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

“There are fairies at the bottom of our garden,” announces the opening line of a poem by Rose Fyleman first published in 1917. Coincidentally, that was also the year two intelligent and talented young ...

One of the best known, and loved, folk-tales in Wales is the story of a faithful hound. The story goes that in the thirteenth-century, Prince Llywelyn the Great had a palace at Beddgelert in ...

Born in Marton, near Middlesborough, James Cook would go on to become one of the most famous explorers in British maritime history. Indeed, young James’ childhood was nothing remarkable, and following ...

Matilda was an indomitable woman! She was the daughter of King Henry I of England, and was his sole legitimate child after the death of his son Prince William in the ‘White Ship’ disaster.* She was ...

George Villiers, the 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a powerful and divisive figure, who won the heart of King James I but in doing so alienated those fellow ambitious courtiers surrounding him. His ...

The legacy of Rhodri ap Merfyn, commonly known as Rhodri the Great (Rhodri Mawr in Welsh) reaches far beyond his lifetime. The ruler of Gwynedd, Rhodri was one of the earliest Welsh leaders to unite ...

The period 1700 – mid 1800 was marked by British naval dominance, as evidenced by the expansive colonial empire and victories in the War of Spanish Succession and Napoleonic Wars. These triumphs were ...

The chimney sweep, or climbing boys as they were often called, was a harsh profession to be in and most likely one that would severely cut your life short. Those employed were often orphans or from ...

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, ...

Four days before Lord Chelmsford’s invading force ended the Anglo-Zulu War by defeating King Cetewayo’s army at the Battle of Ulundi, a Zulu impi killed Louis Napoleon, the heir to the French throne.

In northeastern England you would be hard-pressed to find a person unaware of the legend of the Lambton Worm, well established in English folklore since the 13th Century. However, when John Lambton ...