From Tudors and Georgians to pet monkeys in Roman Britain: Matt Thompson of English Heritage on telling the stories of the past

Country Life

This week on the Country Life Podcast, Matt Thompson — Curatorial Director of English Heritage — joins our host James Fisher to talk history.

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Recent research from English Heritage asked people to name their favourite periods of the past, and as you might expect the headline findings reflected the widespread interest in the Romans, World Wars, Tudors and Victorians.

But dig deeper, as Matt explains, and a huge number of fascinating stories are revealed by the thousands of sites and artefacts that sit within English Heritage's collection.

He shares many of these with James, talks about the organisation's role in stimulating our love of history and throws light on some bizarre objects — not least a single bone from a Barbary Macaque found in a Roman city. Matt also names his all-time favourite English Heritage site, and it's a beautiful, unspoilt site that's free to visit.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Matt Thompson
• Editor and producer: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
• Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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