The Shedcasts are episodes for my Members of the History of England. The topics will vary over the weeks and months, but I promise will always be topics that fire my enthusiasm and I hope yours as well. The focus is topics in English history; topics like nationalism in medieval England, historiography of big events, biographies of exciting English folks. But there will be broader topics too – the medieval tournament, the practice of diplomacy for example. The Shedcasts are a chance to get under the skin a bit more, and travel a bit more broadly.
The Shedcasts are for Members – go to the Become a Member page if you would like to join us on the side of light, truth and justice (and for a very reasonable fee I might say).
Anglo Saxon Seasons - Members Only
From Iron-bound winter to the bounty of haerfest, the Anglo Saxons and their year
Shedcast 41f Modernity - Members Only
The demise of the post war consensus and some reflections
Shedcast 41e Consenus Politics - Members Only
Attlee's government established a new shared consensus - which was soon challenged by 'events, dear boy'
Shorts – Sandwich Spreads - Members Only
Sandwichs, Picnics and the Marks and Sparks revolution
Shedcast 41d Politics and War - Members Only
Two world wars transformed British politics
Shedcast 41c Reform - Members Only
From Peterloo to the Boer War, Great Reform Act to the birth of modern party politics
Shedcast 41b Whigs and Tories - Members Only
The Rise of party - Whigs and Tories
Shedcast 41a Representation - Members Only
While not democracy by any means, Medieval Parliament established its role as representing the whole community of the realm.
Shedcast 40b Discovering the Nation - Members Only
In the 18th century, it becomes the fashion to discover our own country. And Dr Syntax sets out
Shedcast 40a Tourism Rising - Members Only
From pilgrimage to the antiquarians
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
Sh 39a Victorian Rural Life: Region and Elite - Members Only
The first of a trilogy in four parts about Victorian Rural life, from the perspective of the Swyncombe Parish. Here we talk about Swyncombe, its region – and theRead 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
Anne and Elizabeth by Leah Garden - Members Only
A fascinating relationship – what influence did Anne Cleves have when she befriended the young Princess Elizabeth, and did her example shape England’s future? Transcript This article is by LeahRead More
14th Century Italy with Mike Corradi - Members Only
What world awaited John Hawkwood in 14th century Italy?
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Sh 33 Thomas Gresham - Members Only
Written up as a sort of national patriotic hero by the Victorians, Thomas Gresham was in fact as hard as nails, a deal maker, a money man, a controller. ButRead 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
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
Sh 32 Christine de Pisan with Caitlin Chapman - Members Only
Christine de Pizan (1364 – c. 1430) was a prolific and versatile French poet and author. Her diverse writings include numerous poems of courtly love, a biography of Charles V ofRead 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 31b LLASE Life on the Scir - Members Only
New petty kingdoms and lordships, scirs, began to form around tribal groups and identities, and then to consolidate into Anglo Saxons kingdoms we will begin to recognise. How were thoseRead 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
Sh 30 Hero of the People - Members Only
Robert Kett and the Rebels of Mousehold in Norfolk are part of a proud tradition of English protest
Sh 29 Religious Conflict and Toleration - Members Only
How religious toleration come to the West, and why
Shedcast 28 In Davie’s Shed - Members Only
An interview with Davie McGirr about Sea Shanties. Well, a chat in a shed in which shanties make a brief appearance.
Sh 27 Norfolk and Son - Members Only
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk was a central figure in Henry VIII’s reign – what made him tick? His son, Henry Howard, was one of England’s most important poets, and bit ofRead More
Sh 26 Hans Holbein - Members Only
The life and times of Hans Holbein, who brought Henry VIII's court to life for us
Sh 25b Katharine Howard Tudor Rebel - Members Only
Katharine’s is an unusual story. She raised rebellion against Henry’s agents in South Wales, forced her second husband to divorce her, may well have join the Pilgrimage of Grace, andRead More
25a Elizabeth Grey and the Fair Geraldine - Members Only
A turbulent life and a spot of poetry
Sh 24 Placenames III – Towns - Members Only
How streets get their names
Shedcast 23c Thomas Cromwell Tyranny and Religion - Members Only
Did Cromwell help his master implement a tyranny? Was he a genuine evangelical?
Shedcast 23b Thomas Cromwell Revolution in Government - Members Only
A Revolution in Government? Or an effective minister strengthening the power of his master, the king?
Shedcast 23a Thomas Cromwell Rise and Reputation - Members Only
The extraordinary early life of an extraordinary man - and his reputation across the ages.
Shedcast 22 Let There be Light - Members Only
The liberty to think rather than the duty to believe
Shedcast 21 English Placenames II - Members Only
The place names of England by theme and time
Shedcast 20 Place Names I – Going Somewhere - Members Only
First of 3 episodes about English place names. An Introduction and the origins of Street and Road
Shedcast 19 Who Killed Anne Boleyn? - Members Only
Listen to the arguments, (then listen to Claire's!), vote and be entered for the prize draw
Shedcast 18 Anne Boleyn Through the Ages - Members Only
Anne Boleyn has been represented as proto-feminist and female role model, manipulative renaissance politician, innocent victim of a brutal miscarriage of justice, and many more. This week, Anne’s reputation fromRead More
Shedcast 17 Thomas Wyatt by Steve Cloutier - Members Only
Thomas Wyatt - Courtier, Poet and friend of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell - and possibly Anne's lover?