A bloody conflict over religion and the Ancient Constitution
David Crowther
399 End Game
After Naseby things looked dire – could Charles manufacture a way to revive royalist fortunes?
Jonathan Healey and the Blazing World
Jonathan Healey and a revolutionary century
398 The Clubmen
The revolt of the Provinces
397 In Assurance of Victory
We come to 1645, and the first test of the New Model Army. To Charles and Rupert this was an opportunity to destroy it while full of raw recruits. ThroughRead More
396 The New Model
In discord was forged a sharp new sword of liberty…or of parliamentary tyranny, delete as applicable
Anglo Saxon Rendlesham
News from Excavations – and of a new Podcast series!
395 Forever Newbury
Charles faces Manchester at Newbury – and Montrose and Macolla create mayhem in Scotland
394 Lost With It All
In the summer of 1644 Parliament and Essex had a chance to finish it all.
393 We Saw No Light
1644 opened with Charles’ ‘Mongrel parliament’ at Oxford, and was the model of compliance. Not so at York where the noose of the Scots and Fairfax tightened around York. EnterRead More
392 The Neighbourhood Wars
The Civil wars brought violence into town, village and countryside
391 A National War
Between a quarter and a third of adult males up to 50 will fight in the first civil war. Most families will be affected in some way. Here is theRead More
Napoleon
Ridley Scott’s long awaited latest epic; a ‘character study’ of one of the most influential figures of European history, who reshaped a continent. It has been accompanied by furious debate,Read More
390 Leagues and Covenants
The Solemn League and Covenant will bring a Scottish army to Parliament – and an ocean of trouble
Madame Tussaud, Maria Manning, and the True Crime Controversy of 1849
Horrific murders that led to public debate about the ethics of true crime as drama
389 Newsheets and Newbury
In July 1643 all looked set fair for the royalist cause after a string of victories
Margaret Cavendish with Prof Margaret Oakes
Prof Oakes talks to me about Margaret Cavendish – poet, natural philosopher, duchess and 17th century celebrity
388 Runaway Down
July 1643 would see two critical contests at Bath and in Yorkshire. And the death of The Patriot
387 Sinews of War
Early 1643 was not a good idea for peace. By April, both the Scots and English parliament had tired of Charles’ negotiating style and started talking to each otherRead More
AAG1641-1642 The Descent to War
The deaths of Bedfod and Strafford started the countdown to a violent to the issues at stake
386 The Fighting Spreads
Despite multiplying armies, the search for peace goes on
385 The Battle for London
The King and people of London face off at Turnham Green
384 The Breaking Storm
Charles’ situation in August looked dire. But at Shrewsbury, soldiers came to his call, arms reached him from Henrietta Maria, and in October he had an army, and set ofRead More
383 Choosing Sides
How people made choices for king or parliament, and whether they cared
382 War of Words
Both sides lay out their stalls. And Henry Parker lays out some underlying foundations of English political thought
Oppenheimer
Big, ambitious and absorbing portrait of a genius who helped change the world
British Reactions to the French Revolution by Grey History
British reactions to the French Revolution through the eyes of Burke and Paine
381 Six Days
Six days in January 1642 which changed the course of English history
380 Irish Revolt
A revolt and massacres in Ireland, and the struggle over the Grand Remonstrance.
379 The King’s Party
The Royal fightback begins. A party to control parliament for the king
378 Protestations
In a time of national danger and an explosion of print and debate, the Protestation Oath of 1641 was a remarkable act of nation building
377 After Strafford
Charles looks for friends in Scotland
AAG 1638-1641 The Search for Peace
Will Charles be willing to pay the price to restore his authority?
Three Ravens and Yorkshire
Martin and Eleanor from The Three Ravens Podcast explore the history and folklore of Yorkshire.
376 Letters of Blood
The dramatic story of the trial and judgement of the Earl of Strafford
375 Divisions
Charles’ response to the Scottish Declaration was severe; but it also caused a division in the Junto, and among MPs. Meanwhile, as poublic religious debate exploded, divisions also grew betweenRead More
374 Paradise Lost
After hard negotiation, by February 1641 a workable compromise was in sight
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Angevin Empire
How the Duchess of Aquitaine’s choices created a western Empire
373 Dreaming of a Golden Age
A new settlement would be formed between King, parliament and people
372 Go On Vigorously
Strafford would have no backing down. Bring the rebels to heel!
371 Parliament Recalled
At last, the 11 year wait is over. Parliament is back.
370 Reduce to Obedience
‘I expect not anything can reduce that people to obedience but force only’ Charles wrote in 1638. The following year that would be put to the test. in the First Bishops War (Bishops not included).
369 Daur ye say Mass in my lug?
Charles was determined to bring Scottish and English churches into harmony. There’ll be trouble.
Place Names – a Shedcast
English place names are a direct window in into the lives of our ancestors – an insight into the origins or remarkable features of ancient settlements. Here’s a brief survey of how to decode some of them.
At A Gallop 1629-1638 The Personal Rule
11 years of peace, prosperity – and tyranny?
368 A Prince’s Punishments
In 1633 Thomas Wentworth arrived in Ireland – and despite great administrative efficiency, managed to separately outrage each of the components of Irish Society Meanwhile in London, William Prynne and John Lillburne stood form against tyranny.
367 New England
The colonists that traveled to New England were very different to the Chesapeake, and the society they established also very different. For the indigenous peoples, the shock would be every bit as severe.
366 The Chesapeake
Colonisation of the Chesapeake would be driven by its climate and its most successful crop – tobacco, defining the social structure of the colonists and the society they would form, and the impact they would have on the indigenous peoples.
365 The Hub of Empire
‘By what right?’ In this episode we think about how the early English colonisers viewed their Westward Enterprise, and legitimised their activities. And then turn to the region Eric Williams described as ‘The Hub of Empire’. The Caribbean.
364 Before the English Came
The 1630’s saw an acceleration of English colonisation in the Americas. What cultures and peoples will they meet when they get there? A horribly brief survey of cultures north of the Rio Grande before the English came.