Porpoises, beaver tails, boar's head and puffins are just some of the exquisite dishes on medieval tables during the festive season. In this episode, food historian Annie Gray joins Dan in his kitchen to cook up some delicious Christmas fare from ages past. They make wassail - an ancient alcoholic punch - and mince meat pies as they talk about the Pagan rituals, Medieval feasts and Victorian traditions that dictate what we put on our Christmas dinner tables.

You can make these festive delicacies at home as you listen! Find the easy-to-follow traditional recipes Dan and Annie used here: Annie's book is called 'At Christmas We Feast'

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

Did you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast

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Henry VIII wanted to have the most powerful Navy in Europe; he also didn't want to have to travel very far to get it. Around 1512, he built a colossal Naval dockyard on the southern banks of the Thames in London up river from his Greenwich Palace, where he set about building the biggest ships the world had ever seen.

Today, you can still find the telltale signs of the history that took place here if you know where to look. Dan joins London tour guide and friend of the podcast, Rob Smith, to trace the beginnings of Britain's Navy and tell the curious tales of early life in the dockyard, the mega ships, the disastrous failures and incredible innovations that made Britain a naval superpower in the 16th century and beyond.

If you'd like to take a tour with Rob, you can check out his events here: https://footprintsoflondon.com/live/guides/rob-smith/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

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Dan narrates the remarkable story of how George Washington's newly established Continental Army tried to conquer Canada in the brutal winter of 1775. The American Revolutionary forces believed their northern neighbour would surely welcome them as liberators, as they themselves fought off the yoke of British rule. Many imagined that these two vast territories were destined to unite into a single continental power. But what followed was a disastrous, freezing, chaotic nightmare.

Written by Dan Snow, produced by McKenna Fernandez, and edited by Matthew Wilson and Dougal Patmore.

Did you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.