Rocket Licensing, the licensing agent in the UK and Eire for the wildly popular and award-winning children’s history brand Horrible Histories, published by Scholastic and written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown, has announced the success of the latest Horrible Histories experiential partnerships – with many more on the way!
They are at Beaulieu in Hampshire and Leeds Castle in Kent.
Beaulieu, an award-winning family visitor attraction at the heart of the New Forest National Park, is playing host to a Vile Victorians event from the 25th of May to the 1st of September – right up until the end of the school holidays! The event brings together Victorian fashion, food, lifestyle, transport and more on a trail packed with dreadful discoveries, delightfully disgusting details and plenty of interactive entertainment.
The fun starts at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum, where visitors can find out about the fantastic and frightful motoring firsts of the Victorian era.
Further into the stunning Beaulieu grounds visitors discover village life among the Victorians including milkmaids, mole-catchers, mowers and blacksmiths. They can also learn about some truly gruesome medical procedures and life below stairs for servants, try some tasty(ish) treats from a Victorian kitchen, and hear about some of the painful – and potentially poisonous – fashion statements from Victorian times.
On a less horrible note, the event also includes a chance to see Palace House, a fine example of a grand country house from the era.
Beaulieu is an award-winning family visitor attraction at the heart of the New Forest National Park operated by Beaulieu Enterprises Ltd. One of the South of England's top family days out, it includes the National Motor Museum, Palace House and Gardens and Beaulieu Abbey.
Earlier this year – and following the enormous success of Horrible Histories Easter Escapades over Easter 2025 and Measly Middle Ages in late May 2025 – popular visitor attraction Leeds Castle hosted Queen Eleanor’s How to Survive the Middle Ages from 23rd May to 31st May.
With a little help from Queen Eleanor of Castile (who actually lived there at the time), visitors were invited to set off on a family adventure through the castle grounds and uncover the disgusting truths and surprising secrets of medieval life, by tackling a series of interactive challenges designed to test their courage, wits and stomach.
Over 12,000 visitors during the event period had the chance to try some fabulous feasts and measly meals, hear about a few (very medically suspect) crazy cures, and get a whiff of the posh perfumes or pongy problems that were among the scents of the past.
Many also joined in some medieval games and lively storytelling with the local peasantry or even went to knight school – a particular visitor favourite – for a test of bravery and skill, all supported by professional storytellers and interactive sessions.
The event was a big hit with visitors: 33% of surveyed guests cited Horrible Histories as their main reason to visit, and there were high satisfaction scores in on-the-day surveys. Interest also drove up Leeds Castle website page views and engagement time.
At both events families were able to buy Horrible Histories souvenirs, including – of course – books, at the visitor shops.
Over 900 years of history as a dwelling for medieval and Tudor queens, and the home of 1930s Anglo-American heiress Lady Baillie who transformed Leeds Castle into one of the most desirable country houses of the 20th century, Leeds Castle was opened to the public in the 1970s. Today it is a popular visitor destination offering history and heritage, exhibitions, talks, wildlife, gardens, sculpture trails, games, adventures and more in 500 acres of stunning seasonal parkland.
These two events build on the success of last year’s Leeds Castle events as well as the Gorgeous Georgians event at West London’s Osterley Park and House, and the success of multiple museum shows, as well as Escape Live escape rooms in Liverpool and Coventry.
As well as being big successes for the Horrible Histories brand these events drive a significant uplift in visitor numbers at many of the hosting venues. Not surprisingly, even more experiential partnerships are expected in the course of 2026 and right through to 2027.
Horrible Histories is a phenomenon. Now in its fourth decade of success, the world’s bestselling children’s history-book series, written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown, is celebrated for its ground-breaking funny and factual approach to history with unique appeal to kids (and big kids) and unflinching eye for all things horrible.
Today, 33 years since the books first appeared, over 30 million copies are in print across 31 countries. Published by Scholastic, new books for 2026 include Horrible Histories: Terrible Traitors and Horrible Histories: Horrible Football, with Elizabeth I’s Secret Diary coming in spring 2027.
The massive success of the books has in turn inspired long-running stage shows, concerts and tours, BAFTA-award-winning hit TV series (series 12 is scheduled for spring 2027), a star-studded feature film, a newspaper and, of course, a licensing campaign that has inspired numerous experiential partnerships – as well as Tonie story characters, board games and card games from University Games; Top Trumps and Monopoly games from Winning Moves and collectible coins from Group 288.
There have also been two hit spin-off book and TV brands, Horrible Science and Horrible Geography, with their own growing licensing programmes.
Mark Delin, Marketing & Events Director, Leeds Castle, says: "Our partnership with Horrible Histories continues to demonstrate just how powerful the combination of an iconic heritage attraction and a much-loved family brand can be. By bringing together engaging storytelling, hands-on activities and the unique setting of Leeds Castle, we've been able to create an experience that inspires children to connect with history in a genuinely memorable way. Collaborations like this allow us to reach new audiences while staying true to our charitable mission of making heritage accessible, engaging and enjoyable for everyone."
Elizabeth Scoggins, Nonfiction, Brands and Licensing Publisher, Scholastic UK, says: “The popularity of Horrible Histories in experiential licensing is now firmly established – and of course the many historical visitor attractions across the UK are ideal partners for a brand designed to entertain and inform families at all times, but especially during half term and school holidays. We’re thrilled to be working again with Leeds Castle and for the first time with Beaulieu.”
The success of events like these is driving not just more venue partnerships with Horrible Histories but more enquiries about future partnerships. As Melissa Satterly, Brand Manager, Rocket Licensing, says: “Leeds Castle and Beaulieu are family visitor attractions that are both beautiful and steeped in history – perfect venues for the growing success of Horrible Histories, a great day out for fans of the book and TV show, and a real boost to the venues themselves. We’re delighted to be working with both venues and, judging from the level of interest we can promise much, much more to come!”