The English Heritage Podcast

Northumberland: castles and the borderlands of power

The English Heritage Podcast

Show Notes

A stone knight, an emerging frontier and a story of shifting identity: this time, Amy and her guests explore how the Anglo-Scottish border began to evolve in the centuries following the Norman Conquest, right through to a critical 1237 treaty.

English Heritage’s Will Wyeth and Professor Richard Oram from the University of Stirling explain how the people and landscape of Northumberland were critical in shaping this story of competing loyalties, powerful figures and soap-opera style characters, from knights and nobles to bishops and kings.

Don’t forget to follow this podcast and leave a review if you love the show.

Join English Heritage: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/join/⁠

Podcast listeners can get 20% off the first year of an annual membership. Use code POD20 at checkout.*

Support our work: ⁠https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/⁠

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales.

*Offer is available through the use of this code and valid for new memberships by annual Direct Debit only. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, on life memberships or renewals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More from The English Heritage Podcast

Oct 22, 2026

In 1911, when Cecila Payne was eleven, she was so musically gifted that none other than the great composer Gustav Holst encouraged her to take up music as a career.

Oct 14, 2026

The day that changed English history forever has dawned.

Oct 12, 2026

Following our look at the Bayeux Tapestry in Episode 1, host Amy Matthews explores the dramatic events leading up to the Battle of Hastings. Joining her are regular guest Roy Porter (Senior Curator of Properties at English Heritage) and Dr Rebecca Tyson (expert in 11th-century maritime history at the University of Bristol).

Oct 8, 2026

From Long Meg and her Daughters to the Devil’s Arrows to Hetty Pegler’s Tump, the British Isles is dotted with ancient places with curious names. But who came up with those titles and what inspired them?

Oct 5, 2026

Welcome to the first episode of our brand-new, seven-part English Heritage Podcast video series exploring the historic events of 1066.

See all episodes →