Monty Python produced two deeply researched dramas analysing the reign of the great British Hero King Arthur, and the religious leader, Brian. How accurate are they, and are we still aRead More
Sh 36d BCL Enlightenment and Radicalism - Members Only
The 18th century saw a sea change in the attitudes towards constitutional reform. Enlightenment ideas drove a desire to define and systematise; and meanwhile the growth of a desireRead More
318a The Pre-History of the BBC by Paul Kerensa
Paul Kerensa of the British Broadcasting Century podcast gives an engaging and brisk march through the early years of British Broadcasting The British Broadcasting Century Podcast can be foundRead More
MB Omnibus 6 EPs 16-18 - Members Only
After Bosworth, to the victors, the spoils. Yet while with hindsight we might feel Margaret and her lad had reached a safe harbour – that’s not the wayRead More
Margaret 18 Securing the Dynasty - Members Only
The first 15 years of Henry VII’s reign felt as though they were on a knife edge – a stream of rebellions and external threats, a lack of legitimacy.Read More
318 The Nine Years’ War
In Ulster near the end of the 16th century, it appeared that Elizabeth could reply at least on one of her favoured Irish subjects – Hugh O’Neill, Baron of DungannonRead More
HiT Land and Freedom
The 1995 film about the Spanish Civil war, directed by Ken Loach and heavily influenced by Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. The film sees the war through the eyes of anRead More
Margaret 17 Mother in Law - Members Only
After the marriage of Elizabeth of York and Henry VII, what sort of role was left for Margaret and how did she fulfill the role of the King’s Mother?Read More
Margaret 16 Enflushment - Members Only
1485 marked a watershed in Margaret’s life; though at the time, no one would have been expecting a bowl of cherries
317 Well Worth a Mass
Henry IV of France, regarded as one of France’s greatest leaders, looks for way to bring peace and unity to his divided country, while England and Spain trade blows. AndRead More
316 The Valois Extinguished
The defeat of the Armada feels in retrospect like a watershed in Elizabeth’s reign; many of her closest advisers and companions died, and for the remainder of her reignRead More
HiT 49th Parallel
A 1941 Powell and Pressburger film designed to persuade the American people of the need to join the war against the Nazis. “Goebbels considered himself an expert on propaganda, butRead More
315b The Tilbury Speech in Film with Sean Lang
Elizabeth has been a favourite subject for film makers; but the way her famous Tilbury Speech has been represented has been affected by the period in which the filmRead More
HiT Peterloo
The massacre at St Peters Field in 1819 was a key date in the story of the development of democracy in Britain. Mike Leigh’s film sets out to restore that sense ofRead More
Sh 36c BCL Revolutions - Members Only
It all comes back to the 17th century really. At the start, a king who believes in the absolute divine right of kings, who calls parliament as he requires. AtRead More
315a The Trafalgar Way by Adam Preston
After the battle of Trafalgar, the news needed to be brought to London as fast as possible. This is the story of the messenger’s journey Trafalgar Squared If you likedRead More
HiT The Wind Rises
The stunning 2013 Japanese animated historical drama by the master, Hayao Miyazaki. The Wind Rises is a biographical film of Jiro Horikoshi (1903–1982), designer of the Mitsubishi A5M fighter aircraft andRead More
315 God Breathed
As the Armada sailed serenely up the Channel, the English tried desperately to make some impression before it reached Flanders. But Medina Sidonia had worries of his own… Transcript Ok, soRead More
English Mighty Medieval Monarch Poll and Prize
Update – the result is in!!! It’s the right answer too. In reverse order: 8. Cnut the um, not so great afterall – 2% 7. Empress Matilda – 4% 6.Read More
Sh 36b King in Parliament - Members Only
The 14th to 16th centuries saw the increasingly professionalism of Common law, and the embedding of parliament at the centre of government. Jurists claimed that the people were sovereign, thoughRead More
314 Drake goes Bowling
The Great Armada was do to sail in 1587; but Elizabeth had other ideas. By in May 1588 the Duke of Medina Sidonia led his fleet of 130 shipsRead More
HiT Belle
The 2013 film directed by Amma Asante tells the story of the daughter of an enslaved African woman and Captain Lindsey, against the background of the Zhong slave shipRead More
313 England is Ours
From a desk in a small suite of rooms in El Escorial Philip II ran a vast colonial empire. With France torn by civil war, war against the DutchRead More
312 My Heart is my Own
By the mid 1580’s Mary was at her wits’ end – feeling betrayed by her son, 18 years of incarceration, beset by a unsympathetic jailer. She would listen toRead More
Sh 36a British Constitution and Law The Early Middle Ages - Members Only
We discuss what a Constitution is; and then go in search of one and the development of justice in English Medieval history, from the Anglo Saxons to Edward IIRead More
HiT The Private Life of Henry VIII
The 1933 classic from Alexander Korda which certainly convinced my mother that Henry VIII threw chicken bones around. It was a major international success, in particular for Charles Laughton,
MB Omnibus 5 EPs 13-15 - Members Only
Throughout the reign of Richard III, Margaret sought for ways to unseat the usurper who had acquired the throne of her ancestors and the King in Edward IV withRead More
Margaret 15 Gamble - Members Only
The big one – Henry Tudor risks all at Bosworth Field, while Margaret is forced to watch from the sidelines
Margaret 14 Rebel - Members Only
In 1483, someone turned Buckingham’s pretty head, and got him thinking about an even brighter future. Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth Woodville saw that brighter future too.
310a Christopher Marlowe by Philip Rowe
Playwright and Wunderkind Christopher Marlowe and his short life, ended as mysteriously as it was lived. Philip Rowe of the History of European Theatre podcasts is here to tellRead More
HiT Good Vibrations
2013 film about the ‘Godfather of Punk’ Terri Hooley set against the Troubles of the 1970 in Northern Ireland. And described by Mark Kermode as the best film ofRead More
311 Fears of State
In a time of existential and moral threat, the English state developed a network of informants and spies at home and abroad. While Catholics tried to steer a path throughRead More
Margaret 13 Murderer - Members Only
In 1483 Margaret had to decide whether to play with Richard, or try to destroy him. Especially after the Princes were locked in the Tower…what was she to do aboutRead More
Transcript for Margaret 13
Now in 1483, it is difficult to be sure about Margaret’s attitude to Richard, but as I have said despite early negotiations with Richard, and his desire to keep StanleyRead More
Sh 35 Katherine Swynford with Caitlin Chapman - Members Only
Katherine Swynford’s life was full of drama. From a relatively lowly background, she became mistress to John of Gaunt, son of Edward III. Through her, descended the Tudor dynasty.Read More
310 The English College
By the 1580s, the confessional lines between Protestant and Catholic were increasingly strongly drawn; repressive legislation increased, and the English College was established to renew the stock of priestsRead More
HiT Last of the Mohicans
The 1992 film staring Daniel Day Lewis in the adaptation of James Cooper’s novel, set in early colonial America
309 Godly, Godlier and Godliest
Elizabeth set her face against further reform, against pressures from within the church and without; in her view, hers was a Godly church. How far did her church resistRead More
Margaret 12 Usurpation - Members Only
The death of Edward IV came as a bit of a shock to England – and to Margaret and her attempts to rehabilitate Henry. But surely, with 2 sons andRead More
Margaret Omnibus 4 EPs 10-12 - Members Only
Through the most turbulent times in English politics, Margaret’s hopes fell, rose and fell again until in 1483 her son’s fortunes seemed dangerously threatened by one of the mostRead More
Margaret 11 Stanley - Members Only
While Jasper and Henry fled to Brittany, Margaret needed to find herself a husband of suitable status, but also well connected enough to help her protect her son andRead More
HiT The Dig
A very English drama about the dig on the eve of WWII which reveal one of the most dramatic discoveries in English archaeology – the 7th Century burial ship ofRead More
308 Fool’s Gold
A host of Elizabeth explorers explored the world in the late Elizabethan reign. Did they achieve anything, or were there efforts a false start?
308a Roanoke by Joel Kindrick
In 1585, a colony was established at Roanoke, sponsored by Walter Raleigh. Find out what happens from historian and Birkenstock wearer Joel Kindrick.
Margaret 10 Thirsty for Human Blood - Members Only
In 1471 Edward of York’s struggle for the throne of England would come to a conclusion, win or lose. His opponents were powerful – the Kingmaker, Margaret of Anjou, JasperRead More
307b What makes Nelson Special by Adam Preston
Nelson was an extraordinary mix – described by N A M Rodgers as ‘Vulnerable and weak as a man, Nelson was also a leader of unequalled ardour, courage, generosity and professionalRead More
307a Renaissance Warfare by Ben Jacobs
Ben Jacobs talks about how the demands and costs of Renaissance warfare changed the nature of Europe for ever Wittenberg to Westphalia Podcast Ben Jacobs is the hostRead More
Sh 34 John Clare – the Peasant Poet - Members Only
John Clare was for a while a sensation – a poet who gives us access to nature, and also the lives of England’s villagers and society in a time ofRead More
307 All Around the World
For a couple of years in the mid 1570s Elizabeth nixed proposed exploration projects for fear of Spain. At the same time she was discussing a secret voyage with a selectRead More
306 A Devil and No Man
Together the Elizabethan explorers, and authors like John Dee and Richard Hakluyt built excitement about the possibilities of global exploration. Francis Drake gave it expression. The Spanish MainRead More