What We Did Before | Human Survival and Ancient Inventions
Before Instagram: Why Rich People Built Fake Ruins
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Before Instagram: Why Rich People Built Fake Ruins

OG Podcasts - Pre Modern Life and Human History

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Before Instagram: Why Rich People Built Fake Ruins

22 Jun 2026

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💬 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.

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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