Linoleum, or “lino”, once ruled the world (of flooring). It appeared everywhere from the Titanic to your gran’s kitchen. But where did it come from?

We hear the story of the Victorian inventor, Frederick Walton, who came up with lino whilst trying to find an alternative to rubber.

And we discover the Scottish town that was at the epicentre of world lino production during the golden years.

Our guests to tell the story is Lily Barnes, curator of Flooring the World, a project to celebrate Fife’s history of linoleum. And Angus Fotheringhame, the General Manager at Forbo Flooring Systems UK.

If you want to reach out to Lily with memories or questions about lino or anything else then you can email: lino@onfife.com 

Produced by Freddy Chick

Edited by Anisha Deva

Executive Producer Charlotte Long

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code PATENTED for a free trial, plus 50% off your first three months' subscription. To download, go to Android or Apple store.