In this bonus episode, discover how Kingston Lacy, a grand 17th-century Italianate country house and expansive estate in Dorset is connected with one of the ancient wonders of the world: the city of Petra in Jordan.  

Join James Grasby, as we meet the people working tirelessly to protect and rehabilitate heritage in the face of immense challenges, including climate change.

From the rose-red stones of Petra to William Bankes’ passion for exploration at Kingston Lacy, to the UNESCO city As Salt, and the leafy Oxfordshire countryside, we go behind the scenes with the quiet heroes who safeguard our shared past and carry it forward for future generations.

INTO’s Withstanding Change project connected teams from Petra National Trust (PNT) and the National Trust’s Buscot and Coleshill Estate and earlier this year, they met face to face. Hear about the collaboration which helped them to reach their respective communities through cultural and heritage skills education.

We’re taking a few weeks off over the festive period and will be back in the new year with our usual Back When episodes.   

[Ad] This episode was brought to you by the International National Trusts Organisation, also known as INTO.  INTO is a global network which brings together heritage organisations from all across the world, working collectively to protect and celebrate cultural and natural heritage.  www.into.org

This recording was made possible through INTO’s Withstanding Change project which has been funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund. The project helps communities and places adapt to climate change through restoring and safeguarding heritage.  Learn more:  https://cultural-protection-fund.britishcouncil.org

Producer: Jesse Edbrooke

Presenter: James Grasby

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez

Discover More:

Read more about Petra, As-Salt and the Petra National Trust by clicking the following link:  https://petranationaltrust.org

Read more about Kingston Lacey here:

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/kingston-lacy

Read more about Coleshill and Buscott and the heritage skills centre here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/heritage-and-rural-skills-centre

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

Why is a semi-detached house in Nottinghamshire frozen in time? 

Join us on a visit to 7 Blythe Grove in Worksop, or Mr Straw’s House as it’s now known, to tour the rooms that have barely changed since the 1930’s.

Discover more about the family who lived there, and why they chose to live in a bygone era, long after the world around them had changed. 

 

Start creating your story at www.cewe.co.uk

Presenter: James Grasby 

Producer: Claire Hickinbotham 

Sound: Jesus Gomez

With thanks to the staff and volunteers at Mr Straw's House

If you’d like to visit Mr Straw’s house, you’ll need to book. You can do that up to 4 weeks in advance. Mr Straw's House | Nottinghamshire | National Trust 

The collection of their belongings is fascinating. Here are some of the things you’ll be able to see Collection highlights at Mr Straw’s House | National Trust 

There’s also space outside to enjoy, and you could take a walk around Worksop, just as the Straw sons did every Sunday. There are details of how to book onto a monthly walk here The garden at Mr Straw’s House | Notts | National Trust 

 

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Queen Victoria’s grief not only shaped her own reign but also inspired the Victorian era’s deep fascination with death and mourning.

Join James Grasby and curator Clara Woolford as they uncover how funerary practices, attitudes toward the dead, and one monarch’s sorrow came to define an age.

[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

 

Host: James Grasby

Producer: Pippa Tilbury-Harris & Michelle Douglass

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez   

Contributor:

Clara Woolford

Discover More:  

You can learn more about Victorian life with a visit to Cragside in Northumberland:

Cragside | Northumberland | National Trust

If you’d like to get in touch with feedback or a story idea you can contact us at 

What happened to the animals who served in the First World War?  

Uncover the extraordinary story of Warrior the war horse who survived the Western Front. General Jack Seely's horse, Warrior, was anything but ordinary. He carried his master through some of World War One's most brutal battles, including the Somme, Ypres and Passchendaele. 

Despite more than eight million horses, donkeys and mules losing their lives during the war, Warrior somehow survived. 

Join General Jack Seely's grandson and broadcaster, Brough Scott and historian, James Grasby, to retrace Warrior's incredible journey.

 

[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

Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts

Host : James Grasby

Producer and sound designer: Nikki Ruck

Brough Scott

To visit Mottistone

Mottistone

To find out more about Warrior

Warrior The War Horse

If you would like to follow in the footsteps of warrior

Warrior Trail

If you’d like to get in touch with feedback or a story idea you can contact us at [email protected]

Is your cat the devil in disguise? Probably not, although they may act like it sometimes! But once upon a time, they would have been accused of luring you into witchcraft.

In Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries witch hunting became an obsession and supposed ‘witches’ were put on trial, and some were even sentenced to death.

Being an animal lover was considered a sure sign that someone was practicing witchcraft. Friendliness towards cats, rabbits or dogs could lead to accusations of witchcraft, as these animals, known as familiars, were suspected of working for the devil.

One of those accused of witchcraft and seen with familiars was Elizabeth Clarke, a poor, disabled woman from Essex.

Join Helen and historian Dr Romany Reagan as they uncover Elizabeth’s story and the strange tale of the witches’ familiars.

 Start creating your story at www.cewe.co.uk

Production: 

Host: Helen Antrobus

Producers: Rosie Toy and Katy Kelly

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez  

Contributor: Dr Romany Reagan

Discover More: 

Find out more about witchcraft:

https://essexwitchmuseum.co.uk

Uncover folklore, legends, myths and lost histories from the British Isles with Dr Romany Reagan:

https://blackthornandstone.com

Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts

If you’d like to get in touch with feedback or a story idea you can contact us at [email protected] 

In September 1665 a plague outbreak took hold in the Derbyshire village of Eyam. It lasted for 15 months and claimed 260 lives. 

 

The bacteria that caused the bubonic plague was transported to the village in a box of material. Within a few weeks, the illness had taken hold.

 

In response the residents isolated to keep the disease from spreading to the surrounding villages.

 

Join Helen and curator Owen Roberts as they uncover the tale of the plague village and the extraordinary sacrifice its inhabitants made to save the lives of others.

Start creating your story at www.cewe.co.uk 

Production:

Host: Helen Antrobus

Producer: Katy Kelly

Sound Editor: Jesus Gomez   

Contributor: Owen Roberts 

Discover More:  

Find out more about Eyam: https://www.eyam-museum.org.uk 

Watch a video of this podcast on the National Trust’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationaltrustcharity/podcasts 

If you’d like to get in touch with feedback or a story idea you can contact us at [email protected]   

Gypsy and Traveller communities have been part of Britain's cultural fabric for centuries. They have a rich and vibrant history, but theirs is a story that's largely untold.

Explore the heritage and traditions of Gypsies and Travellers and find out how one Gypsy had a special connection with Queen Victoria.

Join guest presenter and host of the Roaming Voices podcast, Josie Jeffery in finding out more about those who lived and travelled across Brighton and the South Downs.

With special thanks to Romany Historian Janet Keet-Black and Journalist Jake Bowers for their contributions to this episode.

[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: Josie Jeffery 

Production: Jack Glover and Katy Kelly

Sound Design: Jesus Gomez 

Contributors: 

Janet Keet-Black

Jake Bowers

Discover More: 

This episode was made possible with research from the Changing Chalk project - a landscape-scale partnership led by the National Trust, connecting nature, people and heritage on and around the South Downs. The project is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, and by The Linbury Trust.

Find out more at 

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/the-changing-chalk-partnership

Read Janet's book Gypsies of Britain here https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/gypsies-of-britain-9780747812364/

Discover Jake's work and sculptures at http://www.thirstybearforge.co.uk/

For more information on traveller communities please visit our friends at Friend' Families, Travellers https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/

Listen to a playlist of Gypsy Heritage songs https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JHTStCCBgCgJ5wcszlIFi?si=WoG-el4ERq6GIhX2BGTABg

 

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at [email protected] 

Join James Grasby as he discovers what a 'Dollar Duchess' is, how they came to be entwined in our history and culture, and what was in it for the couples.

[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 

Sound: Claire Hickinbotham 

Producer: Claire Hickinbotham 

Sound Design: Jesus Gomez 

Contributors  

Louisa Brouwer @acuratorabroad on Insta 

Jo Thornton and Steve Berden: Isle of Wight local tour guides 

Recording took place at Rosetta Cottage on the Isle of Wight where Churchill’s parents got engaged. You can visit the cottage and see the plague outside, part of the Churchill Trail on the Island Follow the Churchill Trail - Visit Isle Of Wight  

Or if you want to get closer to the heart of the story you can stay in the cottage, dine in the dining room, and enjoy sea views of The Solent from the garden. Rosetta Cottage Isle of Wight | National Trust 

This episode was released in celebration of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale 

 

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at [email protected] 

What was dating like in Jane Austen’s day?  

Georgian Britain is certainly an era associated with courtship and marriage, but what were the rules you had to date by? 

Join Cultural Heritage Curator Tim Moore, in Bath, as he reflects on what we know, through the life and works of Jane Austen. 

This one's for the Janeites.

[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 

Production and Sound: Claire Hickinbotham 

Sound Design: Jesus Gomez 

Contributor: 

Dr Tim Moore, Cultural Heritage Curator 

Discover More: 

Find out more about the Bath Assembly rooms project here  

Bath Assembly Rooms project | Bath | National Trust

If you'd like to get in touch with feedback, or have a story connected with the National Trust, you can contact us at [email protected] 

In 2018 a team of intrepid explorers came in to the possession of a treasure map - one which would see them venture half way around the world to the Australian island of Tasmania.  

Those explorers were a team of garden experts from across the UK and Ireland who were now on a historic mission to save and catalogue plants for the benefit of people and the planet.

Following in the footsteps of the historic plant hunters, find out what was in store for the team of modern-day collectors and how natural history has helped to shape gardens around the world.

Host: James Grasby

Producer: Jack Glover

Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

Charlie Bancroft and team BIBET

Caroline Ikin

Images courtesy and with thanks from the Royal Botanic Gardens of Tasmania. All Rights Reserved.

Explore a garden lovers home at Nymans in West Sussex where some of the collected species are now flourishing  https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/nymans

Read Charlie’s report here: https://merlin-trust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/718-Charlie-Bancroft-compressed.pdf

Find out more about historic plant hunters from our friends at Kew Gardens https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/adventure-and-discovery-around-the-world-with-plant-hunters

BIBET Botantic Gardens  

Republic of Ireland https://www.botanicgardens.ie/kilmacurragh/

Northern Ireland https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/mount-stewart Wales https://botanicgarden.wales/

Tasmania https://gardens.tas.gov.au/