First recorded in the post-Norman invasion Doomsday Book, Caversham Park has played a surprisingly central role in English, British and international history for nearly a millennium.

It was the seat of the so-called ‘best knight whoever lived’, who was related to the man who brought about the English conquest of Ireland. The Manor of Caversham was embroiled in the Reformation, was owned by cousins of Elizabeth I – who not only gave their name to current streets in Reading – but guarded Mary, Queen of Scots.

Caversham Park both entertained the first two Stuart Kings and became a prison for Charles I. Learn about its role in the Glorious Revolution, the War of Spanish Succession, and its connexions to the American War of Independence.

The estate became a refuge in the First World War, and was taken over by the BBC during the Second. Hear how it became a centre for intelligence throughout the Second World War, the Cold War and the ‘War on Terror’.

This talk reveals how an estate on the north bank of the Thames was a surprising tour de force in global events from the Norman Conquest to the threat of Soviet annihilation.