Burials at Westminster Abbey
Honouring individuals with burials and memorials in Westminster Abbey has a long tradition.
12 episodes
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CultureHistoryReligionScienceFellows of the Royal SocietyAnglican saintsEnglish male poetsWriters about activism and social changeMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyCritics of the Catholic ChurchEnglish essayistsEnglish male non-fiction writersRecipients of the Copley MedalMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesNobel laureates in LiteratureForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesPantheists19th-century English poetsBritish male essayistsEnglish AnglicansEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish male novelistsEnglish people of Scottish descentMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences17th-century English poetsChristian radicalsEnglish male short story writersLiteracy and society theoristsPeople of the Elizabethan eraVictorian novelists17th-century English dramatists and playwrights17th-century English writers19th-century English novelists19th-century pseudonymous writers20th-century English male writers20th-century English poetsAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeEnglish agnosticsEnglish satiristsEnglish travel writersEnglish women poetsPeople from the City of LondonRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Royal Medal winnersVictorian poets18th-century English male writers19th-century English non-fiction writers19th-century English writers20th-century English novelistsAlumni of the University of EdinburghAnglican writersBritish critics of religionsCharles DarwinConversationalistsEnglish Nobel laureatesEnglish Roman CatholicsEnglish feminist writers, English feministsEnglish short story writersEnglish women novelistsKnights BachelorMale essayistsMembers of the Order of MeritTrope theoristsWriters of Gothic fiction18th-century English writers19th-century British philanthropists19th-century British physicists19th-century British short story writersBritish Nobel laureatesDaughters of kingsDiscoverers of chemical elementsEnglish Catholic poetsEnglish abolitionistsEnglish literary criticsEnglish people 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LondonPrisoners in the Tower of LondonQueens consort of FranceRecipients of Franklin MedalWriters from the London Borough of Camden14th-century English writers15th-century English women, Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge, Ladies of the Garter, People of the Wars of the Roses16th-century English nobility16th-century English translators16th-century queens regnant17th-century English women writers18th-century English poets18th-century evangelicals18th-century lexicographers, 18th-century writers in Latin19th-century British biologists, 19th-century English naturalists, British evolutionary biologists, Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, Fellows of the Zoological Society of London19th-century British journalists19th-century English historians19th-century English male writers19th-century English politicians19th-century English short story writers20th-century British physicists, Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences20th-century British scientistsAcademics of the Victoria University of ManchesterAlumni of Christ's College, CambridgeBritish MPs 1784–1790, British MPs 1790–1796British male poetsBritish reformersCavendish Professors of PhysicsChild monarchsCircumnavigators of the globeCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Dauphines of France, Dauphines of ViennoisDeaths from ulcersEnglish anti-fascistsEnglish biographersEnglish children's writersEnglish hymnwritersEnglish prisoners and detaineesEnglish reformersEnglish scepticsEnglish science fiction writersEnglish sermon writersEnglish spiesEnglish translators, Medieval orientalistsEnglish women dramatists and playwrightsFellows of the Royal Society of ArtsFreemasons of the United Grand Lodge of EnglandHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghHouse of StuartMaritime writersMembers of the Lincean AcademyMonarchs who abdicatedPeople from Somers Town, LondonPeople of the Victorian eraPeople with mood disordersPersons of National Historic Significance (Canada)Radio pioneersRecipients of the Dalton MedalRectors of the University of St AndrewsRemarried queens consortTheoretical biologistsTory poetsUK MPs 1818–1820, UK MPs 1820–1826
Aphra Behn
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Aphra Behn, known for her plays for the Restoration stage such as The Rover and for her novel Oroonoko.
12 October 2017
Featuring: Janet Todd, Ros Ballaster, Claire Bowditch
CultureEnglish feminist writers, English feministsEnglish women novelists17th-century English women writers17th-century English poetsEnglish women dramatists and playwrightsTory poetsFeminism and historyEnglish women poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrights17th-century English writersEnglish spiesBurials at Westminster Abbey17th century18th centuryChaucer
Melvyn Bragg discusses Geoffrey Chaucer who immortalised the medieval pilgrimage and the diversity of 14th century English society, in his Canterbury Tales.
9 February 2006
Featuring: Carolyne Larrington, Helen Cooper, Ardis Butterfield
Darwin: On the Origins of Charles Darwin
Melvyn Bragg presents a series about the life and work of Charles Darwin. Darwin's early life and time at Cambridge, where his interests shifted from religion to natural science.
5 January 2009
Featuring: Jim Moore, Steve Jones, David Norman, Colin Higgins
ScienceEnglish agnosticsHuman evolutionRoyal Medal winnersCharles DarwinIndependent scientistsEnglish scepticsEnglish Anglicans19th-century British biologists, 19th-century English naturalists, British evolutionary biologists, Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, Fellows of the Zoological Society of LondonTheoretical biologistsMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesAlumni of the University of EdinburghCircumnavigators of the globeMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesUtilitariansMembers of the Lincean AcademyEnglish abolitionists19th-century AnglicansRecipients of the Copley MedalAlumni of Christ's College, Cambridge19th-century English writersMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyEnglish travel writersRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Fellows of the Royal SocietyBurials at Westminster AbbeyDeaths from coronary thrombosis19th centuryAnimalsDickens
Melvyn Bragg discusses the achievements of Charles Dickens What is his political and literary legacy to our age?
12 July 2001
Featuring: Rosemary Ashton, Michael Slater, John Bowen
Critics of the Catholic ChurchEnglish male novelists19th-century travel writers19th-century English dramatists and playwrightsLiteracy and society theoristsPeople from Somers Town, LondonBritish male essayistsEnglish reformers19th-century English historians19th-century English poetsEnglish Anglicans19th-century English novelistsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsWriters about activism and social change19th-century pseudonymous writersEnglish male poetsVictorian novelists19th-century British short story writersWriters from the London Borough of CamdenEnglish male journalistsEnglish prisoners and detaineesTrope theoristsEnglish philanthropistsBritish social reformersEnglish male short story writersLecturersBritish critics of religionsAnglican writers19th-century British journalistsEnglish satirists19th-century English non-fiction writers19th-century English essayistsEnglish historical novelistsEnglish male non-fiction writersEnglish travel writers19th-century British philanthropistsWriters of Gothic fictionBurials at Westminster Abbey19th centuryJohnson
Melvyn Bragg discusses Samuel Johnson, a giant of 18th century literature, language and letters, and perhaps the most quotable Englishman to have ever lifted a pen.
27 October 2005
Featuring: John Mullan, Jim McLaverty, Judith Hawley
18th-century English male writers18th-century English writersEnglish essayistsEnglish literary criticsPeople with mood disorders18th-century lexicographers, 18th-century writers in LatinAnglican saintsStreathamites18th-century English poetsEnglish AnglicansConversationalistsMale essayistsEnglish travel writersEnglish sermon writersEnglish biographersBurials at Westminster Abbey18th centuryMargaret Beaufort
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the resilience of the child bride who made it her mission to protect her son during the Wars of the Roses and helped him become the first Tudor king
5 March 2026
Featuring: Joanna Laynesmith, Katherine Lewis, David Grummitt
History16th-century English womenAnnulmentHouse of Tudor16th-century English nobilityEnglish Roman Catholics15th-century English women, Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge, Ladies of the Garter, People of the Wars of the RosesBurials at Westminster AbbeyMothers of English monarchs15th century16th centuryMary, Queen of Scots
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who might have united the French, English and Scottish thrones.
19 January 2017
Featuring: David Forsyth, Anna Groundwater, John Guy
Rudyard Kipling
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Rudyard Kipling, a writer sometimes described as the poet of empire.
16 October 2014
Featuring: Howard Booth, Daniel Karlin, Jan Montefiore
CultureFellows of the Royal Society of LiteraturePeople of the Victorian eraEnglish male novelistsDeaths from ulcersMythopoeic writersEnglish science fiction writersFreemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England20th-century English memoirists20th-century English male writersEnglish hymnwriters19th-century English poets19th-century English novelistsEnglish anti-fascistsVictorian novelistsMaritime writersEnglish-language poets from IndiaEnglish male short story writers19th-century English short story writersEnglish Nobel laureatesNobel laureates in LiteratureRectors of the University of St AndrewsEnglish children's writers19th-century English non-fiction writersBritish Nobel laureates20th-century English novelistsEnglish people of Scottish descent20th-century English poetsBurials at Westminster Abbey19th century20th centuryLanguageRutherford
Melvyn Bragg discusses Ernest Rutherford. He is seen as the father of nuclear science, a great charismatic figure who mapped the landscape of the sub-atomic world.
19 February 2004
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Jim Al-Khalili, Patricia Fara
ScienceRadio pioneers20th-century British physicists, Members of the Pontifical Academy of SciencesPersons of National Historic Significance (Canada)Fellows of Trinity College, CambridgeKnights BachelorDiscoverers of chemical elementsHonorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghRecipients of Franklin MedalCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Experimental physicistsCavendish Professors of PhysicsRecipients of the Dalton MedalEnglish Nobel laureatesAcademics of the Victoria University of ManchesterRecipients of the Copley MedalBritish Nobel laureates20th-century British scientistsForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyNobel laureates in Chemistry19th-century British physicistsBurials at Westminster Abbey19th century20th centuryThe Death of Elizabeth I
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth I and its immediate impact, as a foreign monarch became King in the face of plots and plague.
15 October 2009
Featuring: John Guy, Clare Jackson, Helen Hackett
CultureEnglish people of Welsh descent16th-century English womenEnglish AnglicansPrisoners in the Tower of LondonHouse of TudorPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchFounders of English schools and colleges16th-century English translatorsPeople of the Elizabethan eraEnglish women poets16th-century queens regnantBurials at Westminster Abbey16th centuryThomas Hardy's Poetry
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hardy's poems, which he prized far above the novels which made him famous and rich, and his ambition to be ranked alongside Shelley and Byron.
13 January 2022
Featuring: Mark Ford, Jane Thomas, Tim Armstrong
CultureFellows of the Royal Society of LiteratureBritish male poetsEnglish short story writersAlumni of King's College London20th-century English male writers19th-century English poets19th-century English novelistsEnglish male novelistsEnglish male short story writersMembers of the Order of MeritPantheistsVictorian novelists19th-century British short story writersBurials at Westminster AbbeyVictorian poets19th century20th centuryPoetryWilberforce
In an unusual edition of In Our Time, marking the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade, Melvyn Bragg leaves the studio to examine the life of William Wilberforce.
22 February 2007
Featuring
ReligionBritish MPs 1784–1790, British MPs 1790–1796Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts18th-century evangelicalsEnglish AnglicansChristian radicalsEnglish religious writersUK MPs 1818–1820, UK MPs 1820–1826Anglican saintsEnglish philanthropistsEnglish abolitionists19th-century Anglicans19th-century English male writersAnglican writersAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeBritish MPs 1780–1784, Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies19th-century English non-fiction writers19th-century English politiciansBritish reformersEnglish male non-fiction writersBurials at Westminster Abbey18th century19th century