The English Heritage Podcast

What could a postal worker, a murdered emperor, and a Roman grain measure possibly have in common?  In this episode of The English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews is joined by Dr Francis McIntosh to explore a remarkably well-preserved Roman modius, or grain measure. Discovered by pure chance in 1915 near Hadrian’s Wall, this object carries an extraordinary story.   An official measuring vessel, the modius opens a window into everyday life on the empire’s northern frontier. It tells of Roman bureaucracy and standardisation – and a possible case of fraud. On top of that, a scratched-out inscription al...

From Darwin’s pigeons to peregrines on Parliament, birds have always been more than background noise. They’ve shaped science, symbolism, status and the very landscapes we live in.   In this episode, Amy chats with three passionate bird enthusiasts: English Heritage’s Dr Louise Crawley, head gardener and bird obsessive Anthony O’Rourke, and zoologist and broadcaster Megan McCubbin. Together, they explore our long, tangled relationship with birds: from Victorian taxidermy and medieval falconry to folklore, fashion and the fight for biodiversity today.  Along the way, there are moon-flying woodcocks, pigeon-breeding experiments in a country kitchen, and a...

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-researcher Hannah Pearson, Amy Matthews follows the Courtaulds’ trail through diaries, photographs and maps, uncovering a tale of privilege, passion and peril. Along the way, orchids are dealt, gifted, bombed, evacuated and lovingly preser...

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 as companions, workers, status symbols and family members.   From lapdogs and greyhounds to working dogs, canine hierarchies and pet cemeteries in the garden, we trace centuries of affection, symbolism and sentiment. We he...

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 spirited debate from visitors, and cutting-edge research too.   English Heritage’s Wendy Monkhouse, Ella Letort and Alice Tate-Harte take Amy through questions of authorship, technique, condition, and provenance. From pigment analysis and imaging technologies to the marks of time...

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 of beef, balls, baffling numbers of eggs and moments when the social order relaxed just a little!  Drawing on diaries, documents and oral histories, we meet cooks, gardeners and housek...

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 @englishpilgrim help Amy Matthews understand why people travelled for spiritual purposes in the past and how we continue to undertake life-changing journeys in the mod...

“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 fame, we follow Barrie’s extraordinary rise, his complicated marriage, his intense bond with the Llewellyn-Davies boys, and the deeper and perhaps darker meaning behind the ‘fairytale’ of Peter Pan.  ...

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 traditions of the people who built the world we live in today.   But how much can we relate to them now? Join the debate!  Don’t forget to follow t...

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 — cooks, servants and home bakers who stirred up comfort, celebration and just a little competition.  It’s part history, part kitchen gossip — and proof that pudding has...

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 Andrew Hann and Eleanor Matthews to trace the story through Amy’s surviving letters and discover what they reveal about life, loss and community in wartime Britain.   It’s a story of ca...

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-known histories of care and support that connect us to people from the past.  From monastic hospitals to healing pilgrimages and even early mobility aids, find out how people with physical or le...

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 we tackle through the telling of ghost stories.   From medieval monks and revenants to a few modern-day stories from English Heritage sites, don’t listen to this one with the l...

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 children through role-play.   From the dollhouses and playhouses of royal children and a wealthy elite to modern-day treehouses and adventure playgrounds, we’ll explore how changing views on childhood, he...

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 exercise her power at a time when women were not allowed to take public roles?   This time on the English Heritage podcast, Amy uncovers the extraordinary life of a...

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, colonialism and migration? In today’s episode, Christopher Warleigh-Lack, Mallika Basu and Samantha Bilton take Amy through the chequered history of curry.   Christopher begins our journey at...

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 people living in the north of England in the 1080s?  Will Wyeth and Susan Harrison join Amy on this episode of The English Heritage Podcast to discuss why this area was so i...

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 Salisbury Plain. To celebrate the launch of Circle of Days, Amy is joined by Ken Follett and English Heritage curator of history, Dr Jen Wexler, to explore some of the latest research and...

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 institutions, through nonconformism, to allowing women to study.   These institutions have always had huge political importance. But have they always been a place where students can enjoy both learning and freedom? Find out in t...

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 across the 20th century? From tractor testing to drilling and harvesting techniques, the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering was based at Wrest Park until 2006. When King George...