Sometimes, historical research can offer unexpected questions and avenues of exploration. That’s what happened when English Heritage’s Will Wyeth was digging through a medieval manuscript. References to a medieval woman spy dressed in men’s clothing were too tantalising to ignore, so he and Michael James got together to ask questions about the mysterious Margoth. They join Amy Matthews on the English Heritage Podcast this week to reveal not only how Margoth’s espionage changed the course of a wa...
Jun 26, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 11
As the summer solstice approaches, thousands flock to monuments like Stonehenge seeking spiritual connection and a spectacular sunset and sunrise. But why are people still drawn to stone circles after thousands of years? This time on the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage’s Dr Jennifer Wexler to explore how these monuments were built and why people have continued to visit them. Artist Sally Barton shares how communities continue to interact with these spaces and...
Jun 19, 2025•32 min•Season 2Ep. 10
J M W Turner is considered one of England’s great artists, but why? This time on the English Heritage podcast, we dive into some of the 35 paintings Turner made of English Heritage sites to explore how he responded to a period of enormous emotional and political upheaval. Working against a backdrop of war, industrial expansion, tourism, abolition, patriotism and shifting national identity, Turner’s varied and innovative styles helped shape contemporary reactions to architecture, landscapes and r...
Jun 12, 2025•34 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Churches and buildings around England are home to beautiful stained glass enjoyed by communities and visitors every day. But less well known are the fascinating stories and histories behind these national treasures. This week on the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews is joined by Michael Carter and Susan Harrison to piece together what collections both in situ and in store can tell us about Christianity, the dissolution of monasteries, and the journey of stained glass into churches and build...
Jun 05, 2025•30 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The summer of 1381 saw one of the biggest popular uprisings in Medieval Europe. Now, an innovative online resource is revealing how the Peasants’ Revolt impacted the lives of women, children and whole communities. This week, Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage’s Dr Will Wyeth to unlock the complex social and political issues of the revolt and how we feel these forces today. The University of Glasgow’s Dr Andrew Prescott and The University of Reading’s Dr Helen Killick share snapshots of l...
May 29, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 7
This week on the English Heritage podcast, Amy Matthews dips into the rivers of Northern England for an insight into Roman beliefs and the celebrity culture of gladiators. English Heritage’s Dr Frances Mcintosh and Dr Philippa Walton from the University of Leicester discuss gladiator memorabilia and the celebrity status of these icons in Roman Britain, with the aid of some amazing objects. The offerings made by Romans to the rivers at Piercebridge Roman Bridge and Corbridge Roman Town give us a ...
May 22, 2025•31 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Today we head to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in Yorkshire and step back in time to discover a love story from the early 20th century. And it all starts with a camera. Join Amy to unravel the story of two country house servants who met and fell in love against the background of the First World War in a Downton Abbey-worthy tale. English Heritage curator Eleanor Matthews explains how a very special bequest of items revealed valuable insights into Brodsworth Hall and its past residents – including ...
May 15, 2025•30 min
The shadow of the Cold War loomed over the 20th Century. But how did this affect day-to-day life for ordinary people and how was anxiety about the possibility of conflict normalised? Starting with an innovative piece of technology from York's Cold War Bunker, Amy and her guests discuss civilian volunteers, the protest movement and the ever-present threat of war, using living memory and oral history to connect the past to our present. Megan Thomas, a PhD student at the University of Liverpool, te...
May 08, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What does the view from London’s tallest building have in common with your kitchen tea towels and your favourite summer holiday outfit? This week on the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews and her guests dive into the history of Shrewsbury Flax Mill and the industrial revolution. Find out how a humble bobbin can unravel a story about the linen and textile industries; how technical innovation changed the lives of working people and how it offered us the architecture that makes modern day skysc...
May 01, 2025•38 min•Season 2Ep. 3
When Wrest Park’s Jemima, Marchioness Grey, was widowed, she unleashed her purse strings to install lavish Chinese art across the Bedfordshire estate: perfect for taking tea with friends. You can get lost in the intricate birds, plants and people featured in Wrest Park’s Chinese wallpapers, but how was this part of a wider fashion in textiles, design and landscaping? Dr Andrew Hann and volunteer Richard Luscombe join writer and comedian Amy Matthews to find out how trade between Europe and China...
Apr 24, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 2
How does a fish connect us to a story of working women’s rights? Join comedian, writer and history fangirl Amy Matthews and her guests find out about tough and resilient seasonal workers in the Great Yarmouth fishing industry. From frozen fingers to salty cuts and a work hard play hard attitude (not to mention the stench of fish at the end of the day), working women travelled the coastlines on the trail of herring shoals, bolstering local fishing industries with seasonal work and bringing a whol...
Apr 17, 2025•32 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. Framlingham Castle was home to the fiercely powerful Dukes of Norfolk for 400 years – so how did it end up as a workhouse in the 17th century? Join Josie Long as she delves into the castle’s second life and English society’s changing attitudes towards poverty over the centuries. Hear about people who lived and worked in the workhouse, and why life wasn’t always like a...
Apr 10, 2025•37 min
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Apr 03, 2025•39 min
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. It sees Josie Long teaming up with English Heritage to uncover some of the most fascinating forgotten stories from England’s past. We hope you enjoy it. At Pevensey Castle in East Sussex, we learn about Joan of Navarre, the medieval Queen of England who was accused of witchcraft and imprisoned at the castle by her stepson, Henry V. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Mar 27, 2025•34 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. Discover the story of a 17th century woman who left an amazing literary legacy. Alice Thornton wrote four books, including three autobiographies, which provide a remarkable insight into life during the English Civil Wars. To discover more about Middleham Castle or plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/middlehamcastle Learn mor...
Mar 20, 2025•53 min
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. It sees Josie Long teaming up with English Heritage to uncover some of the most fascinating forgotten stories from England’s past. We hope you enjoy it. Clifford's Tower in York was the site of a tragedy in 1190 where the entire Jewish population of the city was persecuted to their deaths. We ask how and why such a shocking event could take place and hear how the loca...
Mar 13, 2025•37 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. One of 12th century Europe’s richest and most powerful women, Eleanor became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis VII and then Queen of England as the wife of Henry II. Discover the story of her remarkable rise to power, her imprisonment following a plot to remove her second husband as king and her return to power as queen dowager....
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 16 min
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. It sees Josie Long teaming up with English Heritage to uncover some of the most fascinating forgotten stories from England’s past. We hope you enjoy it. In this episode, Josie discovers the story of Gwen Lally, a former actress who directed thousands of performers in Battle’s 1932 pageant. We hear about Lally’s pioneering role as the first female pageant master and he...
Feb 27, 2025•33 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. Join senior interpretation manager Nick Collinson, properties historian Andrew Roberts and young producer Katie Burke to discuss the LGBTQ+ history connected to a selection of the objects in the Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House. To discover more about Ranger’s House or to plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/rangershouse ...
Feb 20, 2025•55 min
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. It sees Josie Long teaming up with English Heritage to uncover some of the most fascinating forgotten stories from England’s past. We hope you enjoy it. In this episode, Josie travels to Birdoswald Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall to learn about the complex and diverse communities that travelled there from across the Roman Empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Feb 13, 2025•30 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. This week, we interview historian Howard Spencer to reveal the story behind the new blue plaque at the Chelsea house where reggae singing sensation Bob Marley lived in 1977 after fleeing from Jamaica. To find out more about our blue plaque scheme, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/ Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Feb 06, 2025•25 min
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. It sees Josie Long teaming up with English Heritage to uncover some of the most fascinating forgotten stories from England’s past. We hope you enjoy it. Beside Richmond Castle’s imposing Norman keep lies an unassuming military cell block with an extraordinary secret. Its fragile walls are inscribed with thousands of graffiti, many of them left by conscientious objecto...
Jan 30, 2025•41 min
We’re still busy behind the scenes, so in the meantime we wanted to share a special series with you called Speaking with Shadows. It sees Josie Long teaming up with English Heritage to uncover some of the most fascinating forgotten stories from England’s past. We hope you enjoy it. In this episode, we visit Portchester Castle to hear about the black prisoners of war who were captured during the Napoleonic wars and brought all the way from the Caribbean to be imprisoned at the castle. Learn more ...
Jan 23, 2025•35 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. In this episode, we put your questions on England’s monasteries to senior properties historian Dr Michael Carter and Janet Burton, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Discover what life was like for the monks and nuns who lived worked and worshipped at them, how they amassed such wealth, what ha...
Jan 16, 2025•1 hr 28 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. Did you know that English Heritage cares for more castles than anyone else? Join us as we discover the definition of a castle, why the Normans couldn’t stop building them and how they have changed over time. If you’ve ever wondered what a Motte and Bailey castle is or which was the most besieged English Heritage castle, this is the epis...
Jan 09, 2025•1 hr 8 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. This week, we join archaeologist Dr Susan Greaney and Stonehenge curator Dr Heather Sebire to answer your questions about the Neolithic period. Discover what Neolithic people ate, how they navigated their way across the British Isles and if Neolithic people ever got married. Plus, learn the secrets of our most famous Neolithic monument,...
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 5 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. With Christmas now (just) behind us, we’re joined by former English Heritage trustee and Professor of History at the University of Bristol, Ronald Hutton, to look at the origins of some of England’s other winter traditions. Discover the origins of Plough Monday, Wassailing, Mummers’ plays, Valentine’s Day, Shrove Tuesday and Kissing Fri...
Dec 26, 2024•34 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re diving into our archive to bring you some of our favourite episodes. This week, we join properties historians’ team leader Dr Andrew Hann, and director of the Dickens Museum in London Dr Cindy Sughrue, to take a very festive look back at the Christmas traditions that started in the Victorian period. We also examine the role that Charles Dickens played in shaping Christmas as we know it – and how the man ...
Dec 19, 2024•53 min
Join us for a bonus episode created in partnership with The Gilded Gentleman podcast. English Heritage senior properties historian Dr Michael Carter and host Carl discuss Christmases past at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. Starting with some special stories from the First World War, they then delve back into history to discover the origins of some of our most celebrated traditions, from plum pudding to Twelfth Night. Wrest Park boasts some of the finest gardens in England, with dazzling parterres, f...
Dec 17, 2024•51 min
We’re working behind the scenes to make the podcast better than ever. In the meantime, we’re bringing you some of our favourite episodes from the archive. This week, as Christmas festivities get into full swing, we’re delving into the history of the Roman midwinter festival of Saturnalia. Guiding us through the details of what it was, how it was observed, and its role in influencing today’s traditions is curator for Hadrian’s Wall and the North East, Dr Frances McIntosh. Learn more about your ad...
Dec 12, 2024•42 min
