In our silliest, most anarchic episode yet, the Alnwick Castle Podcast has crossed over with the Silly History Boys Show! This band of hilarious historical performers will be joining us at Alnwick Castle this May half term holiday (and again later in the summer) for a series of brilliant interactive shows... so our hosts Daniel and Deborah met Tombo, Billbo and Uncle Bob-Bob (a.k.a Tom, Will and Rob) to find out just how silly history can be.

In the interview - which you'll join in media res, another first for us! - you will find out how the Silly History Boys work, learn new words like "funducation" and "mythtory", and get a preview of just how the group will recreate the entire Wars of the Roses in half an hour when they appear at Alnwick Castle.

The Silly History Boys Show is available on all major podcast platforms - we recommend giving it a listen. We also suggest you see them in person this half term, and this summer, at Alnwick - check our website for all the dates.

And if you found this episode funducational, please share it and recommend it to your friends!

2024 sees the undertaking of a huge project within the Library of Alnwick Castle. Created to house the collection of 14,000 books in the 19th century, in recent years the Library has been a main living space for the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and their family - as well as a favourite room for many of our visitors (and staff). This year, it is being transformed, and conserved from top to bottom, in preparation for the family returning to live in the castle over the winter months.

To find out more about the project, Deborah spoke to Ellin Belton, the Project Conservator, and Andrew Jarman, Household Controller for the Duke and Duchess. They explain the thinking behind the project, the work that goes into the smallest of details, and the amount of scaffolding required to reach the beautiful carved ceiling of the Library - as well as much more.

We hope to return to the Library later this year for an update on the project, but if you would like to find out more, visitors to Alnwick Castle can still visit the room during our open season, where you might see Ellin and her team at work!

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know by leaving us a five-star rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Every April, we like to devote an episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast to William Shakespeare, so as part of our 2024 series of podcasts about the Wars of the Roses, we thought this year's edition could focus on how Shakespeare treated this part of English history in his plays.

We were joined once again by expert and scholar Ronan Paterson to discuss the sources Shakespeare used for his histories - from Richard II to Richard III via several Henrys - and many other things, including the character of Richard III (and how he differs from the historical figure), the women in the plays like Joan of Arc and Margaret of Anjou, and why the Henry VI plays deserve a better reputation within the Shakespeare canon. Naturally, the Percy family turn up too, as the Earls of Northumberland play a role in Shakespeare's retelling of the Wars of the Roses, just as they did in reality.

If you enjoyed this episode, there are two more Shakespearean podcasts to enjoy - look for episode 8 and episode 33 in our podcast feed!

(And please do leave a positive review or five-star rating on your podcast platform. Every one helps!)