Past Matters

Lucy Jago, author of 'A Net for Small Fishes', explains how a painting of Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset, resonated particularly with her as she was writing her novel, which follows Frances' involvement in the Overbury murder scandal that rocked the Stuart court.  

In one of three Christmas 2021 special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to author Annie Garthwaite, about an illustration in the Neville Book of Hours that helped her capture the personality of Cecily of York,  the titular character in her debut novel 'Cecily', and an influential figure in the Wars of the Roses. You can see an image of the illustration on www.ployradford.com or the Past Matt...

In one of three Christmas 2021 special episodes, Past Matters host Ploy Radford talks to author Jennifer Saint about an ancient Minoan object that helped inspire her debut novel Ariadne, which retells the famous Ancient Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur and Phaedra and Hippolytus from female perspectives. You can see an image of the object on www.ployradford.com or the Past Matters soci...

In this bonus special episode, host Ploy Radford talks to Tudor queenship expert Dr Valerie Schutte about that most underrated of Henry VIII's wives - Anne of Cleves and a book of hours she gifted Henry VIII in 1533 (now in the Folger Shakespeare Library). Listen in to hear more about how Anne actually had a quite powerful status in England post divorce, her relationship with Henry and his childre...

In one of three special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to Dr Ian Mortimer, historian and author of the hugely popular 'Time Traveller's Guide...' series about the rediscovery of the mirror in medieval Europe. This most basic of objects led to a revolution in the sense of self and can even be linked to a decrease in crime for a period...

In one of three special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to royal studies specialist Dr Ellie Woodacre about a collection of books that belonged to Joan of Navarre, wife of Henry IV and stepmother to Henry V, of Battle of Agincourt fame. The books provide a fantastic starting part for a wider discussion about this little known English queen who left her children from her first marriage to move to...

In one of three special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to Kelcey Wilson-Lee, historian and author of 'Daughters of Chivalry', a biography of the five daughters of Edward I (aka the king in 'Braveheart'). Kelcey picks the Alphonso Psalter as her underrated historic object and reveals what it tells us about life and death in medieval England as well as its owner, Edward I's youngest daughter, Eli...

Season 2 of Past Matters ends on a gruesome note with Ben Paites, Collections and Learning Curator at Colchester & Ipswich Museums, discussing the history of the prisons at Colchester Castle. Not for the squeamish this episode covers prison conditions, witch burnings and the over zealous pursuit of justice.  As ever you can see a picture of the objects discussed on the podcast on PloyRadf...

In this episode, host Ploy Radford talks to Jo Hatton, Keeper of the Natural History Collection at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in South London. She picked a pair of taxidermied huia birds from the collection as her underrated objects. What makes these sadly now extinct birds particularly remarkable is that they represent the most pronounced example of sexual dimorphism in bill shape of any b...

For this episode, host Ploy Radford revisits a museum featured in season 1 – Ipswich Museum. This time, Tim Rousham from the visitor services team at the museum discusses two pattern-welded swords from the 9th century AD. Tune in to this episode to learn more about designing beautiful and effective swords and how their shape changed over time and why.  You can see an image of swords on www.pl...

Vanessa Meade, Curator of Exhibitions and Interpretations at the Museum of the Home, talks to Ploy Radford about a humble yet special 1960s clock for this episode of Past Matters.  You can view a picture of the clock on www.ployradford.com or by following Past Matters on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. 

Compton Verney in Warwickshire has one of the finest collections of folk art in the UK. In this episode Director Julie Finch tells Ploy Radford why 'Schooner approaching the harbour' by Alfred Wallis, which is painted on a tea tray, is a piece of folk art that particularly resonates with her during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic lockdown.  You can view an image of the painting on www.ployradfo...

When you're asked to imagine an iconic item of clothing the humble smock probably doesn't come to mind. However, in this episode, Dr Ollie Douglas, Curator at The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), convinces podcast host Ploy Radford as to the importance of the smock to English identity. Design, how we align stories with historical objects and ferrets all feature too.  As ever you can find...

In this episode, Zofia Matyjaszkiewicz, who is the Collections Assistant at the Roman Baths in Bath, tells Ploy Radford why a patera - a shallow libation bowl - is her underrated object at this world-famous site. This one object sets off a whole discussion about Roman lives and passions, how design can let us date an object, and the concept of pilgrimage.  You can view a picture of the patera...

While the previous episode reminded listeners to look down when visiting historic houses, in a pleasing symmetry, this episode reminds them to look up. Podcast host Ploy Radford talks to Clare Gough, Director at Pitzhanger Museum & Gallery, about three beautiful ceilings in the building, touching on subjects of family fallouts, the use of light in architecture and clever restoration tricks alo...

This episode of Past Matters should encourage visitors to England's finest stately homes to look down as well as up for future visits, as Assistant Curator and Archivist at Harewood House, Beckie Burton, describes the significance of a grand Axminster carpet for social standing.  You can find a picture of the carpet on Ployradford.com. 

To kick off season 2 of Past Matters, podcast host Ploy Radford talks to Dr Steven Parissien, CEO of Palace House, Newmarket, about a painting by Lucy Kemp-Welch - 'Colt hunting in the New Forest'. Kemp-Welch was a highly successful artist and illustrator - which was rare achievement for women in the late Victorian/Edwardian era - download this episode to hear more about this feminist trailblazer....

As a special Christmas treat for you, my listeners, I have done something a bit different for this episode of Past Matters. Instead of asking a museum, gallery or historic house what their most underrated item is, I have instead asked historian Nicola Tallis, what historical object she thinks is underrated. Her choice? The tomb of Margaret Beaufort at Westminster Abbey. So download this episode to...

Apsley House (also known as No.1 London) is the home of the Dukes of Wellington and for the first time has extended its opening times to the 22nd December 2019 and decorated the house in 1840s style Christmas decorations. Visitors can therefore experience this already beautiful building as it may have looked for a Georgian Christmas. It therefore seemed fitting to feature one of the Christmas spec...

'A Christmas Carol' has got to be one of the most famous Christmas books out there, so it seemed fitting to interview Dr Cindy Sughrue, Director of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, for one of the three 2019 Christmas specials of Past Matters.  With Christmas as a key marker in time, that directly precedes New Year, a time when we reflect back on the last 12 months, it seems even more fit...

It’s not all about the mammoth! Visitors to Ipswich Museum should also take note of three frightening looking taxidermied gorillas in the corner of the Victorian Natural History Gallery there. This group were the first gorillas the British public would have ever seen and the story of their expressions and poses provides a crucial insight into Victorian thinking and involve a swashbuckling fraudste...

Art, dogs, and a famous royal mistress... what more could you want from a podcast episode? To round off Season 1 of Past Matters, journalist Ploy Radford talks to Dr Mia Jackson, Curator of Decorative Arts at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, about a beautiful snuffbox depicting the beloved dogs and birds of Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV of France. Listen in to learn more about F...

This episode of Past Matters if for fans of the Tudors, Anne Boleyn and anyone who has ever wanted to learn more about tapestries, royal signifiers of power and historical fashion. Or those who enjoy looking for the comic scenes hidden in art.  Download to hear Alison Palmer, Conservation and Engagement Assistant, at Hever Castle talk about three very beautiful and entertaining tapestries tha...

This episode takes us to the Holburne Museum in Bath, which runs an excellent programme called Pathways to Wellbeing whereby they offer art classes focusing on the objects in the museum to people with mental health issues referred by the local NHS trust.  Listen on to hear Louise Campion, Education and Outreach Officer at the Holburne, discuss the history of an object that was used in a Pathw...

It can be very easy to walk by jewellery in an exhibition because these items tend to be very small. Don't skip by this episode of Past Matters though - in it journalist Ploy Radford talks to Colchester Museums' Senior Collections and Learning Curator Glynn Davis about some exquisite pieces of Roman jewellery that cast a new light on the inhabitants of Roman Colchester, show off the skill of the j...