We last told you all about the Alnwick Castle Library project in April this year, on episode 59 of the podcast. On that episode, we spoke to Project Conservator Ellin Belton and Household Controller Andrew Jarman and found out the plans for restoring this amazing state room within Alnwick Castle.

The project has continued its progress since then, so we went back to the Library to find out the latest updates. This time, Deborah was joined by Ellin and Andrew, as well as Buildings manager for Alnwick Castle, Robin Smeaton - making his long-awaited debut on the podcast.

Together, these key members of the project team tell us all about the work cleaning the Library ceiling, the discoveries made during that process, and how amazing it will look when it is revealed to people once again. We also hear news and details on the Library's silk wall hangings, its 200-year-old chandelier and the challenges of following plumbing instructions in 1899's 'The Book of the Bells and the Book of the Flues'!

We recorded this episode just below the incredible Library ceiling, at the top of the scaffolding in place within the room - so you may hear background noise that reflects this.

If you enjoyed the episode - please let us know! We will visit the Library again before the end of the project and if there is anything you want to know, we would love to ask your questions to the team. Thank you!

Cecily, the debut novel from Annie Garthwaite, told the story of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, through to the triumph of her son Edward in the Battle of Towton in 1461. In her new book, 'The King's Mother', Annie follows Cecily in her new role as King's Mother to Edward - a position virtually unique in English history. But she is not the only woman vying for that position...

The book is a brilliant read, and we are very lucky that Annie Garthwaite will be joining us in person at Alnwick Castle to speak about it on Tuesday 9th July.

Before that, our host Deborah spoke to Annie about the book, how she approached the history of the Wars of the Roses, and her depictions of Cecily, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort. You will also get an exclusive sneak preview as Annie reads a short excerpt from 'The King's Mother'.

The book will be available from all good bookshops from Thursday 11th July. If you want to get hold of a copy two days before publication, tickets for our evening with Annie Garthwaite are available now - check alnwickcastle.com or visit our EventBrite page for all the details!

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!)

Since his last appearance on the Alnwick Castle Podcast a year ago, one of our favourite regular guests Bill Openshaw has released his first book! To The Call Of Bugles explores the full history of the Percy Tenantry Volunteers, the army based at the Castle and around the north east over 200 years ago to defend it from invasion by Napoleon.

Bill joined our hosts Deborah and Daniel once again on this episode, alongside fellow PTV enthusiast Nick Lewis, to tell us some of his favourite stories from the book, new discoveries he has made, and to give us a preview of what visitors to Alnwick Castle might expect to see this year - regular appearances, demonstrations and performances by Percy Tenantry Volunteers reenactors, including Bill himself!

Check our website alnwickcastle.com for full dates of all our PTV days in 2024.

If you want more about the Percy Tenantry, we highly recommend picking up a copy of To The Call Of Bugles, available now from online retailers and the Alnwick Castle gift shops. Bring it on your visit and Bill might just sign it!

You can also go back into our podcast archive and find episode 9, 'The Percy Tenantry Volunteers', or episode 32, 'The 2nd Duke of Northumberland' to learn more.

Throughout the medieval period (and beyond), the jester was an important - and often hilarous - figure in the royal courts of England, and the art of being a fool has not been forgotten! In this episode of the podcast, our hosts Deborah and Daniel speak to Tom Fool, one of the finest silly people working today, to find out how he got into his stilt-walking, fire-breathing, fruit-throwing profession.

You will hear about the history of the fool, from Henry II to Henry VIII, and what to expect if you visit Alnwick Castle this Easter and see Tom Fool perform his brilliant shows.

For full details on when Tom is appearing at Alnwick Castle, please visit our website. You can also hear him on the Silly History Boys podcast, available from all good providers.

If you found this podcast side-splitting, please let us know by leaving a five-star review or rating wherever you get your podcasts!

Lions of the Red Rose is a brand new book exploring the history of the Wars of the Roses by focusing on members of the Percy family - the 2nd Earl of Northumberland, his four warrior sons, and their surviving heir, battling through some of the most brutal and violent decades of British history.

The book, which also includes beautifully produced illustrations and maps by Peter Phillips, as well as images of incredible surviving documents from the Alnwick Castle archive, was written by His Grace the 12th Duke of Northumberland. The Alnwick Castle Podcast was able to speak with him about the process behind writing the book, his thoughts on his warring Percy family ancestors, from whom he can trace direct descent, and the most interesting discoveries he made in researching Lions of the Red Rose.

The book will be available from this year from the Alnwick Castle gift shops, and is accompanied by a new exhibition, also called Lions of the Red Rose.

The previous book by the Duke of Northumberland, Lions of the North, is also available to buy now.

For more on the Percys and the Wars of the Roses, please check out our previous episode, which offers a brief introduction to the subject. Look out for future podcasts covering the new exhibition and more as we spend 2024 sharing the story of the Lions of the Red Rose.