The English Heritage Podcast

This week, we’re looking ahead to the start of a new 4-year archaeological excavation by Newcastle University and Historic England at Birdoswald Roman Fort in Cumbria. Joining us to reveal what is happening, where they will be excavating, and how you can see it for yourself, are Tony Wilmott, senior archaeologist at Historic England, and English Heritage’s collections curator for Hadrian’s Wall and the North East region, Dr Frances McIntosh.To learn more about Birdoswald Roman Fort or to plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/birdoswald Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re joined by senior properties historian Paul Pattison and curator of collections and interiors Dickon Whitewood to get to know some of the real-life knights connected to English Heritage castles.Discover the stories of Hubert de Burgh at Dover Castle in Kent and Hadleigh Castle in Essex, John Lovell at Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire and Thomas Hungerford at Farleigh Hungerford Castle in Somerset.To find out more about the history of knights, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/brief-history-of-knights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re focusing on a new exhibition of portraits, which have been commissioned to celebrate the lives of six people of the African diaspora, whose stories have contributed to England's rich history. One of the figures featured in these new portraits is Omoba Aina, later renamed Sarah Forbes Bonetta. The daughter of a West African ruler, Sarah was captured and enslaved by King Gezo of Dahomey (present-day Benin) at the age of five. In 1850 she was presented as a ‘diplomatic gift’ to Captain Frederick Forbes of the H.M.S. Bonetta and brought to England, where Forbes introduced her to Queen Victoria. The queen was so taken with the young child that she paid for her education and became her guardian.Joining us to discuss her life and the artwork her story has inspired are English Heritage’s properties historians’ team leader, Dr Andrew Hann and artist Hannah Uzor.To discover more about the new portrait exhibition, Painting our Past: The African Diaspora in England, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/painting-our-past Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re joined by English Heritage properties senior national project manager, Reuben Briggs, and head of collections conservation, Amber Xavier-Rowe, to reveal what’s happening at two of English Heritage’s major conservation projects at Marble Hill House in Twickenham, London, and Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland.Plus, we reveal the plans for English Heritage’s new conservation camper, which will be touring a number of English Heritage’s conservation projects (including these two) over the months ahead, to provide a pop-up workshop space where visitors can learn about the conservation work taking place.To discover more about English Heritage’s conservation in action, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/conservation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is National Croquet Week, and to celebrate, we’re taking a look back at the lawn games and sports that have been played at our historic sites. From croquet and bowling lawns, to cricket pitches, tennis courts, and even golf courses, our sites have hosted a surprising variety of sports, with many continuing to be played today.Joining us to reveal more are English Heritage landscape advisor, Emily Parker, and sport historian Simon Inglis.To read more about the history of lawn games at our sites, go to https://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/sports-at-our-historic-places/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re heading back to the late 18th and early 19th century, when Europe was ravaged by the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic War, named after French military general and self-appointed emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte.On the bicentenary of his death, we’re joined by senior properties historian, Paul Pattison, and keeper of the Wellington Collection at Apsley House, Josephine Oxley, to discuss Napoleon’s life, legacy and defeat – and the heritage sites built here in England to defend against his threats of invasion.To learn more about the Wellington Collection at Apsley House, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/apsley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re joined by English Heritage Properties Curator Roy Porter and Senior Properties Historian Paul Pattison to trace the series of events, imprisonments and escapes that led up to the execution of King Charles I. The Stuart king remains the only British monarch to have been tried and executed for treason, marking one of the most gruesome chapters in the English Civil War – and we are picking up the story in 1646, when the Scots handed Charles over to the English Parliament.To discover more about Charles I’s imprisonment at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/carisbrooke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we approach St George’s Day on 23 April, we’re investigating the origins of dragon myths. George, of course, is England’s patron saint and as the legend goes, he slew a deadly fire-breathing dragon. While these legendary beasts might not be real, there's nothing mythical about their place in cultures throughout history, and around the world.Joining us to delve into the origins of the dragon myth is Professor Carolyne Larrington, who is a professor of medieval European literature at the University of Oxford.To read more of Carolyne’s thoughts on dragon myths, go to https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/articles/dragons-and-their-origins/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re marking a slightly unusual milestone in the long history of Stonehenge, because this year marks a hundred years since the closure of the Stonehenge aerodrome. Of course, there’s no obvious trace of this when you visit the famous stones today. But in the early 20th century, just a few hundred yards from the monument’s southern edge was a large First World War aviation training complex.We’re joined by Senior Property Curator of Stonehenge, Heather Sebire, and Martyn Barber from Historic England’s Aerial Investigation and Mapping Department to discover why it was here, how it was used and if there is any truth to the story that the stones were used for target practice!To learn more about the Stonehenge aerodrome, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/first-world-war-aerodrome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirby Hall is one of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th-century houses, once owned by Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I. However, the Hall’s fortunes declined in line with those of its owners.We’re joined by senior properties historian Megan Leyland, interpretation manager Nadine Langford and curator of collections and interiors Dickon Whitewood to discover the story of the Hall, its former owners, servants and guests – and the new project to bring these to life for visitors.To discover more about Kirby Hall or plan a visit, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/kirby-hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices