The English Heritage Podcast

From Bayswater to Neverland: J.M. Barrie and the boy who wouldn’t grow up

“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.”   Step inside the layered, lyrical, sometimes lonely world of writer J.M. Barrie. Amy Matthews meets with Blue Plaques historian Howard Spencer who explains how Peter Pan was born in this London home, before diving into the life and works of the writer with Barrie biographer Lisa Chaney.  From a weaving town in Scotland to Edwardian theatre fame, we follow Barrie’s extraordinary rise, his complicated marriage, his intense bond with the Llewellyn-Davies boys, and the deeper and perhaps darker meaning behind the ‘fairytale’ of Peter Pan.   Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.    Neverland at Kenwood 2025 invites you to experience a magical festive light trail this winter. Find information and tickets: www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/kenwood-neverland/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/kenwood-neverland/]  Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/]    Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*   Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/]    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Living with the ancestors: Neolithic death and remembrance

People in the early Neolithic period were pioneering farming in England and building our first architecture – not stone circles or elegant homes, but grand tombs that often dominated the landscape.  This time on the English Heritage podcast, Amy Matthews steps back in time with Jennifer Wexler and Win Scutt to explore how death and remembrance were tied into the cultures, daily lives and traditions of the people who built the world we live in today.   But how much can we relate to them now? Join the debate!  Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.   Join: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/]   Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*  Support our work: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/]   The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.  *Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

A delicious history of pudding

What do Charles Darwin’s wife, a Victorian cook, and a food historian with a sweet tooth have in common? Pudding — and plenty of it.   This week, Amy Matthews is joined by Dr Annie Gray and Dr Andrew Hann to dig through centuries of recipes, from Emma Darwin’s handwritten notes to the rise of the sticky toffee pudding. Along the way, they uncover the people behind Britain’s best-loved desserts — cooks, servants and home bakers who stirred up comfort, celebration and just a little competition.  It’s part history, part kitchen gossip — and proof that pudding has always been about people.    Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.   Join: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/]   Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*  Support our work: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/]   The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.  *Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

From Brodsworth with love: the girl who knitted for the front

In 1916, 11-year-old Amy Tyreman picked up her knitting needles and joined the war effort, sending handmade comforts to soldiers she’d never met.   This community effort from the children of the Brodsworth estate in Yorkshire led to an exchange of letters with brave troops. More than a century later, some of Amy’s treasured correspondence survives.  Amy Matthews is joined by English Heritage’s Dr Andrew Hann and Eleanor Matthews to trace the story through Amy’s surviving letters and discover what they reveal about life, loss and community in wartime Britain.   It’s a story of care, courage and connection — and how one small act of kindness can travel a very long way!    Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.   Join: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/]   Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*  Support our work: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/]   The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.  *Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Disability and care in medieval England

In medieval England, community and religion played an important role in how people cared for each other. Ideas about charity and care helped lay the foundations for some of our most important public services today.  This time on The English Heritage Podcast, Amy Matthews chats with Simon Jarrett, author of A History of Disability in England and Collections Curator Susan Harrison to uncover lesser-known histories of care and support that connect us to people from the past.  From monastic hospitals to healing pilgrimages and even early mobility aids, find out how people with physical or learning disabilities lived as part of their communities long before the rise of modern healthcare institutions.  Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.   Join: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/]   Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*  Support our work: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/ [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/]   The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.  *Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]