The English Heritage Podcast

The English Heritage Podcast

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.

Episodes

Enslaver, politician, survivor: the complex life of Elizabeth Vassall Fox

October 16, 2025 • 40 mins
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 wo...
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A history of curry in Britain

October 9, 2025 • 36 mins
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...
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A coin, a castle and a conquest: the Normans in the north of England

October 2, 2025 • 33 mins
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 ...
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Circle of Days and the building of Stonehenge

September 25, 2025 • 50 mins
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...
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Monastic to modern: a history of universities

September 18, 2025 • 43 mins
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,...
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Feeding the masses: fuelling an agricultural revolution

September 11, 2025 • 36 mins
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 trac...
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Pumps and people power: firefighting at country houses

September 4, 2025 • 41 mins
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 h...
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The Melsonby Hoard: life in Iron Age Britain 

August 28, 2025 • 38 mins
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 Wex...
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William Marshal: the man behind the myth 

August 21, 2025 • 40 mins
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...
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A potted history of houseplants

August 14, 2025 • 34 mins
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 competiti...
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Cultivating a vision: women in garden design

August 7, 2025 • 32 mins
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 fema...
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‘Dollar princesses’ or influential heiresses? A new perspective on Sargent’s American portraits

July 31, 2025 • 35 mins
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 historians began to explore the incred...
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A short history of games with Taskmaster’s Alex Horne

July 24, 2025 • 31 mins
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 wonderful games from our sites and a sele...
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The Black British composer who broke America  

July 17, 2025 • 37 mins
One of the first black students at the Royal College of Music in 1890, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor would go on to compose some of the most-loved music of his time and ‘break’ America. Despite this global success, Coleridge-Taylor made his home in Croydon, where a blue plaque now marks his former home at Dagnall Park, Selhurst.    But who was this musical genius?   English Heritage’s Howard Spencer, broadcaster Petroc Trelawney and eq...
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‘Princely Shows’ and power: Elizabeth I at Kenilworth Castle 

July 10, 2025 • 33 mins
In the summer of 1575, Robert Dudley hosted 19 spectacular days of entertainment for Elizabeth I, including lavish new apartments for the queen, a beautifully manicured private garden, plays, hunting and pageantry.    It was all in an ostentatious bid to win Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, but as she rode off at the end of her visit, Dudley was left empty-handed.    In this episode, Amy Matthews chats with Head Curator of Propertie...
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How 1930s fashion and design shook up a former medieval palace

July 3, 2025 • 30 mins
We begin this episode with a fabulous and weighty pair of brooches. But which 1930s millionaire was sporting these tutti-frutti Cartier gems? And where might you have seen those designs before?   Steven and Virginia Courtauld were a well-balanced couple: one eccentric and daring, the other bookish and reserved. They used their millions to travel the world and host lavish parties, but their art-deco home at Eltham Palace was one of...
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Espionage, identity and cross-dressing in the Middle Ages

June 26, 2025 • 36 mins
Sometimes, historical research can offer unexpected questions and avenues of exploration. That’s what happened when English Heritage’s Will Wyeth was digging through a medieval manuscript.   References to a medieval woman spy dressed in men’s clothing were too tantalising to ignore, so he and Michael James got together to ask questions about the mysterious Margoth.    They join Amy Matthews on the English Heritage Podcast this we...
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The enduring allure of stone circles

June 19, 2025 • 31 mins
As the summer solstice approaches, thousands flock to monuments like Stonehenge seeking spiritual connection and a spectacular sunset and sunrise.   But why are people still drawn to stone circles after thousands of years?   This time on the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage’s Dr Jennifer Wexler to explore how these monuments were built and why people have continued to visit them. Artist Sally B...
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The art of heritage: Turner’s vision of England

June 12, 2025 • 32 mins
J M W Turner is considered one of England’s great artists, but why?   This time on the English Heritage podcast, we dive into some of the 35 paintings Turner made of English Heritage sites to explore how he responded to a period of enormous emotional and political upheaval.   Working against a backdrop of war, industrial expansion, tourism, abolition, patriotism and shifting national identity, Turner’s varied and innovative style...
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The illuminating story of stained glass

June 5, 2025 • 29 mins
Churches and buildings around England are home to beautiful stained glass enjoyed by communities and visitors every day. But less well known are the fascinating stories and histories behind these national treasures.  This week on the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews is joined by Michael Carter and Susan Harrison to piece together what collections both in situ and in store can tell us about Christianity, the dissolution of mo...
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