Episodes

  • The Tale of Beatrix Potter | Writer, Scientist, Sheep Farmer

    The Tale of Beatrix Potter | Writer, Scientist, Sheep Farmer
    Jun 25 2025
    Many of us grew up reading about Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggywinkle, but how much do you know about the woman behind the stories?
    In this episode we explore the lesser-known sides of Beatrix Potter. Discover how her love of natural science, fascination with fungi and knack for sheep farming formed one of Britain's most celebrated authors.

    [Ad] This podcast is sponsored by CEWE, Europe’s leading photo printing company. Every image you capture tells a story. Discover ideas for curating your special memories and creating gifts for loved ones. From the award-winning CEWE PHOTOBOOK to wall art made from your favourite photos.
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    Production
    Host: James Grasby
    Producer: Nikki Ruck
    Sound editor: Jesus Gomez and Nikki Ruck

    Discover more
    For more information about Beatrix Potter, her life, works and art go to: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/people/beatrix-potter

    Follow the National Trust Podcast on your favourite podcast app.     If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    23 mins
  • Ela, Sheriff of Wiltshire | A Medieval Marvel

    Ela, Sheriff of Wiltshire | A Medieval Marvel
    Jun 11 2025
    In 1196, 9-year-old Ela was hidden away in France after becoming the third Countess of Salisbury.
    After being discovered and brought back to England by a knight who supposedly sang underneath windows to find her, Ela went on to become one of the thirteenth century's most influential women.

    As well as being a peeress, Ela is also known for being the Sheriff of Wiltshire, breaking social norms and defying the intensely patriarchal society she was in. As the King's representative in the county, she would’ve been responsible for upholding the Crown's law and bringing its enemies to justice, supervising the royal lands in the area, and much more.

    Ela was incredibly powerful, assertive, resolute and devout – she lay the foundation stones for two religious houses, more than 16 miles apart, in a single day. The first was Hinton Priory in Bath, and the second was Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, where less than ten years later, Ela was elected its first abbess.

    National Trust Historian Helen Antrobus heads to Lacock to discover the story behind this medieval marvel.

    [Ad] This podcast is sponsored by CEWE, Europe’s leading photo printing company. Every image you capture tells a story. Discover ideas for curating your special memories and creating gifts for loved ones. From the award-winning CEWE PHOTOBOOK to wall art made from your favourite photos.
    Start creating your story at www.cewe.co.uk

    Production
    Presenter: Helen Antrobus
    Producer: Jack Glover and Lily Long
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez

    Contributor: Emma Zadeh

    Discover More

    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/lacock

    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/people/remarkable-women-in-history

    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/what-happened-in-a-medieval-abbey-church

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    14 mins
  • Graveyard of Ships | The Royal Anne Galley

    Graveyard of Ships | The Royal Anne Galley
    May 28 2025
    On 10 November 1721 the Royal Anne Galley sank after hitting treacherous rocks at Lizard Point in Cornwall, tragically claiming the lives of more than 200 people.
    The dead include Captain Francis Willis and his crew who had been on their way to Barbados to hunt down pirates.
    Join Helen and marine archaeologist David Gibbins as they uncover the tale of the 300-year-old wreck and the disaster's eerie aftermath.
    The Royal Anne Galley is one of thousands of shipwrecks around Britain's coastline. Its haunting story reveals the realities of 18th Century life and death at sea.

    [Ad] This podcast is sponsored by CEWE, Europe’s leading photo printing company. Every image you capture tells a story. Discover ideas for curating your special memories and creating gifts for loved ones. From the award-winning CEWE PHOTOBOOK to wall art made from your favourite photos.
    Start creating your story at www.cewe.co.uk

    Production
    Host: Helen Antrobus
    Producer: Michelle Douglass
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez

    Contributor
    David Gibbins

    Discover More:
    Discover David Gibbins’ A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks:
    https://davidgibbins.com/a-history-of-the-world-in-twelve-shipwrecks
    Find out more about The Lizard in Cornwall:
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/lizard-point
    Head to National Trust on Youtube for podcast videos and shorts:
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbSxeBQ-U-goXdmkiNBSrrg
    If you’d like to get in touch with feedback or a story idea you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    14 mins
  • WWII Bunkers | Inside Britain’s Secret Tunnel Network

    WWII Bunkers | Inside Britain’s Secret Tunnel Network
    May 14 2025
    Seventy‑five feet beneath The White Cliffs of Dover lies Fan Bay Deep Shelter: a web of bomb‑proof tunnels carved through chalk after Winston Churchill demanded artillery that could dominate the Channel.
    During the Second World War up to 185 coast-gunners tried to sleep here between shifts on Mk VII guns that hurled shells from Britain towards France, 21 miles away.

    A surviving narrow hospital bay, generator room and rows of bunk frames, along with pencil graffiti - service numbers, football pools coupons, rough poetry - humanise a fortress built for endurance. Every corridor still channels the distant percussion of artillery and the relentless hum of duty.

    Closed in the 1950 and later filled with rubble, the shelter slept until 2012, when National Trust archaeologists and volunteers removed 100 tons of debris by hand to reveal a time‑capsule of wartime life. Fan Bay now stands as both memorial and classroom, inviting each visitor to trace the fragile line between vulnerability and resilience etched into Britain’s shoreline.

    [Ad] This podcast is sponsored by CEWE, Europe’s leading photo printing company. Every image you capture tells a story. Discover ideas for curating your special memories and creating gifts for loved ones. From the award-winning CEWE PHOTOBOOK to wall art made from your favourite photos.
    Start creating your story at     www.cewe.co.uk

    Production
    Host: James Grasby
    Producer: Jesse Edbrooke
    Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez

    Discover More
    The Fan Bay Tunnels will open to the public for seven days from 20th – 30th June 2025 to celebrate the end of the Wanstone Rediscovered project.

    The gun emplacement and underground magazine will also be available to visit as part of the Fan Bay tour. This is the first time that these areas have ever been opened to visitors. There will also be free, pre bookable tours of the Wanstone Battery site from 11:00 each day 20th – 30th June 2025. Read more about Fan Bay Battery and how to visit: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/the-white-cliffs-of-dover/fan-bay-battery---a-brief-history

    The National Trust cares for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever. You can donate to us at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/donate

    VE Day Celebrations at the National Trust
    Look out for the celebrations of VE Day at Winston Churchill's old home. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/chartwell/ve-day-80-at-chartwell

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    24 mins
  • General Wolfe | The Battle of Culloden

    General Wolfe | The Battle of Culloden
    Apr 30 2025
    General James Wolfe, the 'boy solider' who joined the military at 14 fought in one of Britain's bloodiest battles while he was still a teenager. Historian James Grasby visits Wolfe’s childhood home to find out what would shape him into becoming a soldier at such a young age and delves into his involvement in The Battle of Culloden in Scotland in 1746.

    If you’d like to hear about The Battle of Culloden from another perspective, listen to this episode from National Trust for Scotland: Lord George Murray with Murray…–Love Scotland: Stories of Scotland's History and Nature – Apple Podcasts

    Production
    Presenter: James Grasby
    Producer: Claire Hickinbotham
    Sound Designer: Jesus Gomez

    Contributors
    Ghazala Jabeen – National Trust, Quebec House
    Freddie Matthews – Historian and Cultural Heritage Curator
    Stephen Brumwell – History writer - brumwellhistory.com

    Discover more
    You can visit General Wolfe’s childhood home, Quebec House │ Kent | National Trust, which was renamed in his honour after his victory at The Battle of Quebec. See where he grew up, Henrietta’s cookbook, and the robe with which his body is thought to have been brought back to Britain.

    You can also visit the battlefield at Culloden | National Trust for Scotland

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story idea you'd like to hear, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk

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    25 mins
  • Uncovering Culloden: the General who helped shape the Jacobite Uprising

    Uncovering Culloden: the General who helped shape the Jacobite Uprising
    Apr 30 2025
    In a two-episode partnership between the National Trust for Scotland and the National Trust, join host Jackie Bird as she uncovers the life of a leading general in the Battle of Culloden.

    Historian and National Trust for Scotland Trustee Professor Murray Pittock reveals the story of Lieutenant General George Murray, a nobleman and soldier who was involved in each of the 18th century Jacobite Uprisings. His relationship with Charles Edward Stuart and the Jacobite soldiers, not to mention his shifting allegiance, make him a compelling figure from the period.

    To enjoy more episodes of Love Scotland, please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

    For more information on Culloden, click here.

    You may also like some of our previous episodes on Culloden. Scroll through our podcast feed to find instalments on Flora MacDonald, Scotland’s most consequential battles, and how the events of Culloden influenced the world.

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    32 mins
  • H.G. Wells | The Father of Science Fiction

    H.G. Wells | The Father of Science Fiction
    Apr 16 2025
    Time travel, Martian invasions and free love all have one thing in common - H.G. Wells. Helen Antrobus explores how the world was changed through the writings of one author as H.G. Wells brought science fiction to the masses with the War of the Worlds, the Time Machine and many more iconic stories.
    Discover how a series of underground tunnels and a telescope in an attic room helped to pave the way for the sci-fi we know today.

    [Ad] This podcast is sponsored by CEWE, Europe’s leading photo printing company. Every image you capture tells a story. Discover ideas for curating your special memories and creating gifts for loved ones. From the award-winning CEWE PHOTOBOOK to wall art made from your favourite photos.
    Start creating your story at     www.cewe.co.uk

    Production
    Presenter: Helen Antrobus
    Producer: Jack Glover + Sophie Wilkinson
    Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

    Contributors
    Mark Syson-Harvey
    Sophie Wilkinson

    Discover more
    Uppark is currently closed for essential maintenance and repairs and will reopen in summer 2025.
    Keep up to date with the latest news and reopening dates by visiting https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/uppark-house-and-garden/uppark-essential-repairs-project

    Find out more about other great books and authors in our collection by visiting https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/art-collections/great-books-in-our-collections

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    23 mins
  • The Great Stink | London's Smelly History

    The Great Stink | London's Smelly History
    Apr 2 2025
    It's the height of summer in 1858 and something rotten is lurking in the river Thames. Historian James Grasby unravels the smelliest side of our recent history as we step back into Victorian London to discover the Great Stink.
    Hear how politicians scrambled to keep the stench out of parliament and find out what the smell meant for the working classes.

    [Ad] This podcast is sponsored by CEWE, Europe’s leading photo printing company. Every image you capture tells a story. Discover ideas for curating your special memories and creating gifts for loved ones. From the award-winning CEWE PHOTOBOOK to wall art made from your favourite photos.
    Start creating your story at     www.cewe.co.uk

    Production
    Presenter: James Grasby
    Producer: Jack Glover
    Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

    Contributors
    Laura French (Crossness Engines Trust)

    Discover more
    This story has been made possible with our friends from the Crossness Engines Trust, for information on visiting and for more of London's murky history please visit: http://crossness.org.uk/

    Join us and other environmental charities to help to look after our waterways by visiting https://marchforcleanwater.org/ and https://theriverstrust.org/key-issues/sewage-in-rivers

    If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at podcasts@nationaltrust.org.uk
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    14 mins