In the first episode of a new four-part series looking at the way history was transformed in the Romantic period, Rosemary Hill is joined by Tom Stammers to consider how an argument over the ‘improvement’ of Salisbury Cathedral in 1789 launched a new attitude to the past and its artefacts. Those sentiments were echoed in revolutionary France, where antiquarians risked the guillotine to preserve the monuments of the Ancien Régime.Buy Rosemary Hill's book, Time's Witness, from the London Review Bookshop here: https://lrb.me/hillSubscribe to the LRB and get 79% off the cover price plus a free tote bag: https://lrb.me/history See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.