In 1885, Arts and Crafts artist Phoebe Anna Traquair received her first professional commission: the decoration of a tiny, ...

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 ...

During his reign as King of England, as well as Denmark and Norway, Cnut had succeeded in the mission which his father had endeavoured to achieve, to rule over a vast North Sea Empire, united by his ...

We take single-sex public toilets for granted today. It is hard to believe that when public conveniences were first constructed, the vast majority of these toilets were just for men. Great Exhibition ...

638 – Jerusalem is captured by the Caliph Omar. April 1081 – Aug 1118- Reign of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. 1088 – 1099 – Reign of Pope Urban II. March 1095 – Byzantine Emperor Alexios I ...

The Industrial Revolution took place from the eighteenth century up until the mid-nineteenth century, marking a process of increased manufacturing and production which boosted industry and encouraged ...

On 29th May 1660, on his 30th birthday, Charles II arrived in London to a rapturous welcome. This was a defining moment not only for Charles personally but for a nation that wanted to see a restored ...

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 ...

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 ...

Edward of Woodstock was born in – unsurprisingly – Woodstock, on June 15th 1330. He was the eldest son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, but alas he never actually became king, dying one ...

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 ...

In 1737, Captain Robert Jenkins presented his severed ear to Parliament claiming a Spanish official had cut it off. This incident provided Britain, eager for a reason to declare war, with the pretext ...