The 1964 Epic Zulu, first major role for Michael Caine was super popular – I saw it in my youth for sure. So how well has it worn? Is itRead More
Margaret 20 A Pious Legacy - Members Only
Margaret’s personal life and charitable activities were dominated by three priorities – piety, social and moral responsibility, and family, in common with many powerful women of the time. OneRead More
321a The Bagpipes of Freedom by Mike Corradi
A tale of an unlikely British hero in 1945 from Mike Corradi of A History of Italy podcast Check out Mike’s History of Italy podcast, A weekly podcast in 15/20 minute episodes onRead More
Transcript for Margaret 21
Ok, last time we spoke of the political life of Margaret, I believe we celebrated the Betrothal by proxy of Prince Arthur to Katherine of Aragon, a particularly significant marriage;Read More
Transcript for Margaret 20
One of the things I suspect people associate with Margaret is a very deep and possibly rather austere piety. There are a couple of things which create this impression bothRead More
Margaret 19 Magnate - Members Only
From 1499, Margaret moved her main place of residence to Collyweston in Northamptonshire. Once there, she operated as the king’s agent as a regional magnate, with powers that onRead More
321 Fin de Siecle
The final years of Elizabeth’s reign inevitably have the sense of the end of an era; she retreated to her chambers, court was no longer the attraction it hadRead More
Transcript for Margaret 19
So, last time we gaily announced to safe arrival in port the Tudor ship of dynasty; I feel it incumbent on me to remind you once more that no oneRead More
HiT Kingdom of Heaven
Ridley Scott’s 2005 historical epic came soon after the massive success of Gladiator, and consciously aimed to repeat it’s success. It didn’t manage it, but the Director’s Cut was better received,Read More
320 Justice and the State
Crime in England saw a sharp growth between the 1580s and 1640s; and the hand of justice lay heavy. But at the same time was forged a system of localRead More
Sh 36e BCL Modernity and Beyond - Members Only
The 19th and 20th centuries saw the gradual arrival of universal suffrage and the bogey man – democracy. We look at theories of the British constitution and the once livelyRead More
Transcript for Sh 36e
Well, you and I have arrived at the very last episode of the Constitution and law series; it’s been something of a marathon, has it not, I hope you areRead More
319 Dearth and Discord
The last 15-20 years of Elizabeth’s reign have been described as the Golden Age. It’s a description that might have seemed incomprehensible to many of the people that lived throughRead More
HiT Monty Python
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
Transcript for Sh 36d
Ok, now we have arrived at the moment when the Enlightenment lights the blue touch paper of Constitutionalism, and the arrival of some of the most famous of constitutions inRead 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
Transcript for Margaret 18
Right, over the last couple of episodes we have slipped away from the chronology, so let us for a short while return to it. What have we talked about enRead 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
Transcript for Margaret 17
On 18th January 1486, the equation of dynasty was completed – Lancaster + York = Tudor. Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor were joined in holy matrimony, and therefore broughtRead More
Transcript for Margaret 16
Right, so it feels that we have reached a sort of watershed in the life of the our hero here. Just as my life can be divided into two distinctRead More
Shedcasters 50 Mile Walk for Charity
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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
Transcript for 36c
Now before I start, I’ve been asked by Christine to make the point that when the Tudors introduced the rule of using only English in courts, it came at aRead 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
Transcript for Sh 36b
Okally dokally then everyone. Last time, we reached Berkeley Castle in the depths of the night, echoing with the screams of Edward II. English history is such a catalogue ofRead 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
Transcript for Sh 36a
Okally dokally then everyone. This shedcast owes its existence to a listener called Andrew, and appropriately through the operation of direct democracy, not a concept in which I have muchRead 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
Transcript for Margaret 15
1483 wasn’t exactly a great year for Henry Tudor, any more than it was for his mother. He traipsed mournfully across Normandy and into Brittany to the fair town ofRead More