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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

50:18

The Partners: who were Seely and Paget?

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/03/26

Creators of an Art Deco masterpiece at Eltham Palace in London, Seely and Paget were one of the most remarkable architectural partnerships of the 20th century. In this episode, Amy explores the men behind the names, tracing how two well-connected young men who met at Cambridge went on to leave their mark on churches, colleges and country houses across the country and reshape Eltham Palace into one of Britain’s most striking Art Deco homes. English Heritage’s Dr Andrew Hann and Seely and Paget

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35:27

The hidden history of women in construction

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/03/19

When we picture the building of Britain’s great country houses, it’s easy to imagine architects, craftspeople and wealthy patrons...but they’re almost always men. However, after a closer look at the records, a different story becomes clear. From brickfields and workshops to family building firms and busy construction sites, women have always been present during the construction of the buildings we know and enjoy today. This time on The English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews is joined by Dr

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48:21

The secret world of portrait miniatures

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/03/12

Tiny enough to wear around your neck, yet big enough to hold secrets, memories and devotion: portrait miniatures give us an intimate insight into the private lives of the past. In this episode, Amy Matthews is joined by curators Lydia Miller and Peter Moore to explore remarkable stories from this pre-photography phenomenon and delve into English Heritage’s special collections. From beaver teeth used to prepare ivory painting surfaces to secret eye miniatures exchanged between lovers, these

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42:14

The birth of medieval manuscripts

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/03/05

What does an oyster shell have to do with medieval books? This week, Amy explores one of her favourite moments in history: when medieval scribes started to create beautifully illuminated manuscripts. She’s exploring the complex, multi-faceted and highly skilled work that helped create these works of literature and art. From a stinky parchment creation process to fine pigments and steady hands working by candlelight, making medieval books was far from a simple task, as English Heritage’s Dr Susan

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49:27

Poetry, maths and the Milky Way: the unsung genius of...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/02/26

What do deer shelters, cosmic theories and serpentine garden paths have in common? The brilliant (but often overlooked) mind of Thomas Wright of Durham. This week on The English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews explores the life and work of an Enlightenment polymath who rose from carpenter’s son to mathematician, stargazer and garden visionary. Biographer Simon Webb and historian Dr Andrew Hann explain how this brilliant and influential mind blended poetry, physics, myth and maths to shape ideas

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46:43

Rethinking an Iron Age ‘war cemetery’

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/02/19

Was Maiden Castle really the site of a brutal Roman massacre? Or have we been telling the wrong story for decades? This vast Iron Age hillfort in Dorset is home to human remains that have shaped our understanding of conquest, conflict and resistance for nearly a century. In this episode, we return to the skeletons that made the site famous: young men, women and children bearing signs of violence, to find out what they can tell us about life and death in Iron Age Britain. Amy Matthews is joined

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28:37

Love tokens from history

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/02/12

Forget roses and chocolates this Valentine’s Day. Lovers from the past set the bar high, with romantic poetry, locks of human hair, beautifully crafted silver and even a new city dedicated to a lost love. Join Amy Matthews and English Heritage historians and curators for a look at love tokens, secret messages and heartbreak memorials from our sites, to discover how people in the past flirted, mourned, adored and remembered. It turns out that whether it’s a sonnet, a statue or a sentimental

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46:37

Before 1066: how England’s elites lived, ruled, and...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/02/05

This isn’t a story of castles and conquest, but of carved pins, private churches, timber halls and even a king’s toilet. In this episode, we’re exploring early medieval England to uncover how wealth, status and authority were expressed before the Norman Conquest. Far from a sharp break in history, new archaeological research reveals deep continuities in how England’s elites lived, ruled...and showed off! Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage curator Dr Will Wyeth and medieval archaeologist

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35:35

A postie, an emperor, and a 2,000-year-old grain measure

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/01/29

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

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44:09

Falconry, fashion and threat: a history of people and...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/01/22

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

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39:57

Adventure and obsession: orchid hunting in the 1930s

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/01/15

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

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45:58

Dogs and devotion: faithful companions and their...

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/01/08

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

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35:45

Vermeer: Double Vision

The English Heritage Podcast ·

2026/01/01

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

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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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366 results

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