off its press in 1702.

The Mitre Tavern was Dr Johnson’s favourite stopping place: for over two centuries remarkable for its lively atmosphere and knack for attracting the greatest authors and poets of their age. While The Mitre itself has passed into memory, its legacy has not.

With Mitre Nights, you will sense the brewing and bubbling of history in this place. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable . . .

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