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

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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."