The most popular ballad in civil war England
Theme: Economic and Social
Sh 39d Victorian Rural Life – Challenge and Change - Members Only
The good times for English farming came to an end in the later 1870s, and hit Oxfordshire particularly hard. Prices for corn and wool fell. In the wake of economic pain, came change
Sh 39c Victorian Rural Life: Variety and Conflict - Members Only
Religion was a force both for stability and change, conservatism and radicalism
Sh 39b: Victorian Rural Life: Household and Labourers - Members Only
Life in a closed parish may have had some advantages – stability, some perks in cheap and good quality houses. But life wasn’t easy for the vast majority ofRead More
Victorian Rural Life: Introduction - Members Only
A Shedcast series from August, about the rural parish of Swyncombe and what it can tell us of Rural Victorian England
Swyncombe Parish
For those of you with an interest in local and social history, I have put together a few images to support a series of Members’ Shedcasts about Victorian Rural EnglandRead More
The Elizabeth and Jacobean Great House
The development of the Elizabethan and Jacobean Prodigy houses – and the Gentry that aspire to them – on a budget
348 The Great Rebuilding
Somewhere in the 16th and 17th centuries, ordinary people started building differently – private buildings, public buildings. They used brick, glass, decoration and portraiture; and it wasn’t just the aristocracy; Yeomen, merchants, towns, husbandmen. The historian W G Hoskins gave it a name – the Great Rebuilding
The Great Rebuilding
The story of the transformation of England’s vernacular architecture in the 16th and 17th centuries
346 Theatre III: The Crystal Mirror
Playwrights and the Sirenicals of Jacobean England, the experience of going to see the plays and the Crystal Mirror of renaissance drama.
344 Theatre I: The New Playhouse
The first of three celebratory episodes about English Renaissance Theatre! Talking about dramatic tradition and the new playhouses that begin to appear in London – and the horrifiedRead More
331 Captain Pouch
Enclosure has a long history in England from the 15th – 19th century. In 1607 ordinary people resisting the destruction of their livelihoods found a leader – Captain Pouch Read More
Peasant Perceptions of Landscape with Stephen Mileson
It is difficult to hear the voice of ordinary people from long ago; but although they left little written record, yet their memory, attitudes and perceptions of the world aroundRead More
37b The English at Drink II - Members Only
The 18th century saw the start of a series of Gin crazes, and the famous English institution of the Pub appears in the 19th century. And we look atRead More
37a The English at Drink I - Members Only
‘Ale doth comfort the heavy and troubled mind’. The story of the English and their drink to the 18th century; a story of nourishment, fellowship and resistance.
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
286 Sex and the Reformation of Manners
What concerned society about sexual behaviour and why ? How did they intervene in the way people lived their lives; what did you have to do to be whipped at fourRead More
285 Reformation of Manners
How far did parish life change in the 16th century, and how far was the Reformation responsible? What did 16th century folk enjoy themselves, and how did that change over the century? Read More
284 Popular Culture in the Ritual Year
The Lord of Misrule, the Boy Bishop. dancing the Morris and May games. A little about the celebrations of the ritual year, and how things changed. Transcript Last timeRead More
283 Little Commonwealth
The patriarchy, love and marriage, gender roles and huswifery, the daily grind and a bit about food and clothing. It’s a smorgasbord. Transcript We have a few times talkedRead More
282 Parish and Protest
The parish was the essential and ever present canvas on which most lives were painted in early modern England. We discuss how it changes, it’s harmonies and the context of protestRead More
Sh 31f LLASE Going Nuclear - Members Only
As lords intensified their demands, as pressure on land increased the search was on for more productive ways to farm the land. One impact was the introduction of open field systems andRead More
281 Winners and Losers
The population growth and inflation of the 16th century had different impacts depending on your situation. And the difference was land. Plus we talk about the regions and landscapes ofRead More
Sh 31e LLASE The Manor - Members Only
From the 9th century, the need of warfare and resulting taxation drove an ever greater bureaucracy. Meantime trade and population both grew, and towns with it. All these produced profoundRead More
280 The Land was Never So Full
The start of a suite of 7 episodes about social and economic issues charts the changes in population and how the society it affected described itself. Transcript Now then, as promised,Read More
Sh 31d LLASE Warland - Members Only
Away from the Inland estates, the Anglo Saxon peasantry and thegnage often held their lands of ancient right, and the land they held defined their public obligations as well asRead More
Sh 31c Life on the Inland - Members Only
The arrival of resident landowners and the ever present danger of economic disaster would change the way many lived their lives and create the system of serfdom so centralRead More
Sh 31a LLASE – Settlers - Members Only
A new series – Life and Landscape in Anglo Saxon England. In this episode, the Anglo Saxon settlement, and early settlements in South Oxfordshire
Robert Kett’s Petition, 1549
The Petition of the Rebels from Mousehold Heath, July 1549 The year is 1549. Henry VIII is two years in his grave, and the Boy King, Edward VI has beenRead More
Shedcast 11b The Tournament: Rise and Fall - Members Only
The tournament grew in sophistication until it was focused around the individual challenge of the Joust. But the fundamentals of warfare and society changed and tournaments lost their relevance.
Shedcast 11a The Medieval Tournament: Beginnings - Members Only
The original melee was preparation for war. And like war, it was fought between two teams, was violent and resulted in death - and was banned by the church.
Medieval tournaments illustrated glossary
Here is a quick fly-by of some of the words and events that went to make up the favourite social pastime of the medieval knight and lady – the tournament. There’s alsoRead More
Medieval Prices and Wages
Medieval prices and wages are basically impossible to know. I can hear you fighting against this as a write but there are so many vagaries. Just for example – board and lodging wouldRead More
Shedcast 2 Fun with Wills and Words - Members Only
Wills are a fascinating historical record, giving some insight into the what really mattered to people of their time. Plus some delightful oddities...
196 England at the Dawn of the Tudor Age
England in 1485 was at once a deeply traditional medieval society – and yet poised at the edge of change – economic, social, religious and political Read More
182 Games and Beasts
A chance to go into some byways, away from politics and talk about how medieval folk enjoyed themselves; the games they played in medieval days, from Football to Stoolball, from chess toRead More
181 The 15th C Rural Economy
We know that the Magnates and peerage made some cutbacks and prettified fewer of their residences – but what of the Gentry, who by and large would have 1 or 2Read More
180 Lives and Loves of the Gentry
How England’s gentry lived, theoir growing importance, their hopes and fears
179 The New Farmers
A sea change in economic conditions will start a long term change in the structure of English society
178 The 15th C Economy I
Economic changes that will define the following Tudor age
153 The Medieval Working Woman
Only 4% of women remained unmarried in the middle ages, and therefore for both men and women working life was a matter of team work. In towns in particular, womenRead More
149 Sex, Childbirth and Children
Medieval understanding of physiology had an impact on attitudes to sex, just as much as did the teachings of the church. Though who knows how much it had an impactRead More
148 Women and 1066, and Marriage
As far as women were concerned, was 1066 generally a Good Thing, a Bad Thing – or just a Thing? That’s the main item of debate this week, along withRead More
147a The Pitfalls of being a Medieval Queen by Melisende
Being a medieval queen could be a hazardous business – find why, and how, by Melisende of Outremer, and visit Melisende's blog, www.womenofhistory.blogspot.com. 147a The Pitfalls of being a MedievalRead More
147 Women and Anglo Saxon England
Unaccustomed as I am to social and economic history…here is the first of a bit of a thread over the next few weeks and months about some social stuff, andRead More
131 The History of Europe Part V: Economic change and technology
Ths episode is the first of 3 to bring us up to date with the history of Europe to the time of Henry IVth. This week it's all about theRead More
127a Britain, Jamaica and the 70s by Roifield Brown
A bit of a change of pace for our guest episode this week – here’s Roifield Brown, author of the ‘How Jamaica conquered the world’ podcast, with an episode aboutRead More
117 The Medieval Year
The rhythm of the year would have been far more important to most medieval people that the goings on at Westminster and the court of the king. The stream ofRead More
113 Fashion and Clothing in the 14th Century
Fashion finally comes to town in the 14th Century. At the start of the century people are wearing what they've been wearing for centuries. By the end of it thereRead More
108 What has the Black Death ever done for you?
The theory runs that the Black Death transformed medieval society. With a dramatic shortage of labour, the English peasant was able to demand whatever wages and terms they wanted –Read More