The Chalke History Festival is thrilled to announce award-winning wealth management group Evelyn Partners as its new lead festival partner. This multi-year partnership comes at a crucial time when the financial stability of cultural events across the UK is under scrutiny.

Furious plotting and planning is underway for the 2025 Chalke History Festival to bring you a more exciting, relevant and varied programme than ever before.

Plans for the 2024 Festival are a long way down the line and we’re all very excited about how things are shaping up. We have reached an exciting moment in the history festival’s life and are looking at 2024 as a chance to look afresh at what we do and how and why we do it

Saturday Preview

Recording from Chalke Valley History Festival 2017. James Holland looks at one of the most iconic moments in Britain’s history. He examines the background to the German attack on the West in May 1940, challenging many of our deeply held perceptions, and explaining why the British evacuation of Dunkirk was, and remains, such a significant event.

Audio from Chalke Valley History Festival 2018. This epic battle was voted Britain’s Greatest Battle in a poll by the National Army Museum, yet few know or understand why this brutal but decisive engagement was so significant. As James Holland reveals in this talk, it deserves greater recognition not just for the extraordinary leadership of General Bill Slim but also for epic heroism and the dogged determination of all those who fought there.

Recorded at Chalke Valley History Festival 2018 Robin Rowland was an officer in Slim’s Fourteenth Army, fighting at the Battle of the Admin Box – the first significant victory against the Japanese – and then at the hell of Kohima and on through the final battles at Meiktila in Burma in 1945. His is an absolutely extraordinary story in which he saw truly terrible things but also witnessed immense courage, tragedy and camaraderie. Here he is in conversation with James Holland.

Here's James Holland chatting to Al Murray at #CVHF 2018

Coming Up At The Festival On Sunday With Saturday Highlights

We asked some of our Fesrival goers, living historians and speakers for their lesser-known facts..

Some of our 2018 speakers tell us why they think (some) women getting the vote in 1918 was such an important moment in history. #Votes100 #VotesForWomen

Coming up at CVHF on Saturday

Send us your best 'lesser-known' historical fact before midnight on Saturday 30 June and you could WIN a subscription to @HistoryHitTV!! Here's @James1940 with the details of this AND our Festival Photo Competition.. #AmazingHistory

Here's Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Harvard Professor, Annette Gordon-Reed Annette Gordon-Reed talking to James Holland about Thomas Jefferson whose actions and ideas — more than those of any of the other Founding Fathers —still divide Americans two centuries later.

Clare Mulley talks to James Holland about the Women Who Flew For Hitler, the only 2 female test pilots in Nazi Germany.

VIDEO: CVHF 2018 Highlights - Wednesday

VIDEO: Coming up on Thursday at CVHF

WIN 6 of the hottest tickets in town! Our HISTRIONICS quiz show has THE most amazing line-up: Paul Whitehouse, Al Murray, Charlie Higson, Dan Snow and Helen Castor!!! Tell us your best ‘little-known historical fact on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #AmazingHistory to enter - you have until midnight tonight!

In case you missed it..

In this Pop Up History talk from CVHF 2017, Alex Langlands talks to James Holland about hay making pre-mechanisation.

The re-enactors have pitched their encampments, primed and ready. The weather is looking good. We have an incredible line up of speakers and subjects for the weekend, covering politics, military, music and the arts. The food choices and emporium stalls are abundant. There really is something for everyone. It promises to be a weekend of #AmazingHistory.

Despite the slightly damp conditions here at the Chalke Valley History Festival site a few days ago, we have now shaken off our raincoats and the weather looks fair for the rest of week. We have been treated to a fantastic series of events and talks already, with so many inspiring debates and study mornings that it’s hard to choose our highlights at this stage. However, if we had to flag up some particular favourites, we’d probably single these ones out.

CVHF Thursday Round Up

Day 3 highlights with James Holland​ and a look ahead at exciting things to come on Day 4 at the Chalke Valley History Festival 2017! #AmazingHistory

Pop Up History talk - James Holland talks to James Rebanks about people's history of landscape and the importance of engaging with the countryside.

Chalke Valley History Festival for Schools 2017 has now come to a close.. over 2000 students, 30+ talks, Living History demonstrations and plenty of laughs along the way. Here is a beautifully shot highlights film by the Bournemouth University film crew..

Festival Director James Holland rounds up the best of the action from Day 2 and looks ahead to Day 3 at the Chalke Valley History Festival 2017.

Audio from Chalke Valley History Festival for Schools 2017 with James Holland.

Dan talks to James about his current work, his love of sharing history knowledge via the internet and his career highlights.

Paul Beaver talks about what to expect at our Air Show this year..

Michael Morpurgo talks to us about writing historical novels and what inspired him to tell the amazing story of Henry Tandey, the most decorated soldier in World War One.

Paul Beaver, CVHF Air Show commentator talks about what we can expect this weekend at the Air Show.

Here's Will Topley, CVHF Artist in Residence who will be with us all week capturing the Festival atmosphere on canvas. Here he is painting some vintage Rolls Royces in the sunshine.

James Holland, the Festival’s Programme Director and Co-Chair, lists the talks he’s most looking forward to seeing.

Ahead of today's Intelligence Squared Debate, debating Scotland's upcoming referendum on the country's independence, CVHF has conducted an initial poll to see what our festival goers think about one the biggest constitutional issues in the United Kingdom's history.

Co-founder of Chalke Valley History Festival, James Heneage, looks ahead to the action-packed weekend at this year's festival, picking out some of the most eye-catching highlights from the extensive programme of speakers and Living History displays.

Acclaimed broadcaster, journalist and writer Charles Glass talks about all things Syria, reflecting with Xander Drury on how the conflict has descended into such global crisis whilst also affording some thoughts on what is still to come in the future.

As the action-packed weekend at this year's festival begins to come into sight, Helen Castor and BBC Radio 4's Making History are calling on YOU to join in the debate when Historiansʼ Question Time returns to the Chalke Valley History Festival this Sunday.

Auschwitz survivor Freddie Knoller shares with Xander Drury his amazing story of survival. Knoller fought in the French Resistance  before being betrayed after a failed love affair and was arrested by the Gestapo.  Tortured, he was eventually sent to Auschwitz but survived both that and the Death March of January 1945. Here Knoller reveals how it was his optimistic outlook that pulled him through such unprecedented toils.

Veteran war correspondent and reporter Kate Adie talks on Day One at CVHF 2014, discussing with Xander Drury her glittering career in journalism as well as her latest book 'Fighting on the Homefront: The Legacy of Women in World War One'.

Veteran war correspondent and reporter Kate Adie talks on Day One at CVHF 2014, discussing with Xander Drury her glittering career in journalism as well as her latest book 'Fighting on the Homefront: The Legacy of Women in World War One'.

Xander Drury interviews leading historian and broadcaster Dan Snow on the opening day of Chalke Valley History Festival 2014, speaking on what makes history such an important and special subject as well as sharing his thoughts on D-Day, the World Cup and Twitter.

The Pritzker Literature Award, which includes a medallion, citation, and $100,000 honorarium, recognizes and honours the contributions of a living author for a body of work dedicated to enriching the understanding of military history.

This is a transcript of an interview with Historian and broadcaster, James Holland, 22 February 2001..

Our penultimate video exclusive from this year's festival as Xander Drury talks to writer Charlie Higson about his latest zombie-packed adventure in The Enemy series, his time on 'The Fast Show' and the key to writing thrilling historical fiction.

An exclusive interview with Justin Pollard, historical advisor on everything from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' to 'The Tudors' as he discusses with John Fry his new history panel show 'Histrionics' and shares his delight at being involved in this year's festival.

the secrets behind its unprecedented success and the plans for next year's festival.

It is already becoming something of a tradition for the Festival to lay on something slightly lighter-hearted on the Friday evening, and so this year CVHF came up with something entirely new: a brand new history quiz show, combining deep historical knowledge with razor-sharp wit.

Best of the photos from Day One of Chalke Valley History Festival 2013, with Tom Holland, Laurence Rees and James Holland amongst the speakers taking centre stage. Photos provided by the brilliant John Fry.