A pyrotechnic dragon roared flames into the river Thames during the coronation week of Elizabeth of York in 1487. These explosive displays were employed as a sign of might and majesty throughout the reign of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I was the first English monarch to establish their own fire master. By the time of the Gunpowder Plot, fireworks were used not only to celebrate, but to commemorate and incite.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to John Withington about the remarkable development of pyrotechnics throughout the Tudor and Stuart eras.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Related episode:

The Gunpowder Plot - The Tudor Origins >

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In 1609, some 80 people were executed for witchcraft in France's Basque region. It inspired a final push to eradicate witches by the Spanish Inquisition across the border. One of the judges, Pierre de Lancre, published a sensationalist book which has been the source of every subsequent account. But newly discovered evidence paints a very different picture.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Dr. Jan Machielsen whose book The Basque Witch Hunt: A Secret History shows that almost everything historians thought they knew about this brutal episode is inaccurate.

Listen to our previous episode with Jan Machielsen, An Early Modern Teenage Werewolf >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’

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In the 1640s, Black communities existed in London and in most of England's port cities, communities from which men would fight and die throughout the English Civil War. There's still little evidence of the lives of these individuals. So what do we know of the Black men who took up arms during the Civil War? On which side did they fight? Were they free or enslaved? And what can this participation tell us about how race was perceived in the early modern period?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out from Sophie Merrix, whose research is uncovering the lesser known racial diversity of the Civil War battlefields.

Presented by Professor Susannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, the audio editor is Max Carrey and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

If you found this episode interesting, then do check out these past episodes:

Black Tudors >

How Shakespeare Depicted Race >

Legacy of the Mary Rose >

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘TUDORS’

You can take part in our listener survey here >