Your Places or Mine
A podcast about places and buildings, with tales about history and people. From author and publisher Clive Aslet and the architectural editor of Country Life, & John Goodall
Episodes
52 episodes
The Story of Stowe House: A School of Marble and Memory
When the German Prince Puckler Muskau visited England in 1826, he told his divorced wife that it would take her ‘at least 420 years to see all the parks of England, of which there are undoubtedly at least 100,000, for they swarm in every direct...
Perhaps The Finest Street In Europe - The History of The Strand
‘Let’s all go down the Strand!’ ran a popular music hall song. But what sort of street were they singing about? The future Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli called it ‘perhaps the finest street in Europe’ in 1847. Which is quit...
Last of The Laskett? A Great British Garden Under Threat (EMERGENCY BROADCAST)
The Laskett in Herefordshire is one of the most remarkable gardens to have been created in the 20th century but now it’s future is threatened. Sir Roy Strong, scholar, museum director and the author of over 70 erudite books, and his theat...
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Story of Ampleforth Chapel, Yorkshire, Masterpiece of an Architectural Giant of the 20th Century, Sir Giles Scott
One of the most famous Catholic schools in Britain, Ampleforth College in Yorkshire this year celebrates the centenary of its chapel, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Scott has emerged in recent years as a colossus of 20th-century arc...
John Kinross' Manderston: A Symbol of Edwardian England
Few houses better convey the opulence of Edwardian country house life than Manderston in the Scottish Borders. Built in the first years of the 20th century, it is an exquisite work of the scholarly architect John Kinross – which has always been...
The History of Norwich: Conquest, Castle and Cathedral
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.&nb...
Northumberland's Treasure: The History of Alnwick Castle
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 territor...
Plinths, Columns and Controversy: The History of Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square has long been regarded as the centre of London. It wasn’t always. John describes its medieval configuration when it was still countryside – hence the name of James Gibbs’s church St Martin in the Fields. This was where Ri...
Detmar Blow: Disciple of Ruskin, Champion of the Arts and Crafts Movement
Detmar Blow was one of the brightest stars of the Arts and Crafts Movement – but his story is also dark and mysterious. A pupil of the Kensington School of Art, where he met Lutyens – a lifelong friend – he won a travelling scholarship to...
THE HISTORY OF WINDSOR CASTLE (PART 2) – FROM CHARLES II TO CHARLES III
This week John takes Clive through Windsor Castle, a creation not just of the Middle Ages (subject of part 1 of this series) but of successive monarchs since the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. George III, a King who had been trained i...
The Crisis of Liverpool Street Station (EMERGENCY BROADCAST!)
This week John and Clive are frothing with disapproval at Network Rail’s plan to upgrade Liverpool Street Station. It is proposed that this will be funded by a development which will impose an out-of-scale tower at the entrance to the sta...
Flushed with Pride: The History of the Lavatory
This week John and Clive present their long-awaited podcast on one of the most essential but least discussed rooms in any dwelling – the lavatory. Or (because no object in English or any other language is subject to so many euphemisms and...
Sin, Sculpture and Scandal: What is the Truth about Sir Francis Dashwood's West Wycombe Park?
Sir Francis Dashwood, who used to dress as a Franciscan monk and allegedly took part in orgies in the ruins of Medmenham Abbey, was one of the most notorious libertines of the 18th century. Is this a correct depiction of his character?&nb...
The History of Exeter Cathedral: From Norman to Now
In this episode of Your Places or Mine, Clive Aslet and John Goodall head west to Exeter Cathedral, one of England’s most distinctive medieval churches. From its extraordinary uninterrupted Gothic vault — the longest of its kind in the...
The Bank of England: Soane, Baker and the Most Controversial Building of the 20th Century
2025 celebrates the rebuilding of the Bank of England by Sir Herbert Baker – if celebrate is the right word. It remains one of the most controversial projects in 20th century architecture. Baker’s name has been irredeemably blackene...
Chim-Chiminee: The History of the Chimney
This is the time of year when thoughts turn to mince pies, Christmas shopping, mulled wine – and chimneys, whether it is to settle around a roaring hearth or hope that Father Christmas pays a visit. So John and Clive are turning their att...
Vanbrugh at 300: Celebrating The Life and Times of Sir John Vanbrugh (With Charles Saumarez Smith)
In today's episode of Your Places or Mine, John is joined by the inimitable Charles Saumarez Smith who divulges all he knows about the architect Sir John Vanbrugh in anticipation of the 300th anniversary of his death. Discover the remarkable li...
Journalists and Gentlemen: How the Georgian Group Saved London
The founding of the Georgian Group in 1937 was a milestone in the movement to save beautiful architecture. With an anniversary around the corner, Clive and John discuss how the Group emerged from the parent organisation, the Society for t...
The Tale of Parliament Part 2 - The House of Lords
Last week’s Your Places of Mine celebrated the rebuilding of the House of Commons after the original interior was bombed during one of the last raids of the Blitz. This week, Clive and John consider the Palace of Westminster, otherwise known as...
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The Tale of Parliament Part 1 - The House of Commons
On May 10, 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the seat of British democracy, the chamber of the House of Commons. This was not the first time fire had struck the Palace of Westminster: most of it had already been rebuilt after a disastrou...
Albi Cathedral: The Greatest Brick Building in the World
This week John and Clive are bowled over by Albi Cathedral, a towering, outwardly austere edifice of rosy brick which is ‘quite unlike any other medieval structure that you will see – a work of abstract modernism made in the 13th century’. ...
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Magnates and Mansions: Who Were The American Millionaires That Loved the British Country House?
Phipps, Carnegie and Old Westbury GardensIn its turn of the 20th-century heyday, Long Island could boast no fewer than 900 country houses. Since then, most have disappeared, leaving Old Westbury Gardens in a unique position ...
A Spymaster's Lair: The Unmissable Splendour of Hatfield House
Clive has just been to an event at Hatfield House, the palace to the North of London which stands as a monument to the political gene of the Cecil family. John is more than equal to discussing this great country house and its tre...
Cathedral on Fire: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Notre-Dame
In 2019 a devastating fire consumed the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, one of the towering symbols of French identity, and it seemed that one of the greatest cultural monuments in Europe had, literally, gone up in smoke. But after only two s...
