Episodes

  • From the archive: Ask the experts: everything you want to know about castles

    From the archive: Ask the experts: everything you want to know about castles
    Jan 9 2025
    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 episode for you! To learn more about our mighty collection of castles, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/castles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • From the archive: Ask the experts: Everything you want to know about the Neolithic

    From the archive: Ask the experts: Everything you want to know about the Neolithic
    Jan 2 2025
    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, Stonehenge. To learn more about the history of Stonehenge, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • From the archive: Celebrating England’s post-Christmas winter traditions

    From the archive: Celebrating England’s post-Christmas winter traditions
    Dec 26 2024
    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 Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    34 mins
  • From the archive: Exploring Victorian Christmas traditions

    From the archive: Exploring Victorian Christmas traditions
    Dec 19 2024
    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 himself celebrated the festive season with his family. To learn more about the Victorian origins of some of today’s Christmas traditions, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/christmas/victorian-christmas-traditions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • Bonus episode: Victorian Christmas Tales and Traditions at Wrest Park

    Bonus episode: Victorian Christmas Tales and Traditions at Wrest Park
    Dec 17 2024
    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, fragrant borders, idyllic woodland walks, and hidden gems to discover. Book your visit here: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/wrest For more information on the American Friends of English Heritage, visit https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/american-friends/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • From the archive: Celebrating the Roman midwinter festival of Saturnalia

    From the archive: Celebrating the Roman midwinter festival of Saturnalia
    Dec 12 2024
    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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • From the archive: Christmas entertaining at English Heritage’s houses

    From the archive: Christmas entertaining at English Heritage’s houses
    Dec 5 2024
    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 unwrap the history of Christmas party season at four of our English Heritage sites, with properties historians team leader, Dr Andrew Hann. Discover how their rich and powerful former residents celebrated, what was on the menu at festive feasts, and how the guests were entertained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • From the archive: Who were the Romans of Britannia?

    From the archive: Who were the Romans of Britannia?
    Nov 28 2024
    Over the next few weeks, 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, revisit the Romans of ‘Britannia’ with English Heritage properties historian, Andrew Roberts and curator, Cameron Moffett. Discover who the Romans living and working in Britain at that time were, where they had come from and how their way of life fitted in with existing British culture. To learn more about life in Roman Britain, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/romans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    37 mins