The English Heritage Podcast

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 Megan Leyland and Professor Linda Clarke to uncover the hidden history of women in building, from the well-known business mind of Eleanor Coade to brick moulders, glaziers and more. They’ll discuss why it’s been so easy to miss these skilled workers and labourers in previous research and why that’s set to change as we look to a more equitable future for workers in the building industry. 

Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.    

Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠    

Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   

Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠    

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.   

*Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 intricate artworks reveal a hidden world of affection, remembrance and personal identity. They could be worn as jewellery, tucked into cabinets or carried close to the heart, and today they give us a glimpse into personal stories we don’t see in grand public portraits. 

Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.    

Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠    

Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   

Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠    

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.   

*Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Harrison and Dr David Rundle from the University of Kent explain.  

Find out about artistry, quiet devotion, cheeky doodling in the margins and how these objects moved from monastic workshops into wider medieval life. 

Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.    

Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠    

Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   

Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠    

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.   

*Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 about garden designs, buildings and even the structure of the Milky Way. 

Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.    

Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠    

Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   

Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠    

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.   

*Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 by experts to unpack the latest research and investigate how new interpretations raise questions about the narratives and stories we take for granted. 

Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.    

Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠    

Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   

Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠    

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.   

*Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices