V.E. Day celebrations in Scotland became a full two or three day extravaganza, with street parties, bonfires, and mass gatherings. Pubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh were drunk dry, people partied all day ...

Cotton, a valuable raw material and a mainstay of the textile industry, has been around for centuries and remains one of the most crucial resources to this day. Cotton has been used by humans as far ...

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 ...

On the 12th May 1820 Florence Nightingale was born. A young woman born into a rich family, Florence would go on to have an enormous impact as a nurse serving during the Crimean War. Famed as the “Lady ...

“Executions are so much a part of British history that it is almost impossible for many excellent people to think of a future without them” – Viscount Templewood, In the Shadow of the Gallows (1951) ...

Have you ever wondered why the British drive on the left? There is an historical reason for this; it’s all to do with keeping your sword hand free! In the Middle Ages you never knew who you were going ...

One of the most audacious rogues in history was Colonel Blood, known as the ‘Man who stole the Crown Jewels’. Thomas Blood was an Irishman, born in County Meath in 1618, the son of a prosperous ...

Every nation has its own ‘Patron Saint’ who in times of great peril is called upon to help save the country from its enemies. St David is the patron saint of Wales, St Andrew of Scotland and St ...

This restrictive and demure line is typical of the early Victorian period 1837 – 50. The lady wears a dress with a long, tight, pointed bodice and full skirt supported on many petticoats. The sleeves ...

Born around 1068, very little is known of Henry’s early life: as the youngest son of William the Conqueror he had never expected to be king. Inheriting the throne from his eldest brother William II, ...

On 9th May 1911, The Palace Empire Theatre in Edinburgh was packed with an audience of 3,000 people. They were there to see the spectacular illusions of the world’s most talented and famed magician, ...

A grandson of William the Conqueror, Stephen took the throne on the death of King Henry I. However most of his reign was spent in a bitter civil war between him and his rival for the throne, Henry’s ...