Sue Cook and the team answer listeners' historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all 'make' history.
Series 13
Programme 9
13 June 2006
Old shirts
Making History listener Catherine Darcy once worked at Glyndebourne and at the Royal Shakespeare Company. She became so frustrated trying to find period shirts for various productions that she decided to start her own company making them. It was then that she realised how little information there is on the history of shirts.
Wallace the lion and travelling menageries
Making History's visit to Saffron Walden Museum, and mention of a stuffed lion called Wallace who may have been the inspiration for Stanley Holloway's monologue Albert and the Lion, prompted many letters and calls with information about other 'Wallaces' throughout the UK.
Making History consulted Dr Vanessa Toulmin, who is Research Director at the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield. She told us that menageries were common in Britain before the 19th century and that it is highly unlikely that the Saffron Walden Wallace was the first lion to be born in captivity as we had claimed.
History in schools
Following recent comments by HRH Prince of Wales and the Chancellor the Rt Hon Gordon Brown, together with a House of Lords debate on the subject, Making History asked Professor Alun Howkins at the University of Sussex and Professor Lisa Jardine at Queen Mary, University of London, for their views on the teaching of history in schools.
Andrew Wrenn of the Historical Association then gave us his views on the current syllabus and outlined changes that being piloted in September.
Concealed garments
Making History's quest for the UK's 'hidden treasures' prompted Dinah Eastop to get in touch to tell us about a project she runs which, quite literally, deals with important hidden history. Dinah is a conservator and she used to get lots of queries from members of the public about the remnants of clothes and shoes that were found in the structure of old houses. She set up the Deliberately Concealed Garments Project at Winchester College of Art as a focus for these finds and research into them.
Vanessa has presented science and current affairs programmes for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for BBC Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.
Contact Making History
Send your comments and questions for future programmes to: Making History BBC Radio 4 PO Box 3096 Brighton BN1 1PL
Vanessa has presented science and current affairs programmes for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for BBC Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald. 