An Unofficial 'The MeatEater Podcast' Reading List

583. The Lion, the Priest and the Parlourmaids: A 1930s Sex Scandal

July 16, 2025

Description

Who was the Rector of Stiffkey, Harold Davidson - the "Prostitutes' Padre" - and why was he Britain’s most notorious curate? Was it his unnerving infatuation with girls that saw him put on trial...
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Books Referenced

The Age of Illusion

Author: Ronald Blythe

Context:

A history of Britain in the 1920s and 1930s. The hosts discuss reading a chapter about Harold Davidson, the rector of Stiffkey. Dominic mentions writing an introduction for the Folio Society edition about 10 years ago. The book is described as 'brilliantly funny, witty' and 'full of strange stories and anecdotes.'

The Troublesome Priest

Author: Jonathan Tucker

Context:

A biography of Harold Davidson written by a Norfolk author. The book argues that Davidson has been much maligned, and Tucker is described as one of Davidson's 'excellent biographers.'

The Prostitutes' Padre

Author: Tom Cullen

Context:

Another biography of Harold Davidson. The hosts quote from this work when describing Davidson's father as 'a tiny man with a luxuriant beard that gave him the appearance of a gnome.' Cullen is mentioned as another of Davidson's biographers.

The Interpretation of Dreams

Author: Sigmund Freud

Context:

Referenced when discussing Freud's visits to Blackpool. The hosts mention that 'memories of paddling in the waters there were included in his book on the interpretation of dreams.'

English History 1914-1945

Author: A.J.P. Taylor

Context:

A history of the interwar period in which Taylor discusses Harold Davidson. The hosts quote Taylor saying Davidson 'offered a great parable of the age of the interwar years' and that Davidson 'attracted more attention than, say, Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury.'