Bettany Hughes’s Ten Places, Europe and Us

Historian Bettany Hughes goes beyond the delights of teas and topiary to explore ten inspiring National Trust sites. Join Bettany as she travels around some of the most splendid sites in England, guided by our experts, to investigate their deep-rooted connections to Europe and the wider world.

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Episodes

2 Willow Rd

Bettany takes a tour of 2 Willow Road in Hampstead with National Trust volunteer John Escolme. The house was built by Hungarian architect Ernö Goldfinger both as family home and manifesto of his Modernist ideals. Goldfinger is famous for designing Trellick Tower in West London to solve the post-war housing crisis. Despite its nadir in the 1970s when Trellick became known as ‘the tower of terror’, it’s now something of a cultural icon, although Erno never lived to see its rehabilitation. Bettany ...

Dec 26, 2016•23 min

Orford Ness

Bettany explores Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit off the coast of Suffolk, with site manager Grant Lohoar and wildlife expert Stewart Warrington. Access to Orford Ness was denied to the public during much of the 20th century, due to the top-secret nature of the work being undertaken here for the military. When the National Trust opened the site to the public in 1995, the management concerns of this area changed considerably and it is now protected as a fragile natural environment and a...

Dec 19, 2016•21 min

Upton House

Upton House in Warwickshire was one of four houses owned by Walter Samuel, the 2nd Lord Bearsted, who was one of the richest men in Britain before the Second World War. When he bought this estate in 1927 it satisfied all those favourite pre-war pursuits for the well-heeled British, but there is more to this house, and its former owner, than meets the eye. House manager Michelle Leake shows Bettany around Lord Bearsted’s notable art collection and uncovers more about the quiet philanthropist who ...

Dec 12, 2016•20 min

Sandham Memorial Chapel

The Sandham Memorial Chapel in Hampshire is Stanley’s Spencer’s monument to the forgotten dead of the First World War. The murals draw on Spencer’s experiences serving first as a medical orderly in Britain and then on active service in the Balkans. Bettany meets Operations Manager Alison Paton to take a closer look at the paintings and she lends Bettany a ladder to investigate the stories on the highest parts of the walls. Spencer expert Amanda Bradley discusses his inspiration from Giotto’s Are...

Dec 05, 2016•22 min

Waddesdon

Bettany visits Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, an extraordinary French chateau built as a fairy-tale castle by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the heart of the English countryside. Here Bettany meets Pippa Shirley, Head of Collections and Gardens, to discuss the contradictions at the heart of the house, which showcases the best of 18th century French decorative art.Ferdinand devised the house in part as a stage set to court power and for a ‘wow’ factor, and this very much paid off when Quee...

Nov 28, 2016•23 min

Kingston Lacy

At Kingston Lacy in Dorset, Bettany meets House Steward Bernie King to learn about William John Bankes who, during the 19th Century, turned Kingston Lacy into the treasure trove you’ll find today. This extraordinary house is a testament to Bankes’ obsession for exploring and collecting in Europe and beyond. Bettany examines his fabulous European art collection with paintings expert Christine Sitwell and is given exclusive access to William John’s sitting room to learn more about what made him ti...

Nov 21, 2016•24 min

Fountains Abbey

Now a romantic ruin, Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire was a thriving industrial hub for the Cistercian order of monks in the 12th Century. Here Bettany meets archaeologist Mark Newman to bring the Abbey to life once more and to explore the impact of the Cistercians, the first truly pan-European movement, on Britain’s economy. Bettany meets Head of Landscape, Michael Ridsdale, to discuss how the ruined abbey became a folly to the Studley Royal Estate in the 18th Century, and how he and his team...

Nov 14, 2016•23 min

Sutton Hoo

Bettany visits Sutton Hoo in Suffolk to piece together a profile of the mystery king who was buried in the world famous Anglo-Saxon ship burial. A strong contender was King Raedwald who was important enough to warrant such a VIP burial. Bettany handles master crafted replicas of the ‘Mound 1’ treasures (the originals are now in the British Museum) with researcher Laura Howarth and learns how his grave goods show how well connected the king was to Europe and the wider world.Archeologist Faye Mint...

Nov 07, 2016•20 min

Chedworth Roman Villa

Bettany takes a tour of the Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire with archeologist Martin Papworth who reveals what the latest excavations tell us about the people who lived here. Chedworth's heyday was during the 'Golden Age' of Roman Britain in the 4th Century, when the villa was surrounded by other luxury houses.In the museum, Nancy Grace shows Bettany bits of Roman DIY, including painted plaster with a distinctly cubist pattern on it. She learns how the villa clearly belonged to wealthy ...

Oct 31, 2016•22 min

Avebury

Bettany visits the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Avebury in Wiltshire. Here the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world stands at the centre of one of the greatest concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in Western Europe and holds vital clues to story of us, and our relationship to the wider world. Archeologist Nick Snashall gives Bettany the low down on some of our earliest European visitors who brought farming methods with them to Britain, while Ros Cleal, curator of the ar...

Oct 24, 2016•21 min

Trailer

Bettany Hughes introduces the National Trust Ten Places Europe and Us podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 20, 2016•27 sec

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