Recording from Chalke Valley History Festival 2019. When we think of Winston Churchill we think of the gruff wartime leader with the bulldog features, cigar and hat. It’s hard to imagine he was ever young. But in this talk for all ages, best-selling author and comedian, Charlie Higson will vividly bring the young Winston to life, from when he joined the army aged 20 until he first entered parliament five years later, having fought on three continents and begun his writing career as a war correspondent.

For many, our history panel show is the highlight of the Festival. This video was taken at CVHF 2017 when we had Charlie Higson in the chair and John Sessions, Tracy Borman, Andy Zaltzman and Dan Snow on the panel.

At CVHF 2017, Tom Holland began a new series about the Legends of King Arthur, introducing us to the world of Merlin, the sword in the stone, and the round table. This epic storytelling has excitement, adventure and wit – oh, and magic too.

With a slightly different interpretation of 'history' Prof. Alice Roberts explains the history of us, and just how unlikely our being here really is.

Writing as a woman with a particular interest in women’s history, I am understandably extremely interested to hear Amanda’s talk. More importantly, I am excited by what such a high-profile discourse signifies – the growing public interest in women’s history, as evidenced by the ever-increasing number of books, TV programmes and films dedicated to female narratives, let alone the academic work that is going on behind the scenes.

Ancient History Matters More Than Modern History. A recording from the IQ2 Debate at CVHF on 29th June 2013 with Boris Johnson, Tom Holland, Dan Snow and Jeremy Black. Chair: Edward Stourton.

Our very own history quiz show which combines deep historical knowledge with razor-sharp wit. Devised by Justin Pollard (historian and writer of QI), Dan Snow and James Holland, this all-new comedy panel show will see Charlie Higson in the Chair, and two teams that include Ian Hislop, Dan Snow, Neil Oliver and Natalie Haynes. A hysterical historical quiz that will go down in our Festival history as one of the more outrageous and irreverent events we have put on..

Recording from Ian Hislop’s talk, ‘Stiff Upper Lip: An Emotional History of Britain’ for CVHF, Saturday, 29th June 2013

Recording from Tom Holland’s talk, ‘The Legacy of Rome: When Did the Roman Empire End?’ for CVHF, Wednesday, 26th June 2013.

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.

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.

An exclusive interview with Ian Hislop at CVHF13, discussing with Xander Drury his fascination with Britain's 'Stiff Upper Lip', his 23 years on 'Have I Got News For You' and his take on Boris Johnson's unstoppable rise.

Xander Drury interviews leading classicist Tom Holland at the Chalke Valley History Festival 2013, shedding light on his love for cricket, his thoughts on the fall of the Roman Empire and his excitement ahead of debating alongside Boris Johnson on Saturday.

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.

Audio from Ian Hislop's talk at Chalke Valley History Festival on 26th June 2014 Journalist, satirist, comedian and broadcaster Ian Hislop looks at the British capacity to dwell on imagined golden eras in British history. Based on his documentary series for BBC2, he explores the ways in which that national emotional attachment to a romanticised past is used by artists, writers and politicians. Ranging from Dark Age heroism to Victorian Medievalism to 20th century Pastoralism, it will be a backward look at the nature of looking backwards.