The golden age of the country house

In the early 13th century, England was a kingdom under pressure, as the challenges posed by King John’s reign had left the realm restless. By 1215, tensions had reached boiling point. What began as isolated grumblings among nobles soon evolved into an organised challenge to royal ...  عرض المزيد

In 1895, when the National Trust was founded, homosexual acts of ‘gross indecency’ were still illegal in Britain. And yet, as Michael Hall reveals in his new book, A Queer Inheritance: Alternative Histories in the National Trust, the organisation had queer connections from its ve ...  عرض المزيد

All this month, Matt and Eleanor are ranging across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to discover the stories of our greatest castles.

In this episode, Eleanor looks at one of the most iconic and strategically important fortresses. Over the centuries, Stirling C ...

This week Neil MacGregor's history of the world is looking at how the global economy became cemented in the 19th century, a time of mass production and mass consumption. He tells the story of how tea became the defining national drink in Britain - why have we become so closely as ...  عرض المزيد

Castles. For centuries they have held fast across the landscape of the British Isles. Like beacons on a hill they project power in stone and wood. But where did these quintessentially medieval strongholds come from? And how were they put to use?

All this month on ...

Suzanne L. Marchand's new book Porcelain: A History from the Heart of Europe (Princeton University Press, 2020) balances several histories at once through the story of a single commodity. Rather than a history of art or aesthetics per se—though it certainly touches style and arti ...  عرض المزيد