Katherine Howard, executed in 1542 for adultery and treason, has long polarised opinion - portrayed either as a promiscuous good-time-girl or an abused young woman.

Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the truth behind Henry VIII's fifth wife.

In this first episode, Suzannah visits Chesworth ...

Katherine Howard, executed in 1542 for adultery and treason, has long polarised opinion - portrayed either as a promiscuous good-time-girl or an abused young woman.

Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the truth behind Henry VIII's fifth wife.

In this second episode, historian Gareth Russell ...

Acclaimed classicist Natalie Haynes is back on History Hit. This time she explores one of the most powerful and enduring myths of the ancient world: the story of Demeter and Persephone.

Our journey begins with the kidnapping of the young goddess Persephone by Hades, the dark Lord of the Underw...

In the series conclusion, Natalie Haynes delves into the dark compromise that resolved the myth of Demeter and Persephone. She explores how this narrative gave ancient people a vital framework for understanding the seasons - a bitter bargain that marked the transition from the vibrant bloom of sp...

We all know the name, Joan of Arc. But who really was this celebrated voice of the people of France? For some she is a simple peasant girl - one of the people. For others, she is a champion of nation and church. For the English, she was simply the enemy.

Dr Eleanor Janega is on a mission to deci...

Join Dr Kate Lister as we follow 17th century Royal Favourite, actress Nell Gwynn’s rise to fame from humble orange seller to actress on the glittering restoration stage to her most famous and remembered role, the mistress of King Charles II. But our Nelly is so much more than Charles’ favourite ...

The Brontë family created some of the world's most passionate and enduring novels, yet their lives were shadowed by tragedy.

Dr Maddy Pelling and Dr Anthony Delaney challenge the romantic myths surrounding the family, tracing the harsh reality of their lives in 19th-century Haworth—a crowded Yor...

Helen Carr takes a deep dive into the story of one of the most decisive battles in medieval history.

In 1314, a massive English army headed into Scotland, led by King Edward II. He was on a mission to crush his arch enemy, the Scottish King, Robert the Bruce.

The battle that followed, by the Ba...

Hatshepsut – whose name means “foremost of noblewomen” – was an exceptional figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. Only the second woman in history to assume the title of pharaoh, during her reign she oversaw the building of monumental temples, established trade connections with far away African...

In this second episode of our Great British Houses series:
In the heart of Kent is one of Britain’s most intriguing houses: Sissinghurst Castle Garden. Originally a grand Elizabethan manor, by the 20th century Sissinghurst had fallen into a ruinous state. Yet it was this wildness and disrepair wh...

In 60 AD, the fledgling Roman town of Colchester witnessed ancient Armageddon. Thousands of British warriors descended on the settlement, turning what was then the capital of Roman Britain to ash. At the head of these attackers was one of the most well-known figures in British history - the warri...

Women have been fighting to be seen as professional artists for hundreds of years.

Dr Kate Lister explores a brand new exhibition at the Tate Britain that features the work of over 100 female professional artists: 'Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520–1920'. Kate investigates the chall...

History Hit goes on a remarkable journey with classicist Natalie Haynes to the beautiful Greek island of Corfu to discover the truth behind the myth of Medusa: a woman who both beguiles and terrifies us.

In this first episode, Natalie explores the roots of the extraordinary myth and follows it ...

History Hit goes on a remarkable journey with classicist Natalie Haynes to the beautiful Greek island of Corfu, to discover the truth behind the myth of Medusa: a woman who both beguiles and terrifies us.

In the second and final episode, we explore Medusa’s tragic death at the hands of Perseus;...

This winter, Dr Eleanor Janega leads us into the darker corners of the medieval imagination - a world where the boundary between the living and the dead was dangerously thin.

Drawing on medieval chronicles, religious monuments, and Icelandic sagas, we learn why people believed the dead could ret...

17th century Iceland was a remote place. But its isolation didn’t stop it getting caught in one of the most horrifying crazes of the time, the witch hunts. But in the breathtaking landscape of Iceland something was different. In Iceland 93% of witches killed were men. Dr Kate Lister is on a missi...

History Hit has special access to the Six Lives exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery - a remarkable gathering of paintings, brought together for the first time, representing six Tudor women who had something in common: they were all married to King Henry VIII.

Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb take...

When you wake up every morning and get dressed, you probably don’t stop to think that you’re taking part in a millennia-old cultural tradition. How you choose to look is all part of the long history of humans altering their appearance to make a statement - from self-expression and individuality t...

Dr Eleanor Janega investigates one of the least recorded aspects of medieval life - working women. But dig deep and you can find the evidence - proving the medieval period is a fascinating window into the true history of women…and work!

Eleanor takes on the jobs and businesses of real medieval ...

March 2022 marks the 500th anniversary since Anne Boleyn made her debut at the court of King Henry VIII.

Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the story of Anne’s remarkable upbringing in England, the Netherlands and France before she arrived at the heart of Tudor England. For all Anne Boleyn’s...

Penises, they’re everywhere in ancient art and sculpture…But back in Ancient Greece they were artistically embodied a bit differently…why? Size spoke volumes.

Dr Kate Lister and her handy tape measure are on a quest to get the measure of Ancient Greek statues in the Cambridge Museum of Classics...

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb unravels one of the most profound transformations in Tudor society, when faith and politics collided: the dissolution of the monasteries. Over just four years in the 1530s, Henry VIII dismantled the spiritual and cultural bedrock of medieval England. This was the most ...

In this episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb continues her journey across England to uncover the dramatic final days of England’s monasteries. What began with the smaller monasteries in episode 1, now became a whirlwind of destruction. A tradition that had endured for a thousand years came to a ...

Every generation leaves a mark on Britain, but if you know where to look, you can still find the ancient tracks that our ancestors used to crisscross this land. In this two-part special, anthropologist and keen hiker Mary-Ann Ochota tracks the pathways of our ancestors from the Uffington White Ho...