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The Alnwick Castle Podcast

Alnwick Castle

86 episodes

5 days ago

Alnwick Castle would not look the way it does today without the work of Anthony Salvin, the principal architect for the restoration of the castle in the Victorian period. Salvin, one of the top architects of his day (especially when it came to castles), created a new entrance to the castle keep, added towers, and designed the Great Kitchen for the 4th Duke of Northumberland. To find out more about Salvin, his life and his work - especially at Alnwick - we spoke to architectural historian and ...

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Alnwick Castle would not look the way it does today without the work of Anthony Salvin, the principal architect for the restoration of the castle in the Victorian period. Salvin, one of the top architects of his day (especially when it came to castles), created a new entrance to the castle keep, added towers, and designed the Great Kitchen for the 4th Duke of Northumberland. To find out more about Salvin, his life and his work - especially at Alnwick - we spoke to architectural historian and ...

Show more...

Episodes (20/86)

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

85 - Anthony Salvin - with John Goodall

Alnwick Castle would not look the way it does today without the work of Anthony Salvin, the principal architect for the restoration of the castle in the Victorian period. Salvin, one of the top architects of his day (especially when it came to castles), created a new entrance to the castle keep, added towers, and designed the Great Kitchen for the 4th Duke of Northumberland. To find out more about Salvin, his life and his work - especially at Alnwick - we spoke to architectural historian and ...

5 days ago

36 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

84 - Tastes through time - with Tastes Through Time!

If you visited Alnwick Castle this season (or last), you may have met Tastes Through Time, a living history duo who demonstrate and explore the changes in British domestic and social history - from Tudor crafts and skills to female roles in the Second World War. As their name suggests, they also look at how food and recipes have developed over the centuries. This August, we spoke to Tastes Through Time - aka Lindsey and Georgina - while they were here with us at Alnwick Castle. They told us a...

1 month ago

25 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

83 - The Stolen Crown - with Tracy Borman

On 23rd September, we are delighted to welcome historian and broadcaster Tracy Borman back to Alnwick Castle to speak about her latest book The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty. And to give you a taste of what to expect if you buy a ticket to the event, we spoke with Tracy here on the podcast to find out all about the book. Inspired by new discoveries made at the British Library, Tracy tells us about the succession crisis in the reign of Elizabeth I, and how ...

2 months ago

42 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

82 - The 4th Duke and the Victorian rogue - with Peter Lindfield and Frances McIntosh

At Alnwick Castle, the 4th Duke of Northumberland is probably best known for his restoration of the castle in the 1850s and 1860s, transforming the State Rooms and creating the Great Kitchen. But before all that work began, he had encountered a man named George Shaw, who was able to convince him to buy a number of pieces of antique furniture from old Percy properties. The problem? George had faked this furniture, making it himself, and deceiving the duke about its origins. To find out more ab...

3 months ago

47 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

81 - The Road To Lexington: Hugh Percy in America - with Bill Openshaw

250 years ago, the American Revolutionary War effectively began with fighting at Lexington and Concord. Among the British soldiers present was Hugh Percy, eldest son of the 1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, and future 2nd Duke. What was the heir to Alnwick Castle doing in America? What did he think of the country soon to be known as the United States? And what is his connection to Charles Lee (of Hamilton fame), who would become second-in-command to George Washington himself? To answer ...

4 months ago

32 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

80 - Victorian Falconry - with Raphael Historic Falconry

As well as the Great Kitchen of Alnwick Castle being opened to visitors for the first time in 2025, the suite of larder rooms connected to it are also available to see. One of these was the Game Larder - a very important space in the Victorian period for the types of meat that were stored in there ready to be cooked. And one of the ways that game was procured was the traditional pursuit of falconry! With that in mind, who better to tell us about hunting with birds of prey at this time in hist...

5 months ago

25 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

79 - Shakespeare in the 18th century - with Ronan Paterson and Professor Ryuta Minami

Elizabeth Percy, 1st Duchess of Northumberland, who lived at Alnwick Castle in the middle decades of the 18th century, was a collector, courtier and artistic patron. But did you know she was also a regular theatregoer? Her many diaries include various mentions of plays she saw, some of which were by William Shakespeare, and her collections include miniature portraits of famous actors and actresses. But what was Shakespeare and the theatre like for Georgian audiences? How did it change during ...

6 months ago

57 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

78 - The Alnwick Castle Kitchens Project - with Chris Hunwick and Catherine Neil

In the last episode of the podcast, you will have heard the history of the Alnwick Castle Kitchens, created by architect Anthony Salvin in the late 1850s for the 4th Duke of Northumberland. In this follow-up episode, you will find out about what has been happening in the past year to open these amazing spaces to the public for the first time ever. The Great Kitchen and its larder rooms will be open for visitors from our 2025 season onwards - and a lot of work has been taking place to make thi...

7 months ago

27 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

77 - Alnwick Castle's Kitchens

Question: which part of Alnwick Castle was once considered the finest of its kind in the world? Answer: it was the Victorian Kitchens, which were created in the 1850s to be an architectural, culinary and technological marvel! In this episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, we explore some of the history of the castle kitchens - from the original medieval kitchen area to the developments of the Victorian period. You will hear reports from newspapers of the time, find out about the underground t...

8 months ago

20 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

76 - Sebastiano del Piombo - with Piers Baker-Bates

The Alnwick Castle Podcast returns for 2025! Before we get into the description of this episode, a quick programming note. New episodes of the podcast will now arrive on the last Wednesday of each month, or every four weeks. Please make sure to stay subscribed so you do not miss any. On this episode, we travel to Rome during the Italian Renaissance to explore one of the most impressive parts of the Alnwick Castle art collection. The Visitation by Sebastiano del Piombo catches the eye of ever...

9 months ago

34 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

75 - Alnwick Castle Timeline

In our final episode of 2024, the Alnwick Castle Podcast presents a timeline of the entire history of the castle ... or, at least, the most significant moments in the history of the castle. Join our hosts Daniel and Deborah as they run through the story of Alnwick Castle in chronological order, from the arrival of the Percy family in England in 1067 to the use of the castle as a filming location in the first Harry Potter movie in 2000. We hope the timeline is a useful and entertaining help ...

10 months ago

17 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

74 - A Brief History of Alnwick Castle's Parks

You may have visited Alnwick Castle this year, or last year, or before that, but did you know there is a beautiful park just west of the castle with a history almost as long? In this episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, join hosts Daniel and Deborah for a brief history of Hulne Park - from the two groups of monks that lived there in the medieval period, to its restoration in the Georgian period, to the modern day. You will hear about the transport of cattle from Northumberland to London i...

11 months ago

13 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

73 - More Medieval Music - with Pearl in the Egg

During summer time at Alnwick Castle, we love to invite historical musicians to play music of the past for our visitors in the castle grounds. New to Alnwick this year were the duo Pearl in the Egg (a.k.a Karen and Liz), who play melodies from the 11th century Saxon period to the 16th century Elizabethan. We joined them at the end of their final day of performances at the Castle to find out more about them, their instruments, and the kind of music you might hear at a castle like Alnwick - or...

11 months ago

23 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

72 - Border Reivers - with Andy Rice

Alnwick Castle, for hundreds of years, was a border fortress, part of the defensive line protecting England from Scottish attacks. But throughout the medieval period and into the Tudor and Elizabethan periods, families on both sides of the border were known as reivers - thieves, raiders and criminals who took every opportunity to attack their rivals. We spoke to our resident master longbowman, Andy Rice, who also happens to be a bit of an expert on the reivers! Andy tells us who they were, w...

1 year ago

38 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

71 - The Alnwick Castle Library Project (Part 3) - with Ellin Belton and Andrew Jarman

If you are a subscriber to the Alnwick Castle Podcast (thank you!) or you follow us on social media, you will be aware of the Library Project that has been taking place throughout 2024, restoring and reimagining this vital part of the State Rooms. As part of our podcast mini-series following the progress of the project, we were joined for a third and final time by Project Conservator Ellin Belton and Household Controller Andrew Jarman as work in the Library reached its final stages. They ref...

1 year ago

25 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

70 - The Case of the Percy Tiles - with Karen Slade (Company of Artisans)

What can 500-year-old tiles tell us about the rise and fall of a noble family in the Tudor period? Quite a lot, as it turns out! Join us for this historical detective story, as we look into the mystery of why the survival of Percy family tiles is such a rare occurrence, and what the building of a Victorian chocolate factory has to do with their rediscovery... To explain this intriguing history, we are joined (for her fourth appearance on the podcast) by Karen Slade from the Company of Artisa...

1 year ago

34 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

69 - The House of Dudley - with Dr Joanne Paul

Did you know there was a Duke of Northumberland two centuries before the Percy family of Alnwick Castle were given the title? And that the person who held the dukedom also spent time here at Alnwick? He was John Dudley, part of one of the most important families of the Tudor period and one of the people who features in The House of Dudley, a fascinating book by Dr Joanne Paul that explores this family and their history. We were very lucky to get to speak to Dr Paul about John Dudley and...

1 year ago

43 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

68 - The Burnings: 16th century witch trials - with Naomi Kelsey

The Burnings is the debut novel from author Naomi Kelsey, and tells the story of some of the women accused of witchcraft during a period of intense persecution in 16th century Scotland. We were lucky enough to be joined at the castle by Naomi, who told us all about the history behind the book from early modern medicine to Stuart court intrigue, her process of researching characters and other historical details, and much more. The Wizard Earl of Northumberland, one of our favourites her...

1 year ago

40 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

67 - Historic Houses - with Sarah Roller

What do Alnwick Castle, Chatsworth House, Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard, Muncaster Castle and over 1400 other places across the UK have in common? They are all part of Historic Houses, an organisation that for over 50 years has been a voice for independent heritage. To find out more, we spoke to Historic Houses' Policy & Education Manager, Sarah Roller. Sarah explains the history of the organisation, what they do, and what makes all these great places so special - whether they are well-...

1 year ago

20 minutes

The Alnwick Castle Podcast

66 - Downton Abbey at Alnwick Castle - with Alnwick Castle staff!

It was ten years ago this summer that global hit drama Downton Abbey first filmed at Alnwick Castle, for their 2014 Christmas special. The show returned to the Castle the following summer for what would be their final episode before transferring to the big screen (and Alnwick makes a small cameo in the first Downton movie as well). To mark the anniversary of Downton Abbey at Alnwick - or Brancaster - Castle, we gathered two of our team members, Film Tour Guide Brad and Downton fan Jody, to t...

1 year ago

35 minutes