After a sell-out 2025, Harvington History Festival returns from Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 July 2026 for five days of historical deep dives, surprising revelations, accidental deaths and more.
Taking place at the picturesque Harvington Hall, a historic moated Elizabethan manor house in Worcestershire, the festival finds 16 of the UK’s most accomplished historians, authors and broadcasters, sharing their unique insight into Britain’s long history, and particularly the turbulent Tudor era. Covering everything from court scandals and jealousies, to the everyday challenges of common folk, each session transports visitors back to times past, as leading experts disclose newfound details based on rigorous research.
Dr Miranda Kaufmann (Thursday) reveals the remarkable stories of the many forgotten Africans who lived free in Tudor England, transforming how we see this most intriguing period of history; Alison Weir (Thursday), the UK’s top selling female historian, exposes the startling secret of Kate Carey, cousin of Elizabeth I and daughter of Mary Boleyn, who’d witnessed her aunt executed by Henry VIII, and Dr Nicola Tallis (Friday) reports how Lettice Knollys’ secret marriage to the Queen’s former suitor, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, led to banishment. Meanwhile, National Portrait Gallery Senior Curator Dr Charlotte Bolland (Sunday) traces how Elizabeth I cleverly used portraiture to shape her public image and Amy McElroy (Thursday) reassesses the legacy of Dutch Renaissance scholar Erasmus.
But it’s not all about Royalty and the upper classes as Professor Steven Gunn (Saturday), having unearthed thousands of coroners’ inquest reports, highlights the daily lives, and sudden deaths, of ordinary people, including the life-threatening dangers posed by fruit trees and fetching water, as well as ice bowls and bears!
Delving back into earlier times, the festival opens (Wednesday) with Dr Elizabeth Norton’s examination of 5,000 years of female monarchy, while Dr Eleanor Barraclough uncovers on the day-to-day life of the all-conquering Vikings, and Professor David Woodman reports on the 1100th anniversary of the coronation Æthelstan, England’s founding king.
Others heading to Harvington History Festival include domestic historian Ruth Goodman (The Victorian Farm, Inside The Factory, On The Farm, The One Show), author and broadcaster Tracy Borman OBE (Chief Historian, Historic Royal Palaces), Antiques Roadshow jewellery specialist Susan Rumfitt, and Echoes of History and Gone Medieval podcaster Matt Lewis.
Soundtracking the occasion are internationally-acclaimed vocal ensemble Apollo 5 (Saturday) with a concert highlighting works by Elizabethan composers Tallis, Byrd and Robert White alongside contemporary pieces by James MacMillan, Arvo Pärt, and more.
In addition to the speakers, Fieldings Auctioneers team of experts, headed by Will Farmer (Antiques Roadshow), will be also on hand throughout the festival to give free evaluations and information on items presented to them by ticket holders.
Hall Manager Phil Downing, said: “After a sell-out 2025, we’re pleased to return with another sterling line-up of your favourite historians, authors, academics, broadcasters and specialists in the beautiful setting of Harvington Hall. Their revealing and entertaining insights shine new light on our past, but also show how the present day has been shaped.”
Hidden deep in the Worcestershire countryside – between Kidderminster and Bromsgrove, and just a short drive from Birmingham – the Grade I listed Harvington Hall is a unique Elizabethan moated manor. Reflecting an era of great religious persecution and upheaval, the residence is home to the finest collection of priest hides (also known as priest holes) in the country, with seven in total. It also houses a number of impressive Tudor wall paintings.
Following a period of decay, the Hall was gifted to the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1923. Fully restored, it’s now open to the public all year round.
Harvington History Festival (Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 July 2026) is sponsored by Fieldings Auctioneers and Handelsbanken. For more information, and tickets, which start from £12, see: www.harvingtonhall.co.uk
LISTINGS
Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 July 2026
Harvington History Festival 2026
Harvington Hall, Harvington Hall Lane, Harvington, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY10 4LR
www.harvingtonhall.co.uk
Main festival sponsors:
• Fieldings Auctioneers Ltd: fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk
• Handelsbanken: www.handelsbanken.co.uk/en/
Tickets from £12 per talk/event.
Please note a festival ticket doesn’t include entry to the Hall.
Social Media
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www.threads.net/@harvington_hall_official_
www.youtube.com/channel/UCZu8ILTW1c1MRaBrbwGwsjQ
Hashtag: #harvingtonhall
DAY 1: WEDNESDAY 22 JULY 2026
Dr Elizabeth Norton: Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarch
The historian tells the scintillating story of the female kings: women who risked everything, sometimes unwillingly, to find a place in a man’s world. (11am)
Dr Eleanor Barraclough: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age
Exploring the day-to-day lives of an extraordinary culture that spanned centuries and spread from its Scandinavian heartlands to the remote fjords of Greenland, the Arctic wastelands, the waterways and steppes of Eurasia, all the way to the Byzantine Empire and Islamic Caliphate. (1.30pm)
Professor David Woodman: Æthelstan: The First King of England
Marking the 1100th anniversary of Æthelstan’s coronation, and the upcoming 1100th anniversary of the birth of England, Woodman explores the reign of England’s founder king, whose achievements of 927, when he conquered the Vikings at York, rival the Norman Conquest in shaping Britain as we know it.
(4pm)
Matt Lewis: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Founding a Dynasty
Matt Lewis (Echoes of History and Gone Medieval podcasts) explores European power couple Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the challenges and successes that define the birth of the Plantagenet dynasty.
(6.30pm)
DAY 2: THURSDAY 23 JULY 2026
Amy McElroy: Erasmus: Foolish or Farsighted?
Desiderius Erasmus is arguably one of the best scholars to have lived but who was he, and why is there so much controversy around him? Author Amy McElroy discusses how one man who befriended kings and popes became the centre of religious chaos and left a legacy that has echoed through history to the modern day.
(11am)
Dr Miranda Kaufmann In Conversation: Black Tudors
Miranda Kaufmann (in conversation with Beautiful Universe podcast host Jo Durrant) reveals the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England, uncovering how Black Tudors were present at some of the defining moments of the age, christened, married and buried by the Church, paid wages and allowed to testify in court like any other Tudors.
(1.30pm)
Matt Lewis, Dr Nicola Tallis & Nathen Amin: Who Is To Blame For The Wars Of The Roses?
What were the causes of this devastating conflict where cousin waged war on cousin, and just who was to blame for the bloodshed that left England’s fields crimson? Three of Britain’s leading 15th century historians debate.
(4pm)
Alison Weir: The Boleyn Secret
The UK’s top selling female historian delves into the story of Kate Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn, who conceived a deep hatred for King Henry VIII after seeing her aunt, Queen Anne Boleyn, meet her grim end.
(6.30pm)
DAY 3: FRIDAY 24 JULY 2026
Dr Nicola Tallis: Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester
The author and historian reveals the story of Lettice, who dared to marry without the consent of Queen Elizabeth I, but worse than that, her husband was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favourite and one-time suitor to the Queen herself!
(11am)
Gareth Russell: The Six Wives at Hampton Court
The author of the best-selling history of Hampton Court, The Palace, explores how all six of Henry VIII’s Queens left their mark. At Hampton Court, one faced ruin, another dazzled at lavish parties, one died, one drank, another wrote to illicit lovers, and the last took over the government.
(1.30pm)
Susan Rumfitt: Power and Symbolism of Tudor & Jacobean Jewellery
A thrilling exposé of the astonishing gems and jewels of the Tudor and Jacobean Royalty and Nobility, and their fascinating symbolism, from the Antiques Roadshow specialist.
(4pm)
Ruth Goodman: What Shall We Have For Dinner? Food & Dining In Wealthy Elizabethan Households
A lively look at the food and dining in an Elizabethan household, exploring the customs and atmosphere that surrounded the table, from the social and domestic historian, and TV presenter.
(6.30pm)
DAY 4: SATURDAY 25 JULY 2026
Professor Tracy Borman: The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty
In an illustrated talk based on her Sunday Times Bestseller, The Stolen Crown, Tracy Borman OBE reveals the shocking truth behind one of history’s best-kept secrets.
(11am)
Professor Tracy Borman: The House of Boleyn: The True Story of Tudor England’s Most Famous Family
The historian and broadcaster tells the real story that inspired her new book, The House of Boleyn, taking the audience behind closed doors to explore the life of the Boleyns as you’ve never seen them before.
(1.30pm)
Professor Steven Gunn: An Accidental History of Tudor England
From bear attacks in north Oxford to a bowls-on-ice incident on the Thames, Steven Gunn reveals a remarkable trove of sources and stories to put common folk at the heart of Tudor England, bringing the reality of their world to life as never before.
(4pm)
Festival Concert: Apollo 5 – This Place Is Holy: From Byrd to MacMillan
Beautiful sacred music through the ages from British and European composers sung by the top internationally-acclaimed ensemble.
Supported by Broughton Pianos
(6.30pm)
DAY 5: SUNDAY 26 JULY 2026
Dr Charlotte Bolland: The Changing Face of an Icon: Portraits of Elizabeth I
How does a powerful woman present herself in a society that views women as inferior to men? Bolland (Senior Curator, National Portrait Gallery) explores the way in which Elizabeth and her advisors used portraiture to shape her image as queen over the course of her long reign.
Supported by Worcester Arts Society
(1.30pm)
Lesley Smith: An Audience with Anne Hathaway
At the age of 18, William Shakespeare married a local woman called Anne Hathaway when she was 26 years of age, and carrying his child. Smith’s vibrant and often amusing talk (given in spectacular garb made by a RSC costume specialist) explores the possibilities of their relationship.
(4pm)