For our final episode of 2025, we recommend grabbing your best wooly jumper and getting cosy as we learn all about the history of ... wool!

Company of Artisans, regular guests on the Alnwick Castle podcast, are experts on many different aspects of medieval craftsmanship, and on this episode, Karen and Charlie explain why wool was so important to the economy of medieval England - creating trade, funding wars, and providing employment across the country and society. You will hear the exhaustive process of how wool clothing was made, and some of the reasons why wool is no longer England's top export. You will also hear some of the stories of the history of wool in Northumberland, and from Alnwick Castle itself. 

This is a fascinating deep-dive into centuries of history, and we hope it gives you a new perspective on your clothes!

For more from Company of Artisans, head into our podcast back catalogue, and don't forget to check us out on YouTube as well as our usual platforms!

We will be back with more episodes in 2026. If there's a subject you would like us to cover on the podcast, let us know: [email protected] .

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 Country Life editor John Goodall, who explained why Salvin's work has been so significant to the development of Alnwick Castle, adapting to modern needs while calling back to other periods of history, and connecting the domestic space of the Great Kitchen with the grandeur of the State Rooms.

If you enjoyed the episode, you can hear John talk about Alnwick and other castles in Episode 6 of the podcast - or if you visit the castle, you can listen to him talk about the Constable's Tower in our museum!

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 about their approach to history, as well as everything from the sumptuary laws on clothing restrictions to the best Victorian meals they would like to try in the Great Kitchen at Alnwick Castle - where they performed earlier this year.

This podcast was recorded "live" outside, in the grounds of Alnwick Castle, on a busy summer day, so you may hear more background noises and sounds than usual.

For more episodes of the podcast where you can hear from historical performers, head into our back catalogue for episode 60, featuring the Silly History Boys, or episode 40, with medieval musicians Trouvere. And we'll see you next month for another look back into history!

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 the transition from the Tudors to the Stuart was not as straightforward as previously thought. You will hear the reasons why Elizabeth refused to name a successor during her long reign, how ordinary English people felt about the King of Scotland coming to the throne, and the key role that the Earls of Northumberland here at Alnwick Castle played. At the start of the Tudor period, the 5th Earl escorted Margaret Tudor to Scotland to marry James IV; and at the end, the 9th Earl kept up a secret correspondence with James VI in the years leading up to Elizabeth's death. He may have also had a claim to the throne of his own...

And of course, Tracy also tells us what to expect when she visits Alnwick Castle in person on 23rd September! Tickets are available now at alnwickcastle.com or on our page on Eventbrite.

The Stolen Crown is available from all good bookshops from 4th September, published by Hodder - or you can purchase your copy at our event on the 23rd!

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 about this story, we spoke to Dr Peter Lindfield of Cardiff University - an expert on George Shaw - and Frances McIntosh of English Heritage, who looks after the Duke's Rooms at Warkworth Castle, where you can still see some of the George Shaw furniture bought by the 4th Duke. We found out just who George Shaw was, what happened when the duke figured out he'd been conned, and why this Victorian rogue might be considered a 19th century Robin Hood!

We hope you enjoy hearing all about it. To visit the Duke's Rooms, please visit the Warkworth Castle website through English Heritage for full information.

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 these questions, and many more, we spoke to one of our favourite regular guests on the podcast, Bill Openshaw, whose new book The Road To Lexington chronicles Percy's letters and papers from his time in America, studied comprehensively for the first time. (You will also hear about a new discovery, of letters by another man from Alnwick who served in America, William Charleton.)

You can get a copy of the book from major online retailers, or right here at the Alnwick Castle gift shop.

For more about the 2nd Duke and Bill, look in our podcast back catalogue for episodes 'To the Call of Bugles', 'The 2nd Duke of Northumberland', and 'The Percy Tenantry Volunteers'.

Enjoy the episode? Throw us a review or five-star rating! 

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 history than Raphael Historic Falconry? We sat down with Emma and Mike - with an extra special guest appearance from Ella the goshawk, who you will hear at various points! - to learn about how falconry might have played a part in the processes of the castle Kitchens.

You will hear about the restoration of falconry as a fashionable 19th century gentleman's pursuit, and how it pushed the medieval and Tudor traditions of falconry forward. You'll also discover the kinds of birds used, how the game they caught would then be gutted, plucked and hung (skip ahead a minute or two if you have a sensitive stomach) and how Queen Victoria and the Duke of Wellington pioneered the use of birds of prey as pest control!

You can see Raphael Historic Falconry in action at Alnwick Castle this summer, where they'll be performing - hopefully with Ella the goshawk accompanying them! - on select dates in July and August. Please check our website for full details.

And for more from Emma, head all the way back to episode 4 of this podcast for an introduction to falconry and Alnwick Castle's links to this fascinating tradition.

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 the 1st Duchess' lifetime? And why is the 18th century important in the history of Shakespeare?

To find out more, we spoke to our regular Shakespearean expert, Ronan Paterson, and another special guest. Professor Ryuta Minami, of the Tokyo Keizai University of Economics, is an expert in theatre of the 17th and 18th centuries, and joined us for a fascinating conversation.

Among other things, you will hear how theatre and acting changed during this time, and how Shakespeare was changed for Georgian tastes; stories of the great actors of the 18th century, especially David Garrick, who had a few connections to the 1st Duchess; and Northumberland's own theatre history and traditions.

Speaking of this, we have a Shakespeare troupe visiting us this summer! The Three Inch Fools bring their production of A Midsummer Night's Dream to Alnwick Castle on 22 July. Find tickets on our website, by searching Three Inch Fools At Alnwick Castle, or by visiting https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-midsummer-nights-dream-presented-by-the-three-inch-fools-tickets-1289546200399 . It's one of our favourite plays (even if Samuel Pepys wouldn't agree!)

And for more Shakespeare on the Alnwick Castle Podcast, find our previous annual episodes in our feed - episode 8 for the castle's Shakespeare connections, episode 33 for Henry IV Part I, and episode 58 for Shakespeare's Wars of the Roses.

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 this happen.

We are joined by two of the key people involved in 'Project 'Shurlock': Rediscovering the Life of the Great Kitchen at Alnwick Castle' - project head Catherine Neil and one of our favourite recurring guests on the podcast, archivist Chris Hunwick.

Catherine and Chris sat together to discuss the first phase of the project and the discoveries made so far. They look over some of the original photographs that inspired the project, explain the project title, and much more. We hope you enjoy this glimpse behind the scenes before your next visit to the castle - where you will see the results of Phase 1!

For the episode focusing on the history of the Kitchens, look for episode 77 in our podcast archive. Enjoy!

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 tunnels that delivered food, and hear about a few of the people who worked in these spaces.

The Kitchen spaces have changed over time. In the 20th century, a school, a training college and St Cloud State University have all used the Great Kitchen and the larder rooms nearby. Last year, a long-term project began to rediscover the history of this area within Alnwick Castle - look out for next month's episode to hear more about that!

This episode was recorded in various castle locations, so you may hear the sound levels change slightly as it is playing.

Bon appetit!