The Forest of Arden was once a mighty forest in the heart of England. Over the centuries it gained a reputation as a wild ...

The first queen of Edward I would perhaps have been completely forgotten had it not been for her husband’s beautiful memorials to her, erected following her death in 1290. The first queen of Edward I ...

Many folklore customs have their roots planted firmly back in the Dark Ages, when the ancient Celts had divided their year by four major festivals. Beltane or ‘the fire of Bel’, had particular ...

Legend has it that Robin Hood was an outlaw living in Sherwood Forest with his ‘Merry Men’ – but did he really exist? There are several versions of the Robin Hood story. The Hollywood one is that of ...

What was it like to live in the 1920s? The 1920s, also known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, was a decade of contrasts. The First World War had ended in victory, peace had returned and with it, prosperity.

The most famous of all English playwrights was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. William’s father John was a wealthy merchant and a respectable member of the community within the small Warwickshire ...

In the crime-ridden underworld of Victorian London, a group of working-class women rose to notoriety. This was the all-female gang of 'hoisters' known as the Forty Elephants (or Forty Thieves), whose ...

Who are the British? Do they really drink tea, eat roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and never leave home without an umbrella? Find out more about true Brits; past and present, myth and legend, fact ...

The year was 1888 and the location Bow in the East End of London, a place where some of the most poverty stricken in society lived and worked. The Match Girls’ Strike was industrial action taken up by ...

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 ...

“There were opium dens where one could buy oblivion, dens of horror where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new.” Oscar Wilde in his novel, ‘The Picture of ...

In 597, a monk from Rome was about to embark on a vitally important journey to England. Also known as the Gregorian Mission, Augustine with around forty other religious figures arrived on the shores ...