The Gladstone's Land Podcast

What did the Royal Mile sound like in 1600?  The amazing thing about music history is that it allows us to recreate the sounds of the past, and in this episode of the Gladstone's Land podcast we do just that.  Thomas interviews James Ritzema, a musicologist and expert in 17th-century music, about the songs and sounds of old Scotland.  James also gives us an impromptu performance of 'O Lusty May', a popular song published in 1660.

In 'The Women of Scotland' Kate describes the life of Dora Noyce, Edinburgh's most famous madam.

And our book recommendations this week:  'Explore Everything: Place-hacking the City' by Bradley Garrett, and 'Christianity: the First Three Thousand Years' by Diarmaid MacCulloch.

Get in touch with the show by tweeting @GladstonesLand or e-mailing [email protected].

Bravo!  Why was there riots at Edinburgh's first theatre?  What was banned from the dance floor at the New Town assembly rooms?  And what exactly could you do in a Pleasure Garden?  Find out these and many more fascinating things about theatre, sports, freak shows and other kinds of public entertainment in this instalment from Kate and Thomas, brought to you by Gladstone's Land and the National Trust for Scotland.

Also - hear about Dame Louisa Lumsden, pioneer of women's education and founder of St Leonard's School, St Andrews.

This week's book recommendations:  Lucy Worsley "If Walls Could Talk" and Peter Frankopan "The Silk Roads: A New History of the World".

Get in touch with the show by tweeting @GladstonesLand or e-mailing [email protected].

Bon Appetit!  Join Kate and Thomas as they tuck into a big helping of food history.  Kate discusses the food and drink of seventeenth century Scotland with Lindsay Middleton, food historian and National Trust intern.  Kate and Thomas discuss the pubs of Edinburgh and cooking historic recipes.

Also - hear about Matilda of Scotland, daughter of King Malcolm III and St Margaret, wife and consort of King Henry I of England, patroness of literature and the arts and formidable medieval queen.

Book recommendations this week - M. F. K. Fisher, 'How to Cook a Wolf' (a series of essays and thoughts about wartime recipes) and Giles MacDonough, 'After the Reich' (a brutal history of the Allied occupation of Germany after WW2).

Get in touch with the show by tweeting @GladstonesLand or e-mailing [email protected].

Join Kate and Thomas as they move from Edinburgh's crowded Old Town into the elegant Georgian New Town, and the National Trust for Scotland's 'Georgian House' on Charlotte Square.

They also discuss Muriel Thompson (trailblazer, suffragist, ambulance driver) in the new 'Women of Scotland' segment.

This week's book recommendations - Kate Lister 'A Curious History of Sex' and Robert Harris 'Selling Hitler.'

Get in touch with the show by tweeting @GladstonesLand or e-mailing [email protected]. 

In which Holly and Kate round up a number of relevant people (Clara Weale, Josh Armstrong and Sarah Longfield) and talk about historic scents and the new smell interventions that are taking place at Gladstone's Land. 

Welcome to a brand new series of the Gladstone's Land podcast. Join hosts Kate Stephenson and Holly Black as they talk to staff member and Halloween tour researcher, Kosi Carter about some of the darker stories associated with Edinburgh's history. Expect plague, plunder and punishment... 

Join Thomas as he takes a good look at the rest of the country (beyond Edinburgh) in the early seventeenth century.  Ever wanted to hear about Scotland's fish exports and hear someone list all the abbots who sat in the Scots Parliament?  Well you need look no further.  

Join Thomas, Kate and Anna for the last episode of the first series of the Gladstone's Land Podcast, as they look back over the previous episodes, look to the next series, and test their knowledge about Edinburgh's history in a quiz! 

If you would like to get in touch, please do so on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or by e-mail at [email protected]. 

We also talk about the books that helped us to develop this podcast.  Here is an extended book-list:

Histories of Edinburgh:

The Kirk was at the centre of life in 17th-century Edinburgh (and it was at the centre of the High Street too!)  The newly reformed Church of Scotland effected the lives of rich and poor, and the politics of the Kirk was a matter of great importance and interest.  The Protestant faith opened a divide between the Scottish people and their kings, and Scots were willing to oppose their king to protect what they saw as true Christian principles.  The 1600s were a time a great upheaval in Scotland, largely as a result of religion. 

In this episode, join Kate and Thomas as they explore the career of the Reverend William Struthers, the first dean of St Giles' Cathedral, who lived at Gladstone's land in the 1630s.  We also speak to Robin McCaig, the Thistle Chapel Assistant at St Giles' Cathedral, about the 1637 Prayerbook Crisis, when the congregation of St Giles started a riot and kicked off the Civil War.  

William Struthers was also involved in a famous witch trial, so we talk a little about witchcraft too.  Enjoy!

You'll have had your tea then?  Tea is Britain's favourite drink, at over 165 millions cups consumed a day, and has been top of the list since soon after it was first introduced in the seventeenth century.  In this episode, Kate and Thomas are joined by again by Anna Brereton to talk about the history of tea in England and Scotland, and we hear a little about the famous Gladstone's Land "Georgian Tea Ceremony".  Holly Black, the costume mistress, also makes another appearance to fill us in on what enlightened women would have been wearing as they sipped their Lapsang.  So grap a cuppa, sit back, and enjoy a steaming hot podcast!  

Do get in touch if you have any questions or comments!  E-mail [email protected].  

And check out Kate's blog on the history of food and costume, among other things!  https://cabbagesandkingsandkate.com/