THE ENGLISH HERITAGE PODCAST
Every object has a story to tell.
But how can one mystery item lead us on a journey through history, people and places?
In the English Heritage podcast, comedian and writer Amy Matthews brings you entertaining tales from unexpected places. Each week, we begin with a mystery item and with the help of English Heritage experts and special guests, Amy explores what our past can tell us about our present and perhaps our future.
Henry VIII's Super Forts
When Henry VIII separated from the Catholic Church, he was left feeling vulnerable to invasion from France and Spain. His answer was to build England’s first national coastal defence network. Rising like medieval spaceships along the English coast, these ‘device forts’ were a series of rounded stone fortresses. But how did they operate? What made them so formidable? How did they change the nature of warfare with their cutting-edge cannon technology?
Join Amy, alongside English Heritage’s Andrew Roberts and Kathryn Bedford, as they explore the story of Henry VIII's spectacular coastal fortifications and the threats they were built to face.
You can watch all three of our special coastline episodes here.
Laurence Olivier: The making of an icon
Sir Ian McKellen recently unveiled an English Heritage Blue Plaque at 22 Lupus Street in London’s Pimlico. That was the childhood home of the man many still regard as the greatest actor of the twentieth century: Sir Laurence Olivier.
We were there to capture the moment, including a remarkable impromptu performance of Shakespeare’s Henry V’s speech before Agincourt, delivered from the steps of the house just before revealing the plaque!
Join Amy and English Heritage historian Howard Spencer as they explore what made Olivier an extraordinary talent. Alongside Sir Ian, hear from the Guardian’s Michael Billington who witnessed many of Olivier’s legendary stage performances; Society of London Theatre President Kash Bennett; and Indhu Rubasingham, Director of the National Theatre, which was founded by Olivier.
Together, they paint a vivid picture of a theatrical giant whose influence continues to shape theatre and acting today.
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Speaking with shadows
When you’re wandering about a historic place, what voices do you hear echoing off the walls? Are they the ones you learnt about at school – or do you wonder about the shadowy, quiet voices that may have gone unheard?
Travel from 17th-century Northamptonshire, where we hear about the heroic servant who may have become Britain’s first black pub landlord, to wartime Essex, where Polish special forces soldiers trained in secrecy for life or death missions to their homeland.
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