Podcaster. Comms expert. Also a pretty inept equestrian.
For this second Easter 2023 special episode, I interview Dr Jane Draycott on the life and times of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of the famous Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman general Mark Antony. While Cleopatra Selene has slipped under the radar in history compared to her mother, she led an eventful life that saw her move from Egyptian princess, to Roman captive, to African queen.
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For this Easter 2023 special episode of Past Matters, host Ploy Radford interviews Dr David Haycock, curator of a new exhibition about the equestrian artist Lucy Kemp-Welch (1869-1958) at the Russell Cotes Art Gallery & Museum. The episode explores Kemp-Welch’s life, extraordinary art, and how she helped defy conventions at the time about female artists.
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In a new year special, historian and author Catherine Curzon tells me about the story of the British queen who never was – Sophia Dorothea, the much maligned wife of King George I.
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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 suggest there was once an exotic zoo there.
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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 side of the world in prehistoric Japan. To delve into this phenomenon more, English Heritage has put on an exhibition ‘Circles of Stone: Stonehenge and Prehistoric Japan’ in the exhibition centre at Stonehenge. I speak to Interpretation Manager Melanie Coussens about a few of the underrated objects in the collection that have stories worth your attention.
Read MoreFind 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 lots about Morris’ early life, his influences and are even linked to his love story with his wife.
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I was very excited to interview again, for this episode, the guest from my very first podcast! I of course mean the lovely, font of knowledge on arms and armour that is Dr Toby Capwell from the Wallace Collection. This time our object of discussion was a suit of armour from a small but captivating exhibition at the Wallace Collection called ‘The Lost King: Imagining Richard III’.
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This podcast is about celebrating the underrated, so in this episode, I talk to art historian and miniatures expert Emma Rutherford about an utterly remarkable artist whose work is being exhibited for the first time in 100 years at the Philip Mould & Company Gallery in London.
The artist in question is Sarah Biffin, who lived from 1784 – 1850, and created beautiful works of art, particularly miniatures, that would be considered wonderful even if you weren’t aware that she painted them without hands. Biffin was born with phocomelia, so without arms and legs, and overcame this enormous challenge to become a celebrated artist who painted for the royal family. In this episode, you will find out more about the extraordinary life she lived, her artwork, and how she was perceived during her life.
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In this first episode of season 3, I interview Hannah Dennett, Curator of the ‘Tiny Traces: African & Asian Children at London’s Foundling Hospital’ exhibition at the Foundling Museum, about the stories of these children, uncovered for the first time. Listen to learn more about the lives of foundlings and the complex views on race in 18th century Britain.
Read MoreLucy 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 that rocked the Stuart court.
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Ploy Radford 