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The fascinating city of Norwich, capital of Norfolk, was one of the richest town in England during the Middle Ages. The cathedral dates from the early Norman period, as does the Castle which has recently been magnificently redisplayed. As Britain’s preeminent historian of the architecture of the Middle Ages, John has of course been to see it, and provides a superb commentary. Clive does his best to keep up by describing a Victoria roller-skating rink which now houses a gallery of Asian textiles and craft.
Norwich is still remarkable for the density of its churches, from mighty St Peter Mancroft overlooking the market square to St Julian’s, where the anchoress Julian of Norwich was immured (her Revelations of Divine Love are the first works in English literature attributed to a woman). The painters of the Norwich School of watercolourists – once revered and collected, their works are now akin, in terms of popularity in the market, to the brown furniture they would have sat on – can be studied in the Castle museum.

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Alnwick Castle in Northumberland is one of the most spectacular castles in England, an immense fortification that guarded the border with Scotland for centuries. The Percy family who built it had almost king-like power over their territory – and were not above rebelling against the king himself: the impetuous Harry Hotspur was killed fighting against Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, while his wily father feigned illness. John describes the history and setting of this formidable building, its battlements still lined with statuary figures of warriors (probably 18th-century) to repel enemies.

In London, the Percys owned Northumberland House, demolished in the 19th century, and employed Robert Adam to turn the old nunnery of Syon House into a spectacular neo-Classical villa, using decoration in the style of the recently discovered ruins of Pompeii. Adam was also employed to decorate Alnwick but his scheme was swept away in the mid 19th century by Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, a man so solemn he was known as the Doge. The principal interiors were sumptuously painted and gilded in the Renaissance style that the Duke had seen on his travels in Italy. For this he employed the Italian architect Luigi Canina who used Giovanni Montiroli as his assistant. John and Clive are very nearly lost for words at the magnificence of the result – but (just as well for the podcast) not quite!