Before the village pub, there was the village forge. You couldn't have a working village without one: the smith made the ...

The brightly coloured little beach huts at the seaside have a rather curious Victorian ancestor: the bathing machine. Designed to preserve modesty and dignity, these little huts on wheels rolled into ...

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, ...

In June 1665, one of the most famous cities in the world became known by its new name, New York, which was formally adopted and renamed in honour of the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II. It ...

Since their domestication, animals have always been trustworthy companions to humans, as shown by their loyal service in war with military forces on and off the battlefield. During the Second World ...

Snooker is a popular billiard game that attracts millions of viewers all over the world. It was the introduction of colour television by the BBC that was instrumental in an initial snooker boom in ...

In today’s society, we take pride in our presentation; the way we look, dress, and comb our hair are all intrinsically linked to beauty standards and social norms. “Pretty privilege,” a theory that ...

Dating from the Georgian era, gentlemen’s clubs were reserved exclusively for the aristocracy and the elite, to meet, drink, socialise and gamble. They were also the unofficial stomping grounds of ...

Britain loves potatoes. And it’s not just me saying that, there are numbers to back that up! The average Brit eats over 100 kilos of spuds in various forms every year. But that hasn’t always been the ...

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 ...

A time traveller visiting London in the sixteenth century asking for directions to Bartholomew Fair might have received a bemused look from a local. Then it would dawn. Bartholomew Fair was ...

St Dunstan was a prominent English religious figure during the Anglo-Saxon period and became a significant advisor to many of the kings of Wessex, helping to initiate monastic reforms and influence ...