Often referred to as the ‘Hungry Decade’, the 1840s was characterised by social unrest, military losses and economic hardship ...

Druids occur in many mystical tales of Prehistoric Britain. In one, a Druid, Figol, threatened to bring fire to rage on his enemies and prevent the men and their steeds from going to the toilet! Their ...

Richard III is perhaps most well-known now due to the discovery of his remains in a car park in Leicester. He was however an important figure in England’s medieval monarchy: brother to Edward IV, he ...

Mystery, legend and myth surround the Knights Templar, a religious military order of knighthood formed at the time of the Crusades and sworn to defend Christian holy sites in the Holy Land. One of ...

Mary Tudor, favourite sister of King Henry VIII, was feted around Europe for her pale skin and good looks. Henry arranged for Mary’s marriage to the aging and gouty King Louis XII as part of a peace ...

After the outbreak of civil war in August 1642, soldiers’ uniforms on the battlefield became windows into their hearts; in this divisive era, even hairstyles provoked fierce arguments. As a result, an ...

“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as a good tavern or inn.” So wrote Samuel Johnson and for many, this remains true today. Think of an ...

Christianity found its way to the British Isles, via merchants, in the early second century AD, when the land was still under Roman occupation. Since its arrival, the religion has seen thousands of ...

Dating from the Georgian era, gentlemen’s clubs were reserved exclusively for the aristocracy and the elite, to meet, drink, socialise and gamble. They were also the unofficial stomping grounds of ...

The Huguenots were French Protestants from the sixteenth and seventeenth century who fled from the French Catholic government fearing persecution and violence. As they fled, a diaspora of Huguenots ...

The Grand Tour was the utlimate Georgian / Victorian gap year experience. Expensive and glamourous, this was a rite of passage for rich aristocratic young men (and later, women) who travelled Europe, ...

Lucozade! Many baby boomers will remember this sparkling, lurid-coloured drink when the glass bottle still came wrapped in crinkly cellophane. This iconic tonic only appeared when a child was ill in ...