Podcast Summary: The Rest Is History (Ep. 592 – "Mad Victorian Sport")

Hosts: Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook
Date: August 17, 2025
Episode Theme:
A lively exploration into the bizarre, forgotten, and pivotal sporting culture of Victorian Britain, centering on the endurance phenomenon of “pedestrianism”—competitive long-distance walking—and the development of the modern sports stadium. Tom and Dominic trace how events like Richard Manx’s 1851 walk at the Kennington Oval set the foundation for the sporting spectacles and infrastructures we recognize today, all while weaving in humor, personal anecdotes, and reflections on the place of sport in social history.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Richard Manx and the Age of Pedestrianism

• Legendary Feat Recounted:
  The episode opens with a dramatic reading from the Illustrated London News about Richard Manx, who in 1851 completed the astonishing challenge of walking 1,000 miles in 1,000 half-hours at the Kennington Oval—despite severe illness and mental strain.

  • “On the final day of the walk, it's reported...he refused to rise, cried like a child and said to the timekeeper, ‘I shall walk no more...do you want to kill me?’ But at length, he was induced to persevere unto the finish.” (Tom, 26:41)

• Why It's Forgotten:
  Tom and Dominic discuss how pedestrianism—once wildly popular and comparable to major modern sports—vanished from public memory, in part because it faded before the rise of the major professional leagues and the Olympics.

  • “You don't see pedestrianism on Sky Sports.” (Tom, 04:36)

• Anticipating Modern Sport:
  The event exhibited characteristics now central to sport: mass media coverage, floodlighting for night events (possibly the first “floodlit” sporting event), ticketed attendance, and intense statistical obsession.

  • “These lamps made Manx’s display...the world’s first floodlit sporting event.” (Tom, 07:13)
  • “Statistics plus the media plus the reportage—that’s key to the sporting phenomenon, isn’t it?” (Dominic, 06:13)

2. The Sporting World of Victorian Britain

• From Gambling to Mass Spectacle:
  Pedestrianism and sports like cricket, boxing, and horse racing grew from aristocratic gambling and public fairs. The 18th and 19th centuries saw wild wagers, such as whether a servant or “footman” could outwalk an animal, or more risqué bets involving aristocrats.

  • “In the 18th century...aristocrats in their clubs bet on all kinds of mad things—would a pigeon leave a window ledge within a given time?...There’s a bet that one of the gamblers would be able to have sex...in a balloon 1,000 yards from the earth.” (Tom, 14:12)

• Patriotic Strain:
  Displays of endurance became associated with notions of British masculinity and national pride, especially in the era of the Napoleonic Wars.

  • “This is a relish for displays of heroic manliness...” (Tom, 15:22)

• Legendary Pedestrianists:
  Captain Robert Barclay Allardyce, aka Captain Barclay, won national renown by walking 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours in 1809—on which Manx later improved. Gambling sums reached modern-equivalent fortunes.

  • “The aggregate of the bets to amount to £100,000. I mean, that's a lot of money at the time.” (Tom, 21:25)

3. The Kennington Oval: Prototype for Modern Stadiums

• Origins & Significance:
  The Oval, founded in 1845, first served as a cricket ground but soon staged pedestrianism, football, rugby, athletics, and even baseball.

  • “It's not just looking forward to the future. It is a reminder of the role that commons had played in providing recreation for people in England...” (Tom, 09:37)

• Industrial Leisure & Urban Life:
  The rise of stadiums reflects the growth of cities and the commercialization of leisure—people now had both time and money to spectate.

  • “These are physical emblems of sport as a new kind of entertainment, an industrial form of entertainment...” (Tom, 08:35)

4. Sport as Social History—Debate and Defense

• Why Sport Is History:
  The hosts counter the view that sport is trivial, arguing its centrality to both economic and social life.
  • "Sport isn't really history, but of course sport is history. It's part of the texture of life for millions of people who were here before us." (Dominic, 10:37)
  • “Sport in the modern world is such a huge part of people's lives, but it's also a huge part of the global economy.” (Tom, 11:19)

5. The Rise of Professional Sport and Enduring Legacy

• Codification Craze:
  Echosing the formalization of rules at public schools, the episode charts the creation of football (FA rules, 1863) and rugby (RFU, 1871), both of which the Oval helped launch as mass spectator sports.

• Stadiums as Businesses:
  The establishment of leagues and competitions (County Cricket, FA Cup, etc.) turned sports into continuous moneymakers—an innovation spearheaded by administrators like Charles W. Alcock, who organized the first FA Cups and rugby/football internationals at the Oval.

  • “No one had ever thought of doing this before. And suddenly they're thinking, brilliant, we could just make so much money here.” (Tom, 47:35)

• Alcock’s Role:
  “He is the classic example of an industrialist son who goes to a private school and ends up in a completely different sphere...His real genius is for sports administration.” (Tom, 48:25)

6. The Place of the Oval in Sporting Folklore

• Birthplace of The Ashes:
  The famous 1882 cricket defeat by Australia at the Oval led to the creation of “The Ashes”. Later Oval events included the first baseball match in London and multiple FA Cup finals.

  • “In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at the Oval on 29 August 1882...” (Dominic quoting Sporting Times, 31:33)

• Transformation of Kennington Common:
  Once a site for public executions, wrestling, and fairground sport, Kennington became the heart of codified, commercialized, and organized professional sport.

  • “The gallows stands on what today is St. Mark’s Church...they would have been able to look out the window and watch people being hanged.” (Tom, 39:42)

• The Role of Elites and Royals:
  The fate of the Oval was safeguarded by both local cricket enthusiasts and the intercession of Prince Albert on behalf of the future Edward VII, reflecting a blend of populist and elite interest that persists in sporting finance today.

7. The Decline and Afterlife of Pedestrianism

• Why Did Pedestrianism Die Out?
  With feats like Manx’s considered unbeatable and competing sports capturing the public imagination, pedestrianism faded in Britain—but was later popular in the US before also vanishing.
  • “If there's anyone listening...a revival of pedestrianism is long overdue.” (Tom, 55:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Strangeness of Victorian Spectators (07:02):
  Dominic: “People say there's no such thing as progress in history, but a world in which people would get up in the middle of the night to watch a man walk...is demented.”

• On the Reporting of Pedestrianism (24:35):
  Dominic: “The reporting of this reminds me of baseball, or indeed cricket, Tom, as in it's obsessed with stats and it sucks all the joy out of this swashbuckling sport.”

• On Public Executions as Entertainment (39:03):
  Dominic: “But if you think about a spectrum...of public spectacles...public executions do kind of sit on that spectrum a bit, because they're big spectacles and there's lots of hawkers and people selling pies and kids go and all of this.”

Key Timestamps

• Richard Manx’s Feat & Victorian Obsession (01:41–08:15)

  • Introduction to pedestrianism, Manx's ordeal, floodlit sporting events.

• Pedestrianism’s Social & Gambling Roots (13:01–16:37)

  • Evolution of the sport, role of aristocracy, patriotic and masculine ideals.

• The Role & Reinvention of the Oval (08:35, 37:03–47:35)

  • From common land to sporting cathedral. Survival through popular and elite support.

• Codification, Commercialization, and Professionalism (47:07–50:34)

  • Emergence of clubs, leagues, and profitable stadium-based competitions.

• Charles W. Alcock and the Birth of Modern Sport (48:25–54:44)

  • Administrative genius behind multiple firsts at the Oval.

• The Ashes and the Oval’s Enduring Legacy (31:33–54:44)

  • Cricket and football intertwine, sealing the Oval’s mythic status.

• The Demise and Americanization of Pedestrianism (54:44–55:15)

  • Pedestrianism’s swan song, call for its revival.

Overall Tone & Takeaways

With a blend of affectionate irreverence and scholarly rigor, Tom and Dominic argue that the often-overlooked world of Victorian sport—a mix of eccentric endurance challenges, gambling, spectacle, and innovation—laid the groundwork for modern professional sports culture. The Kennington Oval, thanks to events like Richard Manx’s marathon walk and the subsequent anchoring of cricket, football, and rugby, became the prototype of the commercial, multi-sport stadium—a symbol of urban, industrial leisure and the codification of play that defined the Victorian age and shapes our own.

To Hear Next:

• Upcoming episode on the legendary 1860 England vs. America boxing match—immediate access for club members.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In:
This episode is both a rollicking social history of sport and an insightful profile of how Victorian Britain’s obsessions with spectacle, order, and entrepreneurship paved the way for the world’s most popular entertainments—and how even the strangest passions, like competitive walking, shaped the modern world.