The History of England

In 1672, Charles sought to put the Treaty of Dover into operation; to join Louis XIV in making war on the Dutch Republic. The plan was to replace de Witt's government with William of Orange as Stadholder, capture key Zealand ports for England, and secure further financial support from Louis. And thus have a free hand with parliament. All that was needed was victory at sea for the Anglo French fleet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roifield and David talk about 5stories of England as part of the Very English Chat project, to tell stories of England in 50 objects.‘A very English chat’ works is a wonderful project to escape division and polarisation, and the arid quarrels about flags - to build and celebrate a sense of Englishness, as part of a build up to England's national day, St George's Day on 23rd April. We are all invited to share our own 5 objects to be included in a virtual ‘pocket museum’ telling ‘The story of England 2026 in 50 objects. To take part in a conversation between parishioners of the History of England, add your comment below, or go to the History of England Facebook Group.To share your 5 objects for submission to the Pocket Museum of Englishness, please go to the A Very English Chat site.I'd love to hear from you - and have fun celebrating a shared, positive and inclusive vision of Englishness means to us.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a half an episode on the really important stuff - Nell Gwyn, Aphra Behn and Restoration theatre, we reach possibly the most remarkable treaty any British monarch has made, ever. The Treaty of Dover.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1667 had not been a great year for Charles, with the humiliation at the Medway, and his pro French strategy in ruins. So he needed a scapegoat, and he needed to re-assert the primacy of the Royal Prerogative. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The period from 1670 to 1714 is a period of astounding and dramatic change; the Exclusion crisis, the Glorious Revolution, years of war, the formation of Geat Britain - and the birth of sulphurous party politics. George Owers has written a book on it - and he talks to me about the period  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of the Great Fire, Charles worked with parliament to prepare for the 1667 campaigning season in the Second Anglo Dutch war. But there was a problem, and the problem was money. In the end a plan was hatched to ride out the year, while a treaty was negotiated. And it seemed to be working. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Where there's muck, there's brass', and that was certainly the case with rebuilding London from the mess of ash and rubble that remained. And developers like Nicholas Barbon knew how to make as much brass as possible, and as fast as possible.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeevun Sandher and I discuss some highlights from the story of how England and Britain made itself into a modern democracy, and some of the contribution it made towards the development of the modern world Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The war with The Netherlands in 1665 ended on a low, with the Thames blockaded. Poor London - trade was devastated by war, trade was devastated by plague. Hopefully 1666 would be better, as the royal court rumbled back into town. Money was short, but still a fleet was sent out into the Channel, as the good people of London started to rebuild their lives and their businesses. Nothing could be as bad as 1665. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In May 1665, worrying reports of plague cases crop up inside the walls of London; by June the summer heat was oppressive and it became clear - the plague had returned. Charles and his court left to terrorise Oxford while Londoners died; in plague-stricken Eyam, the villagers cut themselves off to protect their neighbours Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is possible that Charles and his Privy Council didn't necessarily want war - certainly Clarendon did not; but they were prepared to rattle the sabre and man the brink to try and force trade consessions which some unprovoked acts of agression.But they allowed themselves to be diplomatically isolated, and Johan de Witt was not scared - he had the world's most powerful navy, pots of money, and a French alliance. And so the Second Anglo Dutch war was joined.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gavin Whitehead of the Art of Crime Podcast tells us the story of the art historian, soviet spy and traitor - Anthony Blunt Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1661 fresh elections brought together another Long Parliament. This, the Cavalier parliament, would sit, off and on, for 18 years. It was not inspired by a spirit of compromise. The programme they introduced tried very hard to squish the horrid innovations of the revolutionary period back into the bottle, and search for the uniformity and 'natural' order of things that seemed to have been lost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1660 the King returned and immediately sought to rebuild the damaged prestige of the Crown. And in popular memory, Charles II's reputation has been among the best - the Merrie Monarch, a polymath and breath of fresh air that brought back the joy. The episode covers the king's return, his character and historical reputation - and the Restoration settlement in Ireland and Scotland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode of Series 9, a a chance to talk about some of the themes which will drive our period of 1660 to 1715. The continuing role of religion in politics, the Rage of Parties, the varying fortunes and influences of the Three Kingdoms, the growing involvement of Britain in European conflict. But most of all a growing transformation of society, the age of improvement, the 'crucible of modernity' - the English Enlightenment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throughout Europe, nations made sweeping social changes, driven the demands of war, the ideas of Absolutism and the growing belief in reason and improvement. This is the age of many of the great names of European history - Louis the Sun King, Peter the Great. It saw the ending of Spanish hegemony- and start of the French. And so - here it is, in this episode, a whistle stop tour of monarchs, mayhem, and madness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Late 17th century and the 18th century Europe was dominated by French culture, wealth, and military exploits. In the first of two epiosdes on the period between 1660 and 1715 (ish), we consider emerging themes in religion, colonialisation, trade - and the Age of Reason Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part II of the Q&A where Will Clark of The French Revolution & Napoleon Podcast and I compare and contrast the French and English Revolutions and try to answer all your questions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Clark of The French Revolution & Napoleon Podcast and I compare and contrast the French and English Revolutions and try to answer all your questions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our search for the Greatest Ruler of Wales. In these two Podcasts, Stephen aims to introduce some of the leaders who shaped Medieval Welsh History. Along the way, We’ll give a very succinct survey of the history of Roman and Medieval Wales.In this episode, we cover the period from 1066 10 1415, and rulers Owain ap Gruffudd (Owain Gwynedd), Rhys ap Gruffydd, Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, The Great, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, The Last, and Owain Glyndŵr.Enjoy the history – and visit the website to read biographies and take part in the voting! https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/blog/2025/08/28/greatest-welsh-ruler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our search for the Greatest Ruler of Wales. In these two Podcasts, Stephen aims to introduce some of the leaders who shaped Medieval Welsh History. Along the way, We’ll give a very succinct survey of the history of Roman and Medieval Wales.In this episode, we cover the period from 250 AD, to 1066, and rulers Macsn Wledig, Cunedda, Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Rhodri Mawr, Hywel Dda, ‘The Good’, and Gruffudd ap Llywelyn.Enjoy the history – and visit the website to read biographies and take part in the voting! https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/blog/2025/08/28/greatest-welsh-ruler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip of the History of European Theatre podcasts talks about how theatre kept itself alive through the days of the Republic and burst into life once more at the Restoration   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The course of the Protectorate was by no means smooth; but by 1658 the prospect of the return of the monarchy was remote indeed, stability had re-appeared, prosperity was returning. With a spirit of compromise and goodwill, it could surely survive Cromwell's death. Had enough been done to reconcile old factions, was there a desire for compromise for the greater good? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the English Revolution mean for you? Did it change anything or, was John Dryden right when he wrote in 1670, 'Thy wars brought nothing about’? Although they clearly left business which would take until 1689 to finish, their impact was considerable - even if much of it was unintended or unforeseen. And why not get in touch with your favourote character from the period? Come and join us at the History of England Podcast Facebook group Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of two self indulgent episodes to usher out the first phase of the English revolution, this episode is about the fates of some of those people in whose companies we have lived for some time, and what happened to them after the Restoration. This includes, of course, the Regicides, and we'll see some of those strung up while we are at it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Army had mounted another coup, and its Committee of Safety now sought to carve out yet another form of the Republic in the face of the Rump's defiance - and the deep weariness of most of the ordinary people of England and Wales. But all eyes turned to General George Monk. Would his army march for Rump, or Committee of Safety - or some other future? In February 1660 Monk entered London, and before long, people would know. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The transfer of power between the first Protector and the second was smooth and uneventful; in December 1658 it appeared that England was, and would remain, a republic. But when parliament reconvened, it quickly became clear that the fissures running through the political nation remained unhealed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miranda Malins is an historian, author, novelist and a member of the Cromwell Association. She takes a look back at Cromwell, his life, times, achievements and failures, and the myths and opinions which have grown up around him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1658, the year started with hopeful clarity. There was a new constitution om a firmer footing, and a new parliament was about to sit. There was little sign any more of royalist rebellion, the Commonwealth name was feared and respected abroad and surely now the Protectorate could build from these foundations. But parliament displayed continuing division, and the Commonwealth was to lose the person around who it had been built Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Hobbes has been described as 'one of the true founders of modernity in Western culture'. His most famous work Leviathan was inspired by the issues raised by the Revolution, published in 1651 as he came home - and used to support the Protectorate. Meanwhile in Oxford, Wilkins, Boyle, Hooke, Petty, Ward and others were rewriting the rules of Natural Philosophy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In London, and towns like Oxford, the Protectorate saw the return of stability, economic change and a revived social scene - and the arrival of the Coffee house, and the penny university. Stability and old rythmns re-established themslves around the country, and royalists reacted in different ways. Some like the L'Estrange family in North Norfolk preserved the old ways and accepted the new, though rattled by the Decimation tax. Others found artistic responses - like Katherine Philips, Izaak Walton, and Margaret Cavendish Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cromwell's court struck a balance between the status required of a head of state, and the Cromwell's own openbness and informality. It was a court full of music, as was the supposedly joyless puritan state. There was little of the London theatre, though popular performance at fairs went on as before - but Britain saw its first Opera and John Playford's Dancing Master was all the rage. And in 1657, the first openly Jewish place of worship opened in Creechurch Lane Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a year of the rule of the major generals, there was no money to support their militia. Now, the obvious solution was to repeat and continue the decimation tax; but the Council of State felt that parliament must be consulted. The opponents of the miliary regime gathered their strength - this was their opportunity to mount a coup of their own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was much about Cromwell that was Elizabethan. He was fiercely patriotic, he dreamed of building as trading nation, and laying low the Spanish Empire with a Protestant Alliance. The Western Design against the Spanish Caribbean was part of that plan. It's outcome was to be a crisis for me; and in the face of security threats from within and without, and the withdrawal of God's approval a bold experiment was needed - enter the Major Generals Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cromwell might have felt that the first 9 months went rather well, from his perspective - the Council of State was working well, getting things done, the settlement of the Commonwealth was proceeding and rebellions suppressed - and the first Protectorate parliament would surely be populated with serious, hard working men who would help heal and settle the nation. He was to find out that his nation was as yet far from settled or healed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year we go to York and West Yorkshire, from 8th to 17th September. We'll stay in the Spa town of Harrogate, and in glorious York, Capital of the North with its Cathedral, the Minster, the medieval shopping street of the Shambles and loads of other sights too. We'll go to the Dales, and visit castles, sturdy limestone villages, fortified manor houses, grand stately homes. And the inspiration of artists and poets, Fountains Abbey. Plus there'll be breweries and folk music. Fun, laughter and history guaranteed. Go to the Podcast Tour page to find out more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Between 1654 and 1657, the the Tender of Union with Scotland and the Act of Settlement of Ireland were played out. They were very different in character. Over the following centuries, the former was largely consigned to a historical footnote. The second remains a source of anger and division. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am very pleased that Dirk Hoffman-Becking, of the History of the Germans podcast, has put together this episode about a very favourite event - the capture and hostage of Richard the Lionheart. Why Henry VI did it - and how in the end, Richard had his revenge. Sort of. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether or not Cromwell knew about John Lambert's 'coup' of December 1653, by the end of the month England had a new constitution and a new Head of State - the Lord Protector. Cromwell was installed in Whitehall and Hampton court, new seals designed that drew on Cromwell's Welsh ancestry, and rthe Council of State started work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Contemporary poets found it difficult to deal with Cromwell, both before and after his death. Margaret Oakes talks about how the approach they took, and what they chose to reflect of the man and his career Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Never man was highlier extolled, and never man baselier reported of and vilified” write Richard Baxter - a contemporary of Oliver Cromwell, who was not a fan. In this he was closer to the truth than Samuel Johnson, who wearily wrote in the 18th century that "all that can be told of him is already in print.” Cromwell is makes a subject extraordinarily divisive, and extraordinarily rich, partly because, as some other clever person remarked, people find in him what they are looking for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nelson was a military genius and fierce patriot, idolised by his men and the British public - and held up to ridicule too, for his affair with Emma and his treatment of Fanny. In his book for children, 'Nelson, Hero of the Seas', historian, author and Rest is History podcaster Dominic Sandbrook, brings out his charisma and genius - and his complexity and flaws. And Dominic also had time to speak to me about the challenges and glories of writing for young people - and about Nelson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1649 the English parliament proudly declared that freedom had been restored and that King and Lords had been rejected. But in other ways, the new Commonwealth failed to bring about a new world. True there were difficult problems to resolve with war in Ireland, Scotland and against the Dutch. And naval and commercial achievement was significant. But the English people did not feel they were advancing to a new, better world, and the Rump became deeply unpopular. In the end - there would be a crisis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1646, Charles secretly left Oxford, not sure whether to appeal to the English in London, or the Scots at Newark. It was the start of a long process of three years, which would see torturous negotiations - and the rise of extraordinary ideas about the rights of the people and religious toleration, and how to make all the blood worthwhile in a new world. It was a journey that would lead to the scaffold on a cold morning in January 1649. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his haste to expel the Rump which had failed so badly, Cromwell and the Army officers came up with a temporary expedient. The Nominated assembly would be chosen from the most sober, Godly and intelligent of society, they would do the job of reform the Rump had failed to do, set up proper elections, and then retire once more, their job done. The Commonwealth would be restored and set on the right path. Well; that was the idea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The promised land looked for so longingly by so many seemed in 1653 to be stubbornly remote. Legal reform blocked, religious programmes cancelled, an apparently corrupt parliament, high taxes, and still no fresh elections - rulers seemingly interested only in war and exploting power foir their own advantage. In the Army Council of Officers the resentment was mounting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Milton and Marchamont Nedham were unlikely bedfellows; and yet they became friends, worked closely together and in their very different ways sought to promote the English Republic to the country and outside world. Anthony Bromley talks about their careers in the Republic and how they sought to promote it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.