Season 8

08×01: Things That Go Bump in the Night

Sometime between 1837 and 1901 (Victorian Age): One of the railways in Midsomer County ran close to the Keys’ cottage at Fletcher’s Cross, just beyond some trees.
Deep Dive: Midsomer’s Old Railways

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08×04: Bantling Boy

C.1500: The Catholic Hartley family come into possession of Bantling Hall.

1605: Cecil Hartley, 3rd Baron Bantling was famous Catholic and was involved in the Gunpowder Plot.
Deep Dive: “Involved in the Gunpowder Plot.”

Sometime between 1642 and 1651 (Civil War): The Bantling family of Bantling Hall is a Catholic family in Midsomer County with, among other things, a priest hole in the building to celebrate Catholic Mass during this time in secret.
Deep Dive: The Civil War, pt. 2

1644: On 2 July, George, 4th Baron Bantling, is part of the King’s army at the Battle of Marston Moor. But he betrays his side and the King at the battle, which is ultimately lost. It is the first major victory for the Parliamentary Army and the decisive turning point in the Civil War.
Deep Dive: The Civil War, pt. 1

Sometime between 1775 and 1783 (War of Independence): Thomas, 4th Baron of Bantling, was born in England and enlisted in the English army. During the War of Independence, however, he either switching side, or was a collaborator – in any case he fought on the side of the English colonies in America.
Deep Dive: A traitor from Midsomer in the American Independence War?

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08×07: Sauce for the Goose

1851: Albert Plummer returns from India to Little Upton, not with the fortune he had planned, but with a recipe for an excellent relish. He had eaten it in India and managed to recreate it. This became – with some changes – Plummer’s Relish. Why he was in India is not mentioned. I suspect, given the time, that he probably took part in the Second Anglo-Sikh War 1848-1849.
Deep Dive: Albert Plummer in India

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08×08: Midsomer Rhapsody

1985: The famous singer Joan Alder (“Midsomer Rhapsody”) from Badger’s Drift dies in a car accident, presumably from an overdose of antidepressants and too much alcohol.