Places in history

If our places could talk they'd have some stories to tell. Discover their rich histories and watch them spring to life before your eyes

Writ in Water, a major architectural artwork by Mark Wallinger in collaboration with Studio Octopi, at Runnymede, Surrey
Left to Right, George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney face the camera wearing grey suits and playing guitars. They are playing as 'the Quarrymen' at at Paul's cousin's wedding reception at his Auntie's house, 8 March 1958
The Beatles' Childhood Homes   Liverpool

The bricks that built the Beatles

In two ordinary houses in suburban Liverpool, there sparked a revolution in music, ideas and identity that would shape a generation. Discover the bricks that built the Beatles.

Head to Forthlin and Mendips
Caryl Parry Jones and the National Trust's podcast team at Penrhyn Castle

People's Landscapes podcast series presented by John Sergeant 

Our four-part podcast series, presented by radio journalist and broadcaster John Sergeant, tells the stories of people connected to four historic landscapes in our care.

Listen to the series

Significant places

Visitors on the drive to the west front at Montacute House, Somerset

Scandalous stories from our places 

The places we look after have rich histories, and some of them are hiding stories sordid enough to raise a blush. Intrigued? Read on…

An archive black and white photograph of Mrs Greville standing with a dog in her arms

Places with royal stories to tell 

Many of the places we look after have connections to kings, queens and other members of royalty. Here's our pick of the best. Why not visit to uncover the full story?

Children playing outside at Speke Hall, Garden and Estate, Merseyside

Tudor connections at our places 

The places we look after have many links to the Tudor period. They’ve received royal visitors, hidden Catholic priests and witnessed pivotal events.

Processing Suffragettes c.1908

Challenging Histories Public Programme 2017-19 

Challenging Histories was a pilot programme that explored some of the more hidden aspects of our places. Each year we focused on a different theme that reflected national anniversaries and public debates. Through exhibitions, events and story-telling, we explored how these overlooked histories have shaped how we live now.

Find out more and get involved
Creativity and invention
Sunset looking north from Devil's Dyke, South Downs, West Sussex

How has the South Downs influenced musicians? 

The landscape of Sussex and the South Downs has long been celebrated as an inspiration to musicians. From the 19th century through to the modern day, music collectors, composers and musicians have all been moved by the history, atmosphere and the natural beauty of the Downs.

Trees at Packwood House, Warwickshire

The Forest of Arden and Shakespeare 

Born in Stratford in 1564, William Shakespeare spent his formative years on the doorstep of the Forest of Arden. Shakespeare’s imaginative woodland in As You Like It echoes the real Forest of Arden in the playwright’s native Warwickshire, but his connection to Arden also has deeper roots.

A close up of the desk in Henry Talbot's study at Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire

Lacock and the birthplace of photography 

William Henry Fox Talbot, polymath and pioneer of Victorian photography, created the earliest surviving photographic negative at his home at Lacock Abbey in 1835. The Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock explores the history of photography and hosts photography exhibitions.

The Marconi Centre at Poldhu, Lizard, Cornwall

Eight places that helped change the world 

From the house where Sir Isaac Newton first discovered gravity to the childhood homes of the Beatles and the site of the first radio broadcast, discover the places that inspired some revolutionary ideas.

See where history was made

Design through the ages

The Winter Parlour at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire

Interior design through the ages 

As fashions change over the eras, so do our homes. Discover centuries of design innovation through the places we care for.

Orchard House at Cragside

Gardens through the ages 

Learn about medieval, Tudor, Stuart, Georgian, Victorian and 20th-century gardens, and where to see our finest examples.

The cast of Downton Abbey pose in front of the houses at Lacock

For film and TV lovers 

Find out which of our historic mansions and magnificent landscapes can be seen on-screen. You can look out for them in popular TV dramas such as Game of Thrones, and in brand new films.

Find out more about what has been filmed where
Visitors looking at open drawer of collections cabinet

Collections online 

Our collections are an important part of our heritage. From artistic treasures to the quirky and bizarre, you can explore more than one million objects on our collections site.

Heritage

Learn more about how we look after for the special places in our care and get a glimpse of some of the conservation projects we're working on at the moment.

Find out more on heritage