Past Matters
By Ploy Radford
Museums, galleries and historic houses are treasure troves of items from the past. But how easy is it at these sites to unknowingly just walk straight past an object with an incredible story to tell? In this podcast series host Ploy Radford talks to the experts at different museums, galleries and historic houses about the most underrated objects in their collection, and unveils some fantastic facts.
Latest episode
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New Year special - Sophia Dorothea, the British queen who never was
In a new year special, historian and author Catherine Curzon tells podcast host Ploy Radford about the story of the British queen who never was - Sophia Dorothea, the much maligned wife of King George I. -
Animal bones - Fishbourne Roman Palace
In this final episode of season 3, podcast host Ploy Radford and zooarchaeologists Dr Rob Symmons and Professor Naomi Sykes discuss the importance of animal bones to unveiling the past, and how the ones discovered at Fishbourne Roman Palace … -
Circles of Stone exhibition - Stonehenge
Stonehenge is without doubt one of the most iconic historic monuments in Britain. It turns out though it wasn't just people in prehistoric Britain building stone circles of cultural significance though - it was also happening on the other si… -
Sword and helmet - William Morris Gallery
Find out more about the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement in England, William Morris, from the story of a sword and helmet he had made for one of his first artistic projects. On display at the William Morris Gallery, these items reveal… -
'The Lost King' - The Wallace Collection
This is an episode for arms and armour enthusiasts, Ricardians, and those interested in the magic of movie-making. Host Ploy Radford interviews Dr Toby Capwell from the Wallace Collection about their temporary exhibition linked to 'The Lost … -
'Without hands' - the Sarah Biffin exhibition at Philip Mould & Company
This podcast is about celebrating the underrated, so in this episode, host Ploy Radford talks to art historian and miniatures expert Emma Rutherford about an utterly remarkable artist whose work is being exhibited for the first time in 100 y… -
'Tiny Traces' - The Foundling Museum
Past Matters podcast host Ploy Radford interviews Hannah Dennett, Curator of the 'Tiny Traces: African & Asian Children at London's Foundling Hospital', about the stories of these children, uncovered for the first time for this vital… -
Christmas 2021 special episode - interview with Lucy Jago
Lucy Jago, author of 'A Net for Small Fishes', explains how a painting of Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset, resonated particularly with her as she was writing her novel, which follows Frances' involvement in the Overbury murder scandal t… -
Christmas 2021 special episode - interview with Annie Garthwaite
In one of three Christmas 2021 special episodes, host Ploy Radford talks to author Annie Garthwaite, about an illustration in the Neville Book of Hours that helped her capture the personality of Cecily of York, the titular characte… -
Christmas 2021 special episode - interview with Jennifer Saint
In one of three Christmas 2021 special episodes, Past Matters host Ploy Radford talks to author Jennifer Saint about an ancient Minoan object that helped inspire her debut novel Ariadne, which retells the famous Ancient Greek myths of Theseu…