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PODCAST

The English Heritage Podcast

English Heritage

Every object has a story to tell. But how can one mystery item lead us on a journey through history, people and places? In the English Heritage podcast, comedian and writer Amy Matthews brings you entertaining tales from unexpected places. Each week, we begin with a mystery item and with the help of English Heritage experts and special guests, Amy explores what our past can tell us about our present and perhaps our future. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

history

All Episodes

57:51

What was Christmas like for servants below stairs?

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/12/18

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

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49:05

The curious case of Santa’s finger and the story of...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/12/11

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

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45:46

From Bayswater to Neverland: J.M. Barrie and the boy...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/12/04

“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

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48:38

Living with the ancestors: Neolithic death and...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/11/27

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

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40:14

A delicious history of pudding

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/11/20

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

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39:59

From Brodsworth with love: the girl who knitted for...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/11/13

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

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38:24

Disability and care in medieval England

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/11/06

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

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63:20

‘Pleasing terrors’: the origins and continuing...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/10/30

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

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35:51

Privilege and play: a history of childhood adventure

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/10/23

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

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40:11

Enslaver, politician, survivor: the complex life of...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/10/16

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

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36:29

A history of curry in Britain

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/10/09

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

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33:53

A coin, a castle and a conquest: the Normans in the...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/10/02

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

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50:10

Circle of Days and the building of Stonehenge

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/09/25

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

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43:14

Monastic to modern: a history of universities

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/09/18

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

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36:57

Feeding the masses: fuelling an agricultural revolution

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/09/11

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

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41:24

Pumps and people power: firefighting at country houses

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/09/04

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 brilliant innovations that have helped staff and residents of country houses tackle the ever-present

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38:37

The Melsonby Hoard: life in Iron Age Britain

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/08/28

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 joined by English Heritage’s Dr Jen Wexler and Dr Sophia Adams of the British Museum to unpick the stories

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40:11

William Marshal: the man behind the myth

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/08/21

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 trust the reverential account of his life that was written after his death? Medieval historian

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34:00

A potted history of houseplants

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/08/14

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 houseplants developed from competitive Victorian collectors to 21st century plantaholics. Plus, Joe

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32:37

Cultivating a vision: women in garden design

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2025/08/07

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 shine a light on the independent female garden designers of the 20th century who transformed landscapes

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353 results

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