The Land Rovers Podcast

Episode 53THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTThe Railway to NowhereThis week we go in search Suffolk’s famous railway to nowhere - The “Middy”.Started in 1903, the Mid Suffolk Light Railway was a grand project intended to connect rural communities, but ran out of money and was abandoned just 4 years later, half finished. These days it’s just a great scar on the landscape - a raised ridge dotted with modern ruins - and it ends abruptly in the middle of a field that just so happens to contain echoes of an ancient and medieval past as well.So with tales of the prisoners of war who worked on the line alongside rumours of Roman settlements and lost Medieval buildings filling our heads, we set off to see if we could uncover some secrets of The Middy…Thanks for listening! If you enjoy the pod then please SUBSCRIBE or FOLLOW and leave a 5 STAR review wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us grow, and who knows - we might even get to appear on Apple or Spotify's editorial recommendation charts!For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 52THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTSilver and the Sacred StoneHidden away near the source of the River Deben lies a mysterious stone steeped in centuries of folklore.Legend has it that when the church clock strikes midnight, the Groaning Stone turns over and lets out an terrible, eerie groan. And there are two other incredible legends linked to this prehistoric remnant of the Ice Age. First, that it's history might stretch back over 2000 years to a time when Iron-Age leaders used it to elect their leaders, and secondly, that it lies close to the site of a missing Medieval church that was mysteriously swallowed by the earth whilst full of parishoners. Perfect for Halloween we thought. So we hit the fields to find signs of Celtic tribes and forgotten Anglo Saxon communities.And ended up finding two of the most incredible silver coins we've ever seen...For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Hi Everyone -A little message from us to say SORRY!No episode this week - the storms have played havoc with our adventuring - we'll be back next Tuesday with the story of a lost church, a haunted stone, and an area where history refuses to stay buried...Thanks for all your support!George & PaulIn the meantime please do subscribe wherever you get your podcasts - and leave some 5 star reviews there too. The follows and reviews bring us to the attention of Spotify or Apple and they might consider including us in their editorial lists - which would be amazing!! For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 51THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTAshes in the MoatWe're back around Kenton Hall this week, a glorious Tudor fronted manor house with more than a few secrets scattered around the tumbling landscape that surrounds it.Not too long ago extensive field walking turned up hundreds of sherds of Roman pottery in and around the moat itself, and what was clear from wider archaeology was that the hall was the very heart of a wider Roman rural landscape. It stayed the heart of this community for centuries, with layer upon layer of history cradled by the silty water and surrounding clay.Then, in 1919, disaster struck: the hall burned to the ground, leaving just the grand Tudor facade that greets us today, and another layer of history was engulfed by the moat. But this year, following the extraordinary summer we've had, the water is so low there's a once in a generation chance to walk the banks and unearth some of those secrets.And we simply couldn't say no! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts - our 50th episode is coming up and you won’t want to miss it! For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 50THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTBlood FieldsJust outside the village of Debenham the undulating slopes of Suffolk hide a potentially bloody secret. Around here sits the Blood Landscape - a whole host of ancient plots hinting at something terrible and gruesome: Little Blood Field, Great Blood Field, Blood Hall, Blood Hall Way, Blood Wood, all circling Blood Hill, which stands guard at the top of the valley.Locals tell the story of a ferocious battle being fought here in 869 between King Edmund's Anglo-Saxon forces and the great Viking Heathen Army of Ivar the Boneless. It could even be the mythical Haegilisdun, the lost site of Edmund's death and miraculous, Saintly recovery.Fanciful, isn't it? Except that in the 1800's ancient weapons, bones and iron fittings were ploughed up and the assumption was that it was this discovery that gave the landscape its bloody name. So, naturally, we were giddy at the prospect of recording our 50th episode here, telling this story, and exploring whether any further clues lie under the clay......and that was BEFORE we discovered a whole load of new mind-boggling clues about the age of this landscape.We weren't about to solve one of history's greatest mysteries, were we...?If you enjoy this episode, you might like to check out these as well:Episode 39. King Rædwald's River. Where we explore the river Deben, home to the great Anglo-Saxon treasures of Sutton Hoo.https://open.spotify.com/episode/58HvSavPcdSXkWSkth9s4V?si=siKDF6ncR-OBFYniys3E5whttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/king-r%C3%A6dwald-s-river/id1794754013?i=1000778644546Episode 40. A Pilgrim's Treasure.Where we unearth one of the most incredible medieval artefacts we've ever seen.https://open.spotify.com/episode/2J7a3cRG9LH07hsBx1tlfC?si=yIx4dxIBRyOgxqJ7foSQDAhttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-pilgrims-treasure/id1794754013?i=1000779813903Please leave 5 star reviews and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 49THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTGold on the MoatSuffolk is dotted with Medieval moated sites - echos of a building boom in the 13th and 14th centuries that has left the ghosts of these structures in the landscape. We've got one in a field we keep being drawn back to that we've never fully explored, but today's the day! And, boy, are we pleased we finally got round to it.Well, one of us is. There's gold, silver and bronze under the clay for one of us. And for the other?A terrible ancient curse caused by pulling an old fork out of a tree trunk.Don't believe us? Just listen...Here are the links to the other episodes we mention in this one. Check them out:Episode 45. Medieval Purse Spillhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/2qdLz9HptPnBQ9h8hgvviq?si=apxU4BTeSeu2etjG-7owkQEpisode 31. Iron Age Goldhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/6vNc8OO5aFLill5NdUCw7I?si=2FtA39JdRRy5S1CA_gtcyASubscribe wherever you get your podcasts - our 50th episode is coming up and you won’t want to miss it! For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 48THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTThe Vanished VillageWe’re back out in glorious early autumn Suffolk, sun a little lower in the sky, the clay furrowed and inviting.We’re out exploring a really bonkers landscape this episode - and it starts with a one-of-a-kind church missing its village. So where was the original medieval village of Crowfield?The clues lie in the huge abandoned medieval moated manor just behind the church, and hopefully under those earthy furrows too…Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts - our 50th episode is coming up and you won’t want to miss it! For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 47THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTStorm Severus - EXTRA!Hi Everyone! We still haven't managed to get out together, hit the fields, and uncover new lost stories. Paul, like a Medieval peasant, is still struggling with plague (Covid), and George has been in Devon fossil hunting... BUT, again, we don't want to leave you empty handed so we've given episode 2 the same treatment as last week.And we've picked this one because it was already a cracker of an episode, and then, when we went back to the recordings, we realised that we'd left so much out! So here is a revamped Storm Severus for you, featuring one of the most incredible Roman coins we've ever seen...And it made us think - if you're new around here, then first up - Welcome!All our previous episodes stand alone, please do go digging in our back catalogue and listen to some of them, there's some amazing stories, landscapes and history beneath our feet. To start with try:Episode 18. Medieval Madness where we uncover a lost medieval market, unearth two gorgeous silver coins and prove the site dates back even further when we discover a Roman brooch.orEpisode 8. The Horlicks Hoard. A dried up pond and a lost Victorian lunchbox and toolkit make this one of our most memorable episodes.Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast

Episode 46THE LAND ROVERS PODCASTThe Helmingham Hoard - EXTRAHi everyone. All the recent talk of plagues has brought one down on our own heads - Paul caught COVID and we haven't been able to hit the fields. But don't fear - we've done something we have been meaning to do for a while and re-cut our very first episode.BUT this isn't just a re-edit and sound improvement job - we've added a load of extra content you haven't heard before! So, almost 7 years to the day that George found the Helmingham Hoard, and almost 2 years to the day that we found that gorgeous Iron Age gold stater while recording this very first episode, we hope you enjoy this new and improved version of the story.Now with added Gold! And added Alice! Added history, and windy fields! We'll be back soon when the plague has passed... Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! For images and videos of everything we discuss and discover, head to our instagram:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandroverspodcastAnd find links to us on all the podcast platforms by visiting our website:https://shows.acast.com/the-land-rovers-a-history-hunting-podcast