The English Heritage Podcast

From steamy jungles and boiling mud pools to a bathroom aboard a luxury yacht, this is a plant story like no other. Sir Stephen and Lady Virginia Courtauld weren’t just art deco tastemakers; they were globe-trotting orchid obsessives, chasing rare blooms across Southeast Asia in the 1930s and (legally!) bringing them home against the odds.  Joined by English Heritage’s Dr Andrew Hann and gardener-...

From one brown leather dog collar unfolds a story of a family that loved their dogs for generations. And the Thellussons of Brodsworth Hall weren’t the only grand family whose history we can understand more deeply through accounts of their four-legged friends.   This time, Amy is joined by English Heritage historians Dr Megan Leyland and Eleanor Matthews to explore how dogs lived alongside people...

Two near-identical paintings. One great Dutch master. And a mystery that has spanned more than 350 years. In this episode of The English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews travels to Kenwood to explore “The Guitar Player”, Johannes Vermeer’s celebrated painting, and its striking counterpart from the Philadelphia Art Museum. Displayed side by side for the first time, these two works are inviting spirit...

While the family upstairs feasts and toasts, who’s stoking the fires, serving the supper and sweeping up the pine needles? This episode heads below stairs to explore how servants in historic country houses really spent Christmas.  Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage expert Dr Andrew Hann and writer Sian Evans to uncover the season of hard work and stolen play. Not to mention vast quantities...

How did an English abbey come to own a fragment of Santa’s finger?   And what has this got to do with a long tradition of spiritual journeys?   Beginning with a relic from St Nicholas that found its way all the way to Battle Abbey in Sussex, we’re lacing up our boots to follow the history of Christian pilgrimage around the world.   Dr Michael Carter and modern-day pilgrim Luke Sherlock @englishpil...

“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.”   Step inside the layered, lyrical, sometimes lonely world of writer J.M. Barrie. Amy Matthews meets with Blue Plaques historian Howard Spencer who explains how Peter Pan was born in this London home, before diving into the life and works of the writer with Barrie biographer Lisa Chaney.  From a weaving town in Scotland to Edwardian theatre...

People in the early Neolithic period were pioneering farming in England and building our first architecture – not stone circles or elegant homes, but grand tombs that often dominated the landscape.  This time on the English Heritage podcast, Amy Matthews steps back in time with Jennifer Wexler and Win Scutt to explore how death and remembrance were tied into the cultures, daily lives and tradition...

What do Charles Darwin’s wife, a Victorian cook, and a food historian with a sweet tooth have in common? Pudding — and plenty of it.   This week, Amy Matthews is joined by Dr Annie Gray and Dr Andrew Hann to dig through centuries of recipes, from Emma Darwin’s handwritten notes to the rise of the sticky toffee pudding. Along the way, they uncover the people behind Britain’s best-loved desserts — c...

In 1916, 11-year-old Amy Tyreman picked up her knitting needles and joined the war effort, sending handmade comforts to soldiers she’d never met.   This community effort from the children of the Brodsworth estate in Yorkshire led to an exchange of letters with brave troops. More than a century later, some of Amy’s treasured correspondence survives.  Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage’s Dr...

In medieval England, community and religion played an important role in how people cared for each other. Ideas about charity and care helped lay the foundations for some of our most important public services today.  This time on The English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews chats with Simon Jarrett, author of A History of Disability in England and Collections Curator Susan Harrison to uncover lesser-...

If you’re planning to enjoy a scary book or film from the comfort of your home this Halloween, you’ll be continuing a long tradition.   Since the earliest civilisations, humans have been fascinated by the idea of ghosts, death and the afterlife. This time on The English Heritage Podcast, Amy chats with Dr Michael Carter and Dr Beverley Clack about religion, philosophy and the spiritual questions w...

English Heritage sites aren’t just great places to learn about our past – they’re also spaces for creativity and play.   In this episode of The English Heritage Podcast, Andrew Hann and historian Abby Van Slyck join Amy to discuss how children’s recreation and ideas of play have evolved, starting with the Swiss Cottage at Osborne – a miniature house designed by Prince Albert to educate his nine ch...

In the late 1790s, Sir Godfrey Webster, heir to Battle Abbey, challenged politician Henry Holland to a duel over a portrait of his wife Elizabeth. Unhappy in her marriage, Elizabeth would divorce Godfrey and marry Henry just two days later. This would mark the beginning of a high-profile life for her in English politics.   But who was this wealthy and privileged Jamaican heiress and how did she ex...

Try to order a balti in Kashmir and you might get a funny look.  That’s because this ‘classic curry’ was invented in 1970s Birmingham, when a restaurant owner wanted to make a curry-like dish that suited local palates and could be cooked quickly for his customers.   Curry may be one of our nation’s favourite foods, but how did our modern-day cuisine evolve from centuries of trade, exploitation, co...

In 2021, 950 years after English Heritage’s Richmond Castle was founded in Yorkshire, an amateur archaeologist joined her first dig and turned up a stunning find.   A silver coin dating to the decades following the Norman Conquest, bearing the face of William the Conqueror, fired up historians’ imaginations.  Who lost it, what were they doing at the castle, and what did this penny mean to the peop...

Stonehenge has captured the imaginations of people for millennia, leading to conspiracy theories and fantastical ideas about its construction. But cutting-edge historical analysis has allowed us to reveal more of its secrets in recent times.  Now, author Ken Follett has turned his hand to an imagined epic about the early days of the site’s construction and the social lives and beliefs of people on...

What does a stone slab at Yorkshire’s Fountains Abbey have in common with the modern-day university?   This time on the English Heritage podcast, Michael Carter takes Amy on his journey of discovery, from an abbot’s strangely positioned headdress to the monastic origins of doctorates. Dr Tessa Whitehouse joins the conversation as we explore how the modern university evolved from elite religious in...

It’s easy to take the food on our plates for granted, but the 20th century has been a time of enormous change for the production and supply of what we eat. Not to mention the sort of dish you’d be looking forward to on a Friday evening. Herring and pickled beetroot, anyone?   But did you know about a highly specialised, world-renowned government institute that was developing the latest technology...

Caring for country houses is a delicate task, involving protecting them from fire risk, weather, pests, and much more. Some things have remained the same over the years: fire has long been a looming threat for the residents of country houses.   This time on the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews chats with Andrew Hann, Peter Moore and Richard Luscombe about the dramatic events, near misses and...

In 2021, a Yorkshire metal detectorist unearthed one of the UK’s largest and most important Iron Age finds. Now the Melsonby Hoard is reshaping our understanding of life in Britain 2000 years ago.   In this episode, we delve into the trove to discuss how values, wealth, power, culture and even transport in Britain were evolving against the backdrop of growing Roman influence. Amy Matthews is joine...

How did a 13th century knight become one of the greatest national heroes of his time?   In this episode of the English Heritage podcast, Amy Matthews and her guests discover a true knight’s tale. William, a low-level aristocrat, narrowly avoided a violent end as a child and rose to greatness through violent tournaments, warfare and royal service.    But who was the real William Marshal, and can we...

People love to fill their homes with beautiful plants, but this is not a new phenomenon. The trade in wild plants and seeds has a complex history that stretches back into the past and across the world.   Ahead of the Gardeners’ World Autumn Plant Fair at Audley End, Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage’s Emily Parker and Joe Bagley, The Houseplant Doctor, to explore how our obsession with ho...

In this episode of the English Heritage podcast, we’ll discover the remarkable women who have helped to shape some of our most beautiful gardens.    From Georgian garden retreats that provided refuge from the royal court and the backdrop for a literary coterie to the ‘weeding women’ who kept gardens looking their best, we explore their significant yet often overlooked contributions. We'll also shi...

In the late 19th and early 20th century, glamorous, exciting and often very wealthy American women mingled with the British aristocracy and set the gossip pages alight with rumours of engagements. But alongside this fascination, anti-American sentiment and xenophobia saw them dismissed them as mere ‘dollar princesses’ trading cash for coronets.   This label endured long beyond its time, until hist...

This summer, we’ve partnered with TV’s Taskmaster to set you silly challenges as you explore 17 of our sites. So, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to discuss some of the more unusual games and entertainments enjoyed in the past.   In this episode, Amy Matthews is joined by Taskmaster creator Alex Horne and English Heritage curator Peter Moore for some gaming nostalgia, stories of weird and wonderf...