In 1927, an enigmatic, anarchic group of well-heeled women – calling themselves ‘Ferguson’s Gang’­ – got together in secret with the aim of protecting historic buildings in the UK from demolition and conserving landscapes and views of outstanding natural beauty. Though being a bit silly was also factored in for good measure.

The inner circle of gang members included ­– Right Bloody Lord beer shop of the Gladstone islands and Mercator’s Projection, Red Biddy, Bill Stickers, Sister Agatha, Herb the Smasher, Kate O’Brian the Nark, Silent O’Moyle, See Me Run, and Black Maria.

The gang wrote up their exploits in their club book (known as ‘the Boo’) in which the gang religiously recorded their activities, which they did – presumably, in an effort to further deepen the mystery ­– in a sort of ludicrous faux-‘cockerney’ that would make Dick Van Dyke blush. 

The gang’s ‘raids’ always supported The National Trust. Sometimes this involved raising money and buying specific land and properties outright or just donating cash to help the trust carry out its own plans. Mostly it involved delivering money to the beleaguered trust secretary in heavy disguise and via a variety of peculiar methods. At times, cash was thrown onto the secretary’s desk by masked members of the gang with the bank notes wrapped around cigars or placed inside miniature liqueur bottles. On one occasion, they threaded antique Victorian coins inside the carcass of a goose.

The gang met for regular boozy AGMs called ‘hauntings’ at Shalford Mill, an 18th-century watermill in Surrey that they had saved. Shalford locals typically knew when the gang was in session – as delivery vans from London’s famous Fortnum & Mason department store could invariably be seen inhabiting the lanes outside the mill when the gang was in residence. Meals of pheasant, duck, lobster, and crates of fine champagne were all delivered and fastidiously logged in the Boo. The gangs’ masks – that they used for their various raids – were usually purchased at Harrods.

Only two members of Ferguson’s Gang have been officially identified.

This is a bonus episode created for the Patreon subscriber Vanessa Laurin, AKA Apocalypse Hair.

Featuring the Cornish Cockney vocal stylings of Beth Troake.

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