The Tudor History & Travel Show

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast from Hellens Manor. Nestled in the village of Much Marcle, Herefordshire, Hellens is one of England’s oldest historic homes, with roots stretching back to 1057. With its rich history, fascinating artefacts and centuries of intriguing stories, Hellens is a true hidden gem. In this episode, I take...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast from Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire. Visited by Henry VII and Henry VIII and Catherine Howard in 1541, Rockingham Castle was once held by the crown. Originally built by William the Conqueror in the late eleventh century as a motte-and-bailey castle, it was later who transformed into a gra...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast from Leicestershire in the Midlands to visit two sites: Groby Old Hall and Bradgate Park. Bradgate Park was part of the Manor of Groby and came under the ownership of the Ferrers family in the thirteenth century. It later passed to the Grey family, and Bradgate Park was the childhood home of Lad...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast from the Beauchamp Chapel, part of St. Mary’s Church in Warwick. This exquisite chapel, built in the fifteenth century, was commissioned by Richard Beauchamp, the 13th Earl of Warwick. It contains the effigial monuments of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick; Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of W...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast Hedingham Castle, a remarkably well-preserved example of Norman architecture. Its imposing stone keep dates back to the early twelfth century and was built by Aubrey de Vere, a prominent Norman baron and the first Earl of Oxford. The de Vere family, one of the most powerful noble houses in medie...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast at Pitchford Hall.  One of England’s finest examples of a half-timbered Elizabethan house, it is a real survivor, having passed through periods of prosperity and decline. Its current owners have been working tirelessly to restore the property to its former glory. Now a private residence, Pitchfo...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast at Layer Marney Tower in Essex, England. The eight-storey gatehouse is a towering structure and the tallest of its kind in Britain, standing at over 80 feet (24 meters). It is made of the classic red brick of the Tudor period, combined with intricate terracotta decorations, grand doorways, and l...

To commemorate The Battle of Bosworth, fought on 22 August 1485, I recorded a three-part podcast series 'on-location' in Leicester and at the battlefield site.

In Episode 1, we visit Leicester and visualise the medieval city as we go on a 'walk-and-talk tour of some of the most important sites connected to Richard's time in Leic...

To commemorate The Battle of Bosworth, fought on 22 August 1485, I recorded a three-part podcast series 'on-location' in Leicester and at the battlefield site.

In Episode 1, we visit Leicester and visualise the medieval city as we go on a 'walk-and-talk tour of some of the most important sites connected to Richard's time in Leic...

To commemorate The Battle of Bosworth, fought on 22 August 1485, I recorded a three-part podcast series 'on-location' in Leicester and at the battlefield site.

In this episode (Episode 1), we visit Leicester and visualise the medieval city as we go on a 'walk-and-talk tour of some of the most important sites connected to Richar...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast at The National Portrait Gallery to visit Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, the first major exhibition of historical portraiture to take place since the reopening of The National Portrait Gallery. Focusing on the women who married the infamous Tudor king, the exhibition reunites ite...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast in the county of Gloucestershire at the beautiful Berkeley Castle. One of very few inhabited and fully intact castles in the country, Berkeley Castle remains largely untouched since it was built in stone during the eleventh, twelfth, and fourteenth centuries. It is considered one of the ‘supreme...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast to West Horsley Place in Surrey, southeast England. West Horsley's history dates back to the eleventh century, with a manor house built not long after the Norman Conquest. The present house was originally timber-framed and constructed in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Later, ...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast to the Lord Leycester in Warwick. One of the most important examples of intact medieval architecture in Britain, this incredible building has a history that spans nine hundred years. Originally founded as a guild for the care of the deserving poor of Tudor England, Robert Dudley, Queen Elizabeth...

NOTE: This is a copy of an earlier podcast recording, which has been re-added due to the audio file being corrupted. 

Part Two: STIRLING CASTLE This month sees the launch of a special celebration of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, here, on The Tudor Travel Show. Throughout September, I will be p...

Here is a show notes page accompanying this on-location podcast to St David's Cathedral. Home to St David's historic cathedral, the final resting place of its eponymous saint, the patron saint of Wales, it has been a place of pilgrimage and worship for over a millennium. A more picturesque spot for such a venerable building is hard to imagine, nestled as it ...