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Cultural historian George Townsend leads us through his research into Parson’s Pleasure, a male-only nude bathing place on the outskirts of Oxford.

A unique site, Parson’s Pleasure offered exercise and repose to men from many walks of life, for at least 400 years. It formed a centre of muscular Christianity for the Victorians and a hub for the sunbathing craze between the wars. It was also a cruising spot and sanctuary for gay men until its demolition in 1992, and remains a part of the city’s collective imagination to this day.

Through poetry and stories from old regulars, we explore the river island where Parson’s Pleasure sits, and discover surprising echoes of its history among the younger generation of today.

Touching on social and landscape history and the history of sexuality, The Bathing Place offers an insight into the city of dreaming spires like no other.

New Storytellers presents the work of new radio and audio producers, and this series features the five winners of the 2021 Charles Parker Prize for Best Student Radio Feature. The award is presented every year in memory of the pioneering radio producer Charles Parker who produced the famous series of Radio Ballads with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger.

Winning producer of The Bathing Place, Hunter Charlton studying an MA at Goldsmiths, University of London, was commended by the judges for having made ‘a lovely engrossing listen, with a great mix of oral history, music, poetry and effects.’

Presenter: George Townsend
Producer: Hunter Charlton
A Soundscape production for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4