The English Heritage Podcast

This week, we’re joined by Senior Properties Historian Steven Brindle to discuss the life and legacy of Britain’s most famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren, as we approach the 300th anniversary of his death.We discuss how he discovered his talent for design, his commission to create St Paul’s Cathedral and a possible link to Stonehenge in Wiltshire.To discover the story of Christopher Wren’s blue plaque at his former London home, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/christopher-wren Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re talking about one of the oldest and most important Neolithic sites in Britain, which has recently come into English Heritage’s care. Thornborough Henges comprises three circular earthworks that dot the landscape about seven miles north of the cathedral city of Ripon in North Yorkshire.We’re joined by former Senior Properties Historian Dr Susan Greaney and Senior Interpretation Manager Joe Savage to reveal the history of these henges, their significance and how their story will be told to future visitors.To learn more about English Heritage’s prehistoric sites or plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/prehistoric-monuments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of 16 forts along Hadrian’s Wall, Carrawburgh Roman Fort is also home to the Temple of Mithras, which was built to worship a Persian god. But who was Mithras, what was Mithraism and why was the temple built here, in northern England?Joining us to reveal all are Senior Properties Historian Paul Pattison and Curator of Hadrian’s Wall and the North East Dr Frances McIntosh.To learn more about Roman life along Hadrian’s Wall or plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/hadrianswall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re joined by two ancient pottery technology specialists – father and daughter team Graham Taylor and Sarah Lord – and Stonehenge Interpretation Manager Melanie Coussens to explore potted history at our most famous Neolithic site.Discover the role of eating and drinking vessels in prehistoric daily life, where they’ve been found in the landscape, what they were made of and how replicas of them made today are helping visitors get closer to the ancient past.To learn more about prehistoric life at Stonehenge or plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re making our own little piece of history as we reach episode 200 of the English Heritage Podcast.To celebrate, we’re joined by English Heritage’s Chief Executive Kate Mavor and Head of Learning and Interpretation Dr Dominique Bouchard to discuss six amazing but little-known sites to visit in 2023, which have all benefitted from a major project to re-tell their stories in new and exciting ways.To plan a visit to any of our sites, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re joined by Senior Properties Historian Steven Brindle and historian Karen Hearn to discuss the story of Lady Anne Clifford (1590–1676).As High Sheriff of Westmorland and the last member of one of England’s great medieval dynasties, she became something of a legend in her own lifetime and has remained a celebrated figure in the history of northern England ever since. We’ll reveal how, after fighting a 40-year battle for her right to inherit her father’s estates, she devoted herself to restoring and enhancing the castles and churches on her lands.To read more about Lady Anne Clifford’s life, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/women-in-history/anne-clifford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re returning to Osborne, Queen Victoria’s home on the Isle of Wight. With its sandy beach and beautiful gardens, it’s often been depicted as something of a holiday home for Victoria and her family. But, as we’ll discover, this impressive island retreat was also a real political powerhouse.Joining us to explain more are English Heritage’s Properties Historians’ Team Leader Dr Andrew Hann and Dr Lee Butcher, who researched Osborne’s place as a global diplomatic hub as part of his PhD studies.To discover more about Osborne or plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/osborne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re joined in the studio by Senior Properties Historian Dr Amy Boyington and Properties Curator Roy Porter to answer all your questions about the Tudors.Discover what Henry VIII’s relationship was like with his father, if Jane Seymour was the favourite of his six wives and whether he bonded with his own children. Plus, we’ll reveal what treats you might have found at a Tudor feast, what sports the Tudors liked to play and which Tudor monarch might be considered the greatest of them all.To learn more about life in Tudor England, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/tudors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of an English biologist, naturalist and explorer who helped develop the theory of evolution in the middle of the 19th century. No, we’re not talking about Charles Darwin, but rather his contemporary Alfred Russel Wallace.Joining us to talk about Wallace’s life, his blue plaque and the role he played in the development of evolutionary theory, is Senior Historian for the blue plaques scheme, Howard Spencer, and Head Gardener at Home of Charles Darwin – Down House, Antony O’Rourke.To learn more about our blue plaques scheme, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/blue-plaques To plan a visit to Down House, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/downhouse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re joined by English Heritage’s Senior Gardens Advisor Dr Michael Klemperer and historian and author Emma Kay to embark on a culinary odyssey from prehistory to Victorian times and reveal what our ancestors ate during the cold months of winter.Discover how Neolithic hunter gatherers sustained themselves, what the Romans did for our diet and the tasty treats you might have found on the table of a Tudor king.To see a timeline of food in Britain, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/history/food-and-feasting-at-stonehenge/food-timeline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices