ROYSCast

Ep 21 - Yorkshire and the Fifth Crusade with Dr Iain Dyson

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 14:06:09 GMT

On this episode Jonny and Adam are once again joined by Dr Iain Dyson, a first returning guest, who goes further into the history of Yorkshire's involvement in the Crusades, picking up where he left off on his first episode (S1:E7) covering the Third Crusade by delving into the Fifth Crusade.

If you or someone you know has an idea or topic they'd like to discuss on the podcast, please don't hesitate to get in touch via:

Email: Royscast@gmail.com

Alternatively you can reach ROYS at:

Ridings of Yorkshire Society's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/roysociety.bsky.social

Jonny's Blueksy: https://bsky.app/profile/jfarley.bsky.social

Adam's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adamcook.bsky.social

You can find out more about the Society, our goals and upcoming events at:

ROYS Website: https://ridingsofyorkshiresociety.co.uk/

ROYS Mailing List: https://ridingsofyorkshiresociety.co.uk/join-our-mailing-list/

Stay tuned for ROYS26 upcoming announcement

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Ep 20 - Little Kingdoms and Vikings with author Alex Harvey

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 14:49:54 GMT

On this episode, Jonny and Adam are joined by Alex Harvey, author of Forgotten Vikings, who talks to them about his introduction and early fascination with the archaeology and history of the early medieval period. Alex talks about the process behind Forgotten Vikings, as well as the work that has gone into his upcoming book "Little Kingdoms: an A-Z of Early Medieval Britain".

The publisher page for Little Kingdoms, can be found here: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Little-Kingdoms-Hardback/p/56542

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Ep 19 - The Book (and life) of Margery Kempe with Dr Marta Cobb

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 16:17:29 GMT

On this episode, Jonny is joined again by Adam and Guest Dr Marta Cobb, who talks to us about the enigmatic medieval author and mystic; Margery Kempe. Discussing her life, dramatic moments, and the history of the discovery, or rather recovery, of the text itself.

Marta teaches at the University of Leeds' School of History and is a Senior Congress Officer for the associated International Medieval Congress. Her research interests include late Middle English Literature, especially Langland and Chaucer; medieval female mysticism, including Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich, and the portrayal of witchcraft.

Marta, as mentioned in the episode, has provided the details of further resources for those interested in continuing their exploration of Margery Kempe:

The Book of Margery Kempe, translated by Anthony Bale (Oxford University Press, 2015). Antony Bale is also the author of Margery Kempe: A Mixed Life.
The Book of Margery Kempe, translated by B. A. Windeatt (Penguin Books, 2019). This edition also includes 'Short Treatise of Contemplation Drawn from The Book of Margery Kemp of Lynn'.
Lynn Staley's Middle English edition of The Book of Margery Kempe is available online.
Mapping Margery Kempe website

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Ep 18 - The Archaeology of Anchorite Cells with Dr Victoria Yuskaitis

Wed, 21 May 2025 17:24:43 GMT

On this episode of ROYSCast, Jonny and Adam are joined by Dr Victoria Yuskaitis who talks to them about her career and background in archaeology, and goes into detail on her prior and ongoing work looking into the archaeology of Anchorite Cells. Victoria has published and given a number of talks on the topic during her career, and provides the listener with an in-depth introduction and exploration into what an Anchorite is and the history, and now archaeology, of their cells.

Additionally registration for ROYS25 remains open! If you're keen to hear more about any aspect of Yorkshire's cultural history, please do look into coming up to Scarborough and joining us one June 6th, click the link below for more information:

https://ridingsofyorkshiresociety.co.uk/register2025/

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Ep 17 Bradford and Cultural Memory with Hannah Parkes

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 08:00:00 GMT

On this episode Hannah Parkes, a third year PhD student at Leeds University talks about her project working on the remembered history of Bradford in the 1970s and 80s. A local herself, Hannah tells Jonny and Adam about the history of the town, the work of her PhD, and the City of Culture year for Bradford. Hannah will also be presenting at this year's ROYS in Scarborough.

Speaking of, registration is now available! click the link to view the ROYS25 programme and register for your place at what will be an excellent day of shared talks and discussion!

https://ridingsofyorkshiresociety.co.uk/register2025/

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Ep 16 Scarborough and the First World War with David Pendleton

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 23:00:00 GMT

On this episode of ROYSCast, Mike Reeve is joined by David Pendleton, one of this year's keynote speakers at the ROYS Conference in Scarborough, to talk about the history of the town during the First World War. Discussion touches on David's history with the subject as well as a few of the key events and tragedies that mark Scarborough's time during the conflict. David will also be giving a keynote talk at this year's ROYS Conference so be sure to book tickets when available.

This year's conference is taking place at Scarborough Library's Concert Room on Friday June 6th, with the conference running from 9:30 t0 17:00 with talks from a variety of speakers on an extensive range of topics. Tickets will be bookable through our website https://ridingsofyorkshiresociety.co.uk/ when available in the week commencing April 21st.

Remember to subscribe and follow ROYS on:

Bluesky @roysociety.bsky.social

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RidingsOfYorkshireSociety

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Ep 15 the A63 and Castle Street Burial Ground with Osteoarchaeologist Dr Lauren McIntyre

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 12:51:30 GMT

In the first episode of a new season, Jonny is joined by new ROYS committee member, and former podcast guest, Dr Michael Reeve to speak to Oxford Archaeology's Dr Lauren McIntyre. Lauren speaks about the programme of osteological investigation carried out on the Castle St burial ground in Hull ahead of the A63 related developments. Topics include some of the stand-out stories of the individuals buried there, a brief exploration of Hull's bodysnatching past, the impact of the covid pandemic on a large scale archaeological investigation and the career paths of archaeologists starting off wanting to be paleontologists.

Producer note: when referring to Highways England, Dr McIntyre uses the older name of National Highways, the name of the company at the time of the project.

ROYSCast returns after a prolonged hiatus with a plethora of episodes lined up in the coming months alongside ROYS'25 being announced very soon, remember to subscribe and follow ROYS on:

Bluesky @roysociety.bsky.social

Twitter/X @ROYSociety

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RidingsOfYorkshireSociety

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Ep 14 - Our Heritage, Our Stories with Dr Stefan Ramsden

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:35:12 GMT

On this episode Jonny and Sam are joined by another previous ROYS presenter, Dr Stefan Ramsden. Stef talks to them about his career as a historian and in particular his current role within the Our Heritage, Our Stories project which is a joint collaboration between the Universities of Manchester and Glasgow and the National Archives. The project focusses on making previously unfindable and unlinkable CGDC discoverable within the national collection, while respecting and embracing its complexity and diversity by designing sophisticated automated tools to make it searchable and connected. Revealing and commemorating the previously hidden voices and stories of diverse communities across the UK, this new accessibility will be showcased to the world through a major new public-facing Observatory at TNA where people can access, reuse, and remix this newly integrated content. You can keep up to date with Stef's work by following him on Twitter/X as @Ramblesed.

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Ep 13 - The South Blockhouse of Henry VIII and Humber Field Archaeology

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:16:16 GMT

On this episode Jonny and Sam are joined by Peter Connelly, Archaeology Manager at Humber Field Archaeology (HFA), part of the Humber Archaeology Partnership. Discussion covers the history and purpose of developer-funded archaeology in Hull and the surrounding area as well as the excavations and ongoing outreach project of the South Blockhouse in Hull. You can find out more about the project by going to HFA's website and see what upcoming projects and outreach they will be involved in.

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Ep 12 - Language and Dialect in Early Yorkshire History

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 10:55:00 GMT

On this episode Jonny and Sam are joined by Sophie Whittle a historical linguist based at the Digital Humanities Institute at Sheffield University and friend of ROYS. Sophie talks about her career and interest in historical linguistics before discussion focusses around the historical development, and modern day parallels, to dialect and language within the county.

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Ep 11 - Tolkien in East Yorkshire

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 11:00:12 GMT

On this episode of the pod, Jonny and Sam are joined by Michael Flowers, a local independent Tolkien scholar. Discussion primarily focusses on the author's time in the county, in particular his time recovering at the Brooklands Officers Hospital and up at the Forest of Roos. We also talk about what works he wrote or developed during his time here and whether there is any influence from the region on what he wrote.

Michael's research can be found in his essay "Tolkien in East Yorkshire" in the published volume Something Has Gone Crack: New Perspectives on J.R.R. Tolkien in the Great War edited by Janet Brennan Croft & Annika Röttinger.

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Ep 10 - A Yorkshire Year with Catherine Warr

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 11:00:11 GMT

On another episode of ROYSCast Jonny and Sam are joined by content creator Catherine Warr. Catherine talks to us about her career, influences and process of producing her videos, including some of her favourite projects. Catherine also chats about her recently published book and the process of collating the sources and writing the book itself.

Catherine can be found on Youtube as Catherine Warr and her book "A Yorkshire Year: Folklore, History, Traditions" can be found at the publisher, Carnegie Publishing or other book stores.

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Ep 9 - Yorkshire's Forgotten Industries with Filmmaker Joshua Daniels

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 08:52:28 GMT

On this episode of ROYSCast, Jonny and Sam are joined by Joshua Daniels, a heritage filmmaker based in South Yorkshire. Josh talks about his career as a filmmaker and where his interest in history comes from. Josh also discusses some of his recent and upcoming projects on the lesser-known industries of the county.

If you attended either ROYS 2022 or 2023 conferences you'll have heard Josh talk about his work and we're delighted to have him back for a podcast episode now.

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Ep 8 - Mary Taylor: Business Owner, Activist and Author with Jane Tolerton

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:57:11 GMT

On this episode of ROYSCast, Jonny and Sam are joined by Jane Tolerton to talk about the life, career and controversy of Yorkshire-born Mary Taylor alongside new information researched by Jane herself. Jane is a well established journalist, biographer and historian with a number of publications to her name and has been interested in and researching the life of Mary Taylor for some time now. Jane's unique perspective on Mary's life through her own work in operating a business has given her a great deal of insight into some of the inner workings of Mary's story. We were delighted to have Jane appear on the show as it's a long way from her native New Zealand! If you attended this ROYS conference you will have also seen her speak on this topic there, for which we are also very grateful.

If you missed this year's conference we are already beginning the planning stages for next year's event, with the possibility of a few smaller events in the meantime so keep your eyes on our new website and social media!

https://ridingsofyorkshiresociety.co.uk/

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Ep 7 - Yorkshire and the Third Crusade with Iain Dyson

Mon, 15 May 2023 09:49:59 GMT

On this episode, Jonny and Sam are joined by ROYS committee member and our resident medievalist Adam Cook to welcome Iain Dyson to the podcast. This episode focuses on Yorkshire during the Third Crusade, looking into how people prepared for crusade, why they went on Crusade, and what they did on Crusade.

Also, the ROYS'23 conference booking links are now up! please book in the link in the description below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ridings-of-yorkshire-society-conference-2023-leeds-tickets-631384577267?aff=Twitter

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Ep 6 - Yorkshire Coastal Bombardment in the First World War with Dr Michael Reeve

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:25:47 GMT

On this episode Jonny and Sam are joined by Dr Michael Reeve, a friend of ROYS and current lecturer in Modern British History at the Open University. Michael talks with Jonny and Sam about his career within the subject and how it developed through his studies at university as well as touching on what aspects of modern history appealed to him the most. Topics also include his research on coastal bombardments in the First World War in particular sites such as Scarborough, Whitby, Hartlepool and Hull, as well as his current research into the social and psychological benefits and function of tobacco and smoking with both troops and civilian populations at times of conflict.

This episode will be the last one to release prior to the close of the call for papers for ROYS'23 on May 1st so if you are still intending to submit an abstract please make sure it's sent to use before then, otherwise general admission booking will be opening up in the coming weeks and we look forward to seeing many of you at the conference on June 16-17th at Leeds City Museum.

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Ep 5 - Maritime Historian and Author Dr Robb Robinson

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:03:29 GMT

On this episode Jonny and Sam are joined by Dr Robb Robinson to talk about his career and some of his ongoing projects such as the Lord Mayor's 100th Anniversary plaques, Market Weighton Canal Community project and his own maritime research of the Yorkshire Coast.

There is still time to submit a paper for ROYS'23 as the call for papers ends May 1st, if you're just interested in attending the conference general admission will become available sometime in May so keep an eye on all ROYS social channels for relevant updates.

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Ep 4 - ROYS'23 and Leeds City Museum "Overlooked" Exhibition

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:24:49 GMT

On this first episode of the new year, Jonny is instead joined by Lauren Theweneti of the ROYS Committee and Ellie Smith of Leeds City Museum to discuss both the upcoming ROYS Conference and the exhibition it is linked with called "Overlooked". the "Overlooked" exhibition is a project set out by the Preservative Party, a group of young volunteers who have worked with community groups and museums to bring together an exhibition on the overlooked stories and people that make up Leeds' past. Discussion touches on the origins of the Preservative Party, the groups they have worked with and some of the standout stories that have been explored in the exhibition.

The ROYS Conference will be running this year on the 16-17th of June and will be hosted at Leeds City Museum. The call for papers will be published in mid-February so if you are interested in presenting this year please keep an eye on our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook pages. Regular registration to the conference will be available nearer the time and will also be announced across our social pages.

"Overlooked" runs from the 10th of February to the 25th of June at Leeds City Museum.

the ROYS Conference is on the 16th and 17th of June at Leeds City Museum.

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Ep 3 - Hull Citadel with Hull History Nerd

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 23:47:15 GMT

On this episode of the podcast Jonny and Sam welcome Jamie Topliss-Yates, otherwise known as the Hull History Nerd, who is a heritage filmmaker and local historian. Discussion includes his work on YouTube and his production process, what got him interested in history in the first place as well as his latest episode on the Hull Citadel.

You can find Jamie at HullHistoryNerd on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

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Ep 2- Hull Maritime Project with Director Gillian Osgerby

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:05:29 GMT

On this episode of ROYSCast Jonny and Sam speak to Gillian Osgerby, Project Director of Hull Maritime, an ongoing Heritage Lottery funded project focussing on restoring Hull's maritime heritage assets. Discussion touches on the Maritime Museum, Spurn Lightship, Arctic Corsair and North-End Shipyard as well as the handling of the object collection and accessibility throughout.

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Ep 1 - Freetown and Hull with Dr Nick Evans

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:32:22 GMT

On the first episode of ROYSCast, Jonny and Sam talk to Dr Nick Evans about a new collaborative exhibition hosted by the Hull Streetlife Museum looking at life in Sierra Leone in the 1940's and the present day. They also talk about the connections between Hull, Yorkshire and Sierra Leone in this project run by the Hull Afro Caribbean Association and the Wilberforce Institute in collaboration with Hull Museums.

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An Introduction to ROYSCast

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 16:34:18 GMT

Hosts Jonny Farley and Sam Wright introduce listeners to the podcast, including a brief history of the Ridings of Yorkshire Society and the podcast plans going forward.

If you would like to get in touch or would be interested in appearing on the podcast, please email royscast@gmail.com

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