Episode 1: Windows

Tuesday, September 27th, 2016
What could unexpectedly connect Henry VIII and the Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys to the beginning of the Thirty Years War in 1618, and to the ultimate symbol of British power at sea, whilst also linking Jane Austen and vampires along the way?
Hold on to your hats and fasten your seat belts as the ‘historical adventurer’, Dr Sam Willis, and the ‘emperor of eras’, Professor James Daybell, escort you on a full-throttle tour of the ‘window’ through history.
Ever wondered why someone would decide to put a conservatory on the back of a wooden warship? Want to know what titillated Swedish nobility in the eighteenth century? Ever considered how the window could be a symbol for the repression of the rights of common land during the era of the enclosure acts? Or even pondered the power of the window to divide communities during the English Reformation? Join Sam and James as they take a peek through the stained glass pane of history, and throw a little light, and a breath of fresh air on the unexpected historical connections of the window. Bring a scarf – it may get draughty.
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