Worshipped by the Druids for its longevity, the Common Yew is typically found in churchyards, its soft wood used over ...

In January 1899 Barnum and Bailey’s ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ was a few weeks into its second winter season at London’s Olympia when something extraordinary happened. The performers in the so-called ...

King James I succeeded the last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I, becoming the first Stuart king of England. He had already reigned as King James VI of Scotland for the last thirty-six years. Mary Queen of ...

V.E. Day celebrations in Scotland became a full two or three day extravaganza, with street parties, bonfires, and mass ...

Princess Elizabeth's 'secret night out'. Desperate to join in the V.E. Day celebrations, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret ...

In the 1950s and early 60s, entertaining at home had meant a cocktail party with nibbles rather than a sit down meal. A ...

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, ...

There have always been fashion ‘tribes’, from fops and beaux, bucks and dandies to Goths and punks, but the ‘macaronis’ of the 1760s and 1770s exceeded them all in their dedication to excess and ...

The British Empire is remembered for its extensive, long-lasting and far-reaching imperial activities that ushered in an era of globalisation and connectivity. The British Empire began in its ...

The Victorian Workhouse was an institution that was intended to provide work and shelter for poverty stricken people who had no means to support themselves. With the advent of the Poor Law system, ...

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 ...

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” said restless insomniac King Henry IV in the opening scene of Shakespeare’s eponymous play. The story of Arbella Stuart (1575 – 1615) shows that life was ...