Romans by the Sea
Did you know that Roman emperors had a weakness for English oysters?
The Romans arrived around 43AD and one of their first settlements was Richborough, in Kent, where they found oysters so good they sent them back home.
In the first of our special series on the English coastline, we go back to Roman times. It wasn’t just a military invasion, it was an influx of culture and people from across three continents. It shaped our country and our shores.
Today English heritage experts Dr Andrew Roberts and Dr Kathryn Bedford reveal more about what the Romans actually did for us.
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.
Listen now