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 a nearby tavern. 

The first part of the episode took place outside in the grounds, so you may hear various background noises. For this part of the podcast, we had an audience of castle visitors, including the Kaye family, who had some questions of their own to ask! You will hear some short excerpts of medieval music too.

The second part of the episode happened inside, and also features excerpts of music, including an extended piece with vocals at the conclusion of our conversation.

For more musical episodes of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, look in our feed for podcasts about medieval music with Trouvere, Tudor music, and the Northumbrian pipes. And head to pearlintheegg.co.uk for more about this great musician duo!

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, when reiving was at its peak and when it died out, and the Percy family's role as wardens on the border, based at Alnwick Castle, trying to restore order where they could.

You will also find out about the great rival to the Percys in Elizabethan times, Sir John Forster; what led the Archbishop of Glasgow to write "the great cursing" against the reivers, and their connection to Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon!

We recorded this episode in Artisans Courtyard, on quite a windy day, so you may hear various microphone popping sounds background noises at certain times. (We have tried to remove these wherever we could.)

We hope you enjoy this look into reivers (especially if you've only heard the word before on sci-fi shows like 'Firefly'!) and also hope you can leave us a rating or review if you did!

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 reflect on the developments since we last spoke in the summer, and on the project as a whole, as well as pay tribute to the members of the project team who have devoted time and effort to the Library since February this year.

We hope you enjoy hearing from Ellin and Andrew again, but if you missed their other podcast appearances, head to episodes 59 and 62 in our podcast feed to catch up on the Alnwick Castle Library Project so far.

If you enjoyed the episode, we would be grateful for any five-star ratings and reviews you can leave us on your podcast platform - and we hope to welcome you to the beautiful, newly-restored Library in 2025!

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 Artisans, an expert on medieval tiles who has spent years researching and recreating the Percy tiles from the fragments that remain. It is always fascinating listening to Karen and we hope you think so too!

The book Karen refers to during the episode is 'Medieval Floor Tiles of Northern England' by Jenny Stopford, published by Oxbow books.

For more from Karen, head into our podcast archive for episode 47 about illuminated manuscripts and the scriptorium, or episode 15 for an introduction to the subject of tiles.

And, of course, don't forget to make a tile of your own on your next visit to Artisans Courtyard at Alnwick Castle!

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 his connections to Alnwick Castle and Northumberland, as well as many other things, from the first rise of the Dudleys around the time of the Wars of the Roses to their connection with Syon House - now another Percy family property.

You will also hear about the relationship between Robert Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I, the 7th Earl of Northumberland and his dislike of Robert, and the story of how a single "and" changed the life of Lady Jane Grey (who was a Dudley through marriage) and the course of English history.

The House of Dudley is available now from all good bookshops - highly recommended for anybody interested in the Tudors!

You can follow Joanne Paul on Instagram or Threads, or visit her website at joannepaul.com .

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 here on the podcast, was lord of Alnwick Castle while the North Berwick witch trials were ongoing, and he is discussed in this episode as an apparent magic user who seemed to be immune from suspicion.

We also talk about literary and historical inspirations with Naomi, from Tracy Borman to Terry Pratchett!

You can find The Burnings in hardback or paperback now from all good bookshops and you can follow Naomi on Twitter and Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow us too! You can find Alnwick Castle on all major social media platforms - why not leave a post to tell us you're a fan of the podcast - we'd love to read it!

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-known or a hidden gem. She also tells us about her own fascinating role and background in history, and there are quite a few mentions of the importance of a good historic house slice of cake!

If you would like to become a Historic Houses member and get, among other things, free entry to hundreds of houses, castles, and gardens - including Alnwick Castle! - visit historichouses.org .

And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating or review, share with your friends (perhaps over cake), and subscribe so you don't miss any future podcasts!

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 talk all things Downton. You will hear a freewheeling conversation with memories and stories from the episodes that were filmed at Alnwick - co-host Daniel was at the Castle at the time! - discussion of favourite characters and moments and what makes Downton so special - co-host Deborah is an expert! - and even some speculation about the upcoming third movie, which sadly does not feature the Castle but that we are very excited about all the same.

Do you remember watching the Alnwick Castle episodes of Downton? Were you visiting the Castle during the filming ten years ago? We would love to hear from you! Get in touch by emailing [email protected] .

To hear more Brad on the Alnwick Castle podcast, check out episode 42, about the most recent film made at the Castle, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. And for more Jody, head to episode 24, all about working at Alnwick Castle!

On Friday 11th October, Alnwick Castle welcomes historian and broadcaster Nicola Tallis to speak about her new book. Young Elizabeth is the story of the early years of Queen Elizabeth I, and is a fascinating, comprehensive biography of this part of Elizabeth's life - from the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn to her becoming the last Tudor monarch.

We were lucky enough to be joined on the podcast by Nicola Tallis to tell us about the process of writing the book, her thoughts on the relationship (or not) between Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, Elizabeth's complicated relationship with her final stepmother Katheryn Parr, and much more.

You can hear Nicola speak in person about Young Elizabeth at Alnwick Castle this autumn. Please go to alnwickcastle.com or visit our page on Eventbrite to get your tickets now!

Young Elizabeth is available in hardback now in all good bookshops. Or, you can pick up a copy when you attend our evening with Nicola Tallis!

For more, follow Nicola on Twitter at @nicolatallis or on Instagram @historiannicola. We'd also be very happy if you followed us @alnwickcastle and @alnwickcastleofficial - and of course, if you subscribed to the podcast!

We return to the Wars of the Roses for the latest episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, for an exclusive audio tour of the new exhibition inspired by Lions of the Red Rose, the story of the Percy family and their involvement in the Wars.

We were lucky enough to be shown around every part of the exhibition by Alnwick Castle Archivist Chris Hunwick, who explains the stories behind the documents on display - who they belonged to, what they mean, and how they have survived to the present day. You will hear about seals, coins, 15th century fingerprints ... and a rat named Cedric.

This episode gives you a level of access to Lions of the Red Rose you won't get anywhere else. We are very grateful to Chris for his time and his incredible knowledge, and hope you enjoy it to - whether you have visited the exhibition already or not!

If you plan to visit, the exhibition is found within the State Rooms of Alnwick Castle. Lions of the Red Rose, the new book by the 12th Duke of Northumberland, is available from the Castle gift shops.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more from Chris, head back into our podcast archive for episode 12, about the Alnwick Castle Model, or episode 37, about the Crowns and Coronets exhibition created in 2023.