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

This week on the Country Life Podcast, Matt Thompson — Curatorial Director of English Heritage — joins our host James Fisher to talk history. ·      Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts ·      Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify ·      Listen to Country Life podcast on AudibleRecent 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 creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Matt ThompsonEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via PixabaySpecial Thanks: Adam Wilbourn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.