Our co-founder Robin Mitchell appeared in the fourth episode of the Channel 5 documentary series Walking Victorian Britain.
The documentary film crew were in Edinburgh in June 2021 undertaking some filming in our West Bow (Victoria Street) shop and in the historic Greyfriars cemetery. In our wee shop the filmmakers were specifically interested in our William Burke Museum, taking footage of the card case made out of the skin of "bodysnatcher" William Burke. In Greyfriars cemetery, the crew filmed beside one of the mortsafes (a construction designed to protect graves from grave robbers) where Robin chatted to presenter and historian Dr Onyeka Nubia about grave robbing, public dissection and the Anatomy Act of 1832.
In the Edinburgh episode, Dr Nubia travels through Edinburgh exploring the Old Town, including the first Medical School in the country. He also discovers how overcrowding in Edinburgh led to disease, fires and building collapse, ultimately leading to the establishment of the New Town. He visits The Royal College of Physicians and The Royal College of Surgeons.
In the rest of the documentary TV series Walking Victorian Britain, Dr Nubia examines the history of Victorian Britain by visiting various locations including Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and London to better understand this period's complex history, which included societal changes, technological advancements and injustice.
Dr Onyeka Nubia teaches at the University of Nottingham. He is a leading historian on the status and origins of Africans in pre-colonial England from antiquity to 1603. He has developed entirely new strands of British history which includes Africans in Ancient and Medieval England. He has also been a consultant and presenter for a number of TV programmes including the BBC's History Cold Case and Channel 4's Skeletons of the Mary Rose and Crossrail Discovery: London's Lost Graveyard.
The whole series can be viewed online on Channel 5's My5 service until 22nd August 2026. So you've plenty time to view it!