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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Richard I the Lionheart (r. 1189-1199) is perhaps best known for his exploits in the Third Crusade. His war against Saladin is one of the classic stories of medieval chivalry and crusading. But ...

We all remember the smell of overcooked cabbage that haunted the halls and corridors of our schools in the 1950s and 1960s. School dinners – loved or loathed, they have left us with many memories! If ...

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, ...

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 ...