Blog

Where do those graceful hotel flowers come from, and who picks them? Meet the 17th century gardeners and more recent lily-pickers of Middleton Hall. Volunteer, Debbie Jordan, has been researching the estate’s women workers across its centuries of history. She shares some of her discoveries here, but watch out for their event this September where more stories of Everyday Histories will be explored!

Researching a forgotten princess took heritage detective, Sundeep Braich, from Lichfield to Kensington Palace. First sharing the story of Princess Irene Duleep Singh in an event for our festival last year, she was invited to the palace for a special preview of their new exhibition. Excellent as it is though, the exhibition cannot cover everything, so here Sundeep fills in some gaps to highlight the other half of an extraordinary family, and their legacy.

Meet Emma, the Victorian dressmaker with a soft spot for toffee! Princethorpe College have been delving into their archives and have a wonderful story of Everyday History* to share from the site’s former use as a Priory. Their archivist, Joanna Wong, gives us a taster here, but do look out for their event in September where there will be more stories to explore. (*Nb. Everyday Histories is this year's festival theme.)

Captivated by the mysterious beauty of a tilted gravestone, Jeanne Pope has discovered an unexpected connection with a Victorian cook. Unravelling Philadelphia’s past raised more questions than answers though, and highlights how every life has a valuable story to tell.

Beatrix Potter is beloved as an author but how much do you know of her as Beatrix Heelis, the farmer? Step into her clogs and discover the land and the animals she loved. Plus some of the people she couldn’t have done it all without.

Curtain up, and let’s welcome into the spotlight three brilliant entertainers who defied gender conventions. The popular male impersonator who became Britain’s highest earning woman. The Colonel who created a sideshow out of speculation about their marriage. The elegant ventriloquist with a matcho working class alter ego. Sit back and enjoy as Showtown in Blackpool introduce us to these stories of working lives that don’t revolve around a desk!

In Georgian England a London merchant saw the opportunities of industry in the North. Settling in Cheshire he built Daresbury Hall for his family, from which a web of stories can be unravelled. Heatherfield Heritage have been digging in to the records to follow the threads of these everyday histories and share some of them with us here - but watch out for more over the festival in September!

Two Marys and an Anne – meet the real women behind characters hovering in the margins of some of our most beloved books. As we celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday and prepare to explore the history of daily working lives for next year’s festival, Kathleen Palmer, curator of a fascinating exhibition, introduces us to the roles of housekeeper, governess and milliner in Georgian era England.

Snowflakes made of diamonds and a room made of seashells! Delve into the history of some of the National Trust's treasured collections before the return of the popular BBC series this Christmas.

Rosa May Billinghurst was a formidable woman and celebrated suffragette. Being partially paralysed by polio as a child was no bar to her activism, indeed she used her adapted tricycle to advantage at protests. Rosa’s story was part of an exhibition on the history of disability activism the Pankhurst Museum researched for our festival this year. To share this important work more widely we’ve invited them to give a taster of Rosa’s story and the history uncovered.

Discover the talented dancers who have worked on stages across the globe, on films such as Indianna Jones, and with iconic pop stars like Madonna. The history of Black dancers in British ballet is rich and inspiring, but not well known. A project run by Oxygen Arts is seeking to change that, they gave a wonderful talk over our festival but as we couldn’t all attend, we’ve invited them to share their work here. Be inspired by some of their stories and find out more about their important work.

Ten days, so… many… miles! By bike, train and car the team criss-crossed the country to visit as many places as possible over the festival. Alongside managing the media channels and taking turns with 'helpdesk duty' it's really important for us to see events in action, to take photographs (LOTs of photographs!) and support the amazing volunteers and staff working so hard on the ground. From ancient African games and local folklore to industrial mines and pink treasure trails, here's a quick taste of where we went and what we discovered this September.

From the tea pavilion housing a rare camellia collection to a very special outdoor swimming pool – England has had some fascinating winners in these prestigious awards. Discover a little more about them, what it takes to win, and what that win can do with Sara Robertson’s introduction. Applications are open now for 2026 - could we be highlighting you next year?

Discover the story of England’s oldest brick gate – the people who made it and the magnificent material it is made from. Do you know what a squynchion is? Can you spot the difference between a Queen Anne front and a Mary-Ann behind? Follow the Beverley brick road for an insight into the history of this essential building block and a rather special bar made from it!

From providing maps to highlighting quiet times, there are some simple things we can do to make our spaces more accessible, for more people to enjoy. For Neurodiversity Celebration week Justine Reilly introduces us to The Neurodiverse Museum and some of their top tips.

In the heart of Greenwich stands a church hemmed in by shops and the bustle of tourists off to see the Cutty Sark, or the Painted Hall perhaps. A church built on the site of a saint’s murder in 1012, played in by the famous Tudor composer, Thomas Tallis, and that saved the lives of its community sheltering in its crypt during the Blitz. In short, a church with many stories to tell… including the lives of the 18th century women who sat on its newly installed pews. Especially for women's history month the fabulous team at St Alfege are sharing a taster of some of these stories with us here.

From the warm robes of a 16th century builder to the stylish hat of a modernist architect. The National Trust has an extraordinary fashion collection, and each piece can tell us so much more about the people behind the places in its care. Join two curators on a preview tour of this exceptional wardrobe before their new book is published, which will highlight the stories of 100 things to wear.

Bath – famous for its Roman spa, and Regency balls. Just outside this, oh so English, town though, is a museum set in acres of stunning gardens, dedicated to America. It was the dream of one transatlantic couple who were interested in decorative arts and wanted to showcase the work of early Europeans in America. Here the museum team introduce their story and the amazing collection you can visit today.

Magic and mayhem about sums up this season (oh no it doesn’t, oh yes it does!). Get in the mood and discover a little more about what goes on before, behind and on the stage with this post from the brilliant team at Crewe Lyceum Theatre.

You’re never that far from some kind of waterway in England, so sailing has been important to us since our earliest days. A safe harbour and a practical dock are essential and with so much history behind them they have a wealth of stories to tell; from royalty to photography! A new initiative was launched this year to highlight these places and here, maritime historian, Cathy Shelbourne, shares some with us.