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.
Harmondsworth: One of England’s Medieval Great Barns
Step through the doors of Britain’s surviving medieval barns and you enter a space that once fed whole communities.
This week, Amy Matthews meets Dr Lydia Miller and Dr Nick Holder to explore the surprising power of England’s great barns.
This year marks 600 years since the construction of Harmondsworth Barn, an agricultural workhorse that sat at the heart of medieval life. Far from the quiet buildings we know today they were once places of noise, hard work and very high stakes.
Hear about the legacy of the people that once used this place: from mysterious carved horses and protective symbols to the astonishing carpentry that raised these timber giants. With Heathrow now humming nearby and modern debate gathering pace, these humble barns have stories to tell us about community, survival and heritage in the modern day too.
Listen to the English Heritage PodcastTime and tides – conserving our coastal history
With their monasteries and castles, historic ports and seaside towns, our coastlines can feel timeless. But the truth is these landscapes, and the communities within them, change all the time.
Join Amy and English Heritage’s Senior Properties Curator, Roy Porter, and Assistant Curator of Collections for the South East, Grace Parsonage. Together, they explore how coastal sites have evolved over time, the unique challenges of caring for historic buildings on the shoreline, and what it takes to protect these treasured places for future generations.
Listen to the English Heritage PodcastAll Episodes
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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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