Independent production company Made in Manchester has recruited historian Helen Castor to present a 5-part series about the History of the Midlands.
The series titled England: Made in the Middle will air on BBC Radio 4 from 1.45pm today and continue each day this week.
Helen Castor, herself a Midlander, will argue that England has largely been shaped historically by the people and places of its Middle counties – Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, the West Midlands, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire.
MIM Creative Director Ashley Byrne says: “Apart from Robin Hood, many people know very little about the history of the Midlands because as a country we tend to focus on the North or South and ignore the bit in the middle. I’m very pleased that with the help of such a respected historian like Helen Castor, who grew up in Leamington Spa, we’ve been able to finally explore it through these programmes.”
Producer Robert Shore says “The Midlands is often overlooked when we think about the history of England yet it’s where some of our major figures have hailed from most notably William Shakespeare but also Erasmus Darwin, Samuel Johnson and of course, we now know Richard III was not only born in the Midlands but died here too.”
