Bettany Hughes's Ten Places, Europe and Us podcast series

Bettany Hughes at Avebury for the podcast recording

Historian Bettany Hughes goes beyond the delights of teas and topiary to explore ten inspiring National Trust sites. Join Bettany as she travels around some of the most splendid sites in England, guided by our experts, to investigate their deep-rooted connections to Europe and the wider world.

In a brand new ten-week podcast series from the National Trust, award-winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes unravels Europe’s influence on our national heritage. Listeners will travel with Bettany through time, from prehistory to the 20th century, and around each location, guided by our experts, to learn about the deep-rooted continental connections of ten inspiring National Trust sites in 20 minute programmes.

Avebury stone circle in winter sunshine

Episode 1 – 24th October, Avebury 

Bettany explores this prehistoric marvel, examining new evidence that holds vital clues to the story of us, and our relationship to the wider world. 

Figure of Winter from dining room mosaic at Chedworth Roman Villa

Episode 2 – 31st October, Chedworth 

Bettany visits the former home of well-heeled Romano-British owners whose newly discovered bits of Roman DIY reveal how they wanted to keep up with the Joneses back in Rome. 

Sutton Hoo landscape in the misty morning

Episode 3 – 7th November, Sutton Hoo 

Bettany pieces together a profile of the life and death of the cosmopolitan king buried in the world famous Anglo-Saxon ship burial.

Two ladies walk towards the abbey ruin on an autumnal day at fountains abbey and studley royal

Episode 4 – 14th November, Fountains Abbey 

Bettany travels back to the 12th century when the now ruined Cistercian abbey was a thriving industrial hub for the first truly pan-European movements. 

Kingston Lacy house in the daylight

Episode 5 – 21st November, Kingston Lacy 

Bettany visits the home of the colourful William John Bankes, the ‘stupendous traveller’, collector and friend of Lord Byron. Exiled to Venice, he had to steal back into Kingston Lacy to complete his cosmopolitan project. 

South Front of Waddesdon Manor during autumn

Episode 6 – 28th November, Waddesdon Manor 

Built as a fairy-tale French chateau by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the heart of the English countryside, Bettany explores the collections at Waddesdon and hears how the house and its contents were designed to ‘wow’ the rich and powerful of Europe and beyond. 

Front view of Sandham Memorial Chapel, Hampshire

Episode 7 – 5th December, Sandham Memorial Chapel 

Bettany discovers the story behind the mural paintings in the jewel-like chapel – Stanley Spencer’s monument to the forgotten dead of the First World War. 

A party on Upton's terrace

Episode 8 – 12th December, Upton House 

Bettany visits the house of Lord Bearsted, the quiet philanthropist who put ‘deeds before words’, most notably in his bid to rescue Jewish children from Nazi Germany during the Second World War on the ‘Kindertransport’. 

Landscape at Orford Ness

Episode 9 – 19th December, Orford Ness 

Bettany explores this wind-swept island off the Suffolk coast.  Once used for top-secret military testing, the vegetated shingle spit is globally rare and is slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Street front view of 1 to 3 Willow Road

Episode 10 – 26th December, 2, Willow Road 

Bettany visits the modernist family home of Ernö Goldfinger, the Hungarian émigré who brought Bauhaus to Britain and possibly gave his name to one of the most famous Bond villains. 

What is a podcast?

A podcast is an audio show, usually spread across a series of episodes, which can be downloaded from the Internet and listened to either on a computer or an MP3 player. New instalments of each series can be received by subscribers automatically.

Why are we doing it?

Podcasts are a great way to find out more about a subject while simply listening – you can listen on your daily commute, at the gym, while you're in the car, or relaxing at home. As a medium, audio is evocative and immersive – an ideal way to go behind the scenes at our places to discover more about the history, and how the Trust looks after these places for ever, for everyone.

" I’ve been visiting National Trust properties for over forty years, so it has been an absolute delight to explore behind the scenes at ten remarkable sites to investigate their cosmopolitan connections."
- Bettany Hughes