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.
Northumberland and the Border Reivers
From the 14th to the 17th century, survival in the turbulent borderlands between England and Scotland depended on family, loyalty and the strength to defend what was yours.
In this episode of the English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews explores the violent world of the Border Reivers, the families who controlled this contested landscape for centuries, through fortified farmhouses and ruined peel towers.
Historian and writer Alistair Moffat and English Heritage curator Andrew Roberts uncover how raiding, blackmail and shifting allegiances shaped everyday life along the Anglo-Scottish frontier, leaving traces that are felt through the landscape and culture of the Borders 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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