The Alnwick Castle Podcast

What do Alnwick Castle, Chatsworth House, Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard, Muncaster Castle and over 1400 other places across the UK have in common? They are all part of Historic Houses, an organisation that for over 50 years has been a voice for independent heritage. To find out more, we spoke to Historic Houses' Policy & Education Manager, Sarah Roller. Sarah explains the history of the...

It was ten years ago this summer that global hit drama Downton Abbey first filmed at Alnwick Castle, for their 2014 Christmas special. The show returned to the Castle the following summer for what would be their final episode before transferring to the big screen (and Alnwick makes a small cameo in the first Downton movie as well). To mark the anniversary of Downton Abbey at Alnwick - or Brancaste...

On Friday 11th October, Alnwick Castle welcomes historian and broadcaster Nicola Tallis to speak about her new book. Young Elizabeth is the story of the early years of Queen Elizabeth I, and is a fascinating, comprehensive biography of this part of Elizabeth's life - from the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn to her becoming the last Tudor monarch. We were lucky enough to be joined on the p...

We return to the Wars of the Roses for the latest episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, for an exclusive audio tour of the new exhibition inspired by Lions of the Red Rose, the story of the Percy family and their involvement in the Wars. We were lucky enough to be shown around every part of the exhibition by Alnwick Castle Archivist Chris Hunwick, who explains the stories behind the documents on...

When master medieval archer Andy Rice was last on the Alnwick Castle podcast, we were introduced to some of the principles and the importance of archery in the Middle Ages. For our latest episode, Andy returned for a live interview in Artisans Courtyard - with a live audience listening in! You will hear Andy explain how the bow and its arrows were made. Continuing our 2024 theme of the Wars of the...

We last told you all about the Alnwick Castle Library project in April this year, on episode 59 of the podcast. On that episode, we spoke to Project Conservator Ellin Belton and Household Controller Andrew Jarman and found out the plans for restoring this amazing state room within Alnwick Castle. The project has continued its progress since then, so we went back to the Library to find out the late...

Cecily, the debut novel from Annie Garthwaite, told the story of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, through to the triumph of her son Edward in the Battle of Towton in 1461. In her new book, 'The King's Mother', Annie follows Cecily in her new role as King's Mother to Edward - a position virtually unique in English history. But she is not the only woman vying for that position......

In our silliest, most anarchic episode yet, the Alnwick Castle Podcast has crossed over with the Silly History Boys Show! This band of hilarious historical performers will be joining us at Alnwick Castle this May half term holiday (and again later in the summer) for a series of brilliant interactive shows... so our hosts Daniel and Deborah met Tombo, Billbo and Uncle Bob-Bob (a.k.a Tom, Will and R...

2024 sees the undertaking of a huge project within the Library of Alnwick Castle. Created to house the collection of 14,000 books in the 19th century, in recent years the Library has been a main living space for the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and their family - as well as a favourite room for many of our visitors (and staff). This year, it is being transformed, and conserved from top to bo...

Every April, we like to devote an episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast to William Shakespeare, so as part of our 2024 series of podcasts about the Wars of the Roses, we thought this year's edition could focus on how Shakespeare treated this part of English history in his plays. We were joined once again by expert and scholar Ronan Paterson to discuss the sources Shakespeare used for his hist...

Since his last appearance on the Alnwick Castle Podcast a year ago, one of our favourite regular guests Bill Openshaw has released his first book! To The Call Of Bugles explores the full history of the Percy Tenantry Volunteers, the army based at the Castle and around the north east over 200 years ago to defend it from invasion by Napoleon. Bill joined our hosts Deborah and Daniel once again on th...

Throughout the medieval period (and beyond), the jester was an important - and often hilarous - figure in the royal courts of England, and the art of being a fool has not been forgotten! In this episode of the podcast, our hosts Deborah and Daniel speak to Tom Fool, one of the finest silly people working today, to find out how he got into his stilt-walking, fire-breathing, fruit-throwing professio...

Lions of the Red Rose is a brand new book exploring the history of the Wars of the Roses by focusing on members of the Percy family - the 2nd Earl of Northumberland, his four warrior sons, and their surviving heir, battling through some of the most brutal and violent decades of British history. The book, which also includes beautifully produced illustrations and maps by Peter Phillips, as well as...

In 2024, the Alnwick Castle Podcast will feature a series of episodes focusing on the Wars of the Roses, the violent, decades-long struggle for the English crown in the 15th century, in which the Percy family and Alnwick Castle played a part. These podcasts will be part of a variety of events and visitor activities based on the Wars of the Roses, tying in with the release of Lions Of The Red Rose,...

On Saturday 25th May, author, medical historian and TikTok sensation Suzie Edge will be appearing in person at Alnwick Castle to talk about her latest book, Vital Organs: A History of the World's Most Famous Body Parts. You can get your tickets now from alnwickcastle.com . As a preview for the event, Suzie returned to the Alnwick Castle Podcast to talk all things body parts with our hosts Deb...

Formerly belonging to King Louis XIV and displayed in his palace at Versailles, the huge cabinets known as the Cucci Cabinets are two of the most important pieces of furniture in the world - and if you have visited the State Rooms at Alnwick Castle, you will have seen them on display in the Drawing Room. To find out more about these two stars of the castle collection, our podcast hosts Deborah and...

Following the Battle of Dunbar in early September 1650, thousands of Scottish prisoners of war were marched south to Durham Cathedral. On their way, they were kept overnight at Alnwick Castle. In the first Alnwick Castle Podcast of 2024, hosts Deborah and Daniel find out more about the prisoners, how we know they were at the Castle, and what ultimately happened to them. We spoke to Megan Olshefski...

The Alnwick Castle Podcast is 50 episodes old!  To celebrate making it to 50 podcasts, and because it is almost Christmas... we have devoted this special episode to some of the questions you have asked about Alnwick Castle - some of the most popular questions that are often asked about the castle itself and its history. Our hosts Deborah and Daniel tackle these questions and do their best to answe...

People have practiced archery for thousands of years, and it has been part of life at Alnwick Castle since the very beginning, from the death of Harry Hotspur via arrow in 1403, to the local archers gathered by the 5th Earl of Northumberland in 1514, to the modern day when visitors to the Castle can have a go at archery with our trained instructors. To find out more about archery, our hosts Daniel...

This episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast looks a little more into the academic side of castles and their heritage, as hosts Daniel and Deborah are joined by Iain Wheeldon, senior lecturer in the School of Arts and Cultures at Newcastle University. Daniel spoke to Iain about the issues facing the cultural sector right now, the importance of castles to the heritage of Northumberland, and what exac...

What is a scriptorium? What was needed to make books in medieval Europe? What makes a manuscript illuminated? These are some of the questions we explore on the latest episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast. Hosts Deborah and Daniel welcome back Karen Slade (or Kate Tiler, depending when in history you are!) from the Company of Artisans to tell us all about the sciptoriums where medieval books were...

We were thrilled to host historian and broadcaster Tracy Borman at Alnwick Castle this summer to speak about her new book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History - and even more thrilled that Tracy joined us for a special episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast. Hosts Daniel and Deborah spoke with Tracy for nearly an hour about the reasons and background behind the...

As it is the month of October, with Halloween coming up, we wanted to bring you an episode full of the strangest, spookiest stories connected with Alnwick Castle. Did the 1st Duchess of Northumberland see a ghost when she visited a haunted house in 1762? Was the town of Alnwick plagued by a real vampire? What was so suspicious about the death of the 8th Earl of Northumberland? And how did the Cast...

The music of the Tudor period - songs and instrumental pieces that would have been performed at the royal courts of Henry VIII or Elizabeth I, and heard by people like the Percy Earls and Countesses of Northumberland - is beautiful, fascinating and often haunting. This August at Alnwick Castle, we welcomed The Tudor Songbook, also known as singer Jay Britton, to perform Tudor music for visitors. ...

Have you been enjoying watching tennis this summer, like Wimbledon or the US Open? Have you ever thought about how tennis was played centuries ago? Then this episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast is for you! Host Deborah spoke to award-winning researcher Selene, who has been thoroughly exploring the game of "real tennis" in the early modern period and how it relates to ideas of masculini...