All articles in History
21st July, 2020 in History, Society & Culture, Women in History
The life of an anchoress
The anchorite, or religious recluse, has been a part of Christian religious life since its early days. They lived solitary lives out in the desert – indeed, these solitaries became collectively known as the Desert Fathers. In Ireland the hermits often made their homes in rough st…
17th March, 2020 in History, Local & Family History
St Davids Cathedral’s famous faces
St Davids Cathedral is one of the UK’s most famous cathedrals, right at the heart of its smallest city, but did you know it’s the resting place for some of Welsh history’s most well-known figures? St David Stained glass window of St David in Castell Coch The son of St Non and a p…
26th February, 2020 in Biography & Memoir, History
Six things you (probably) didn’t know about Edward VI
Considering his desperation for a male heir, it’s rather ironic that it’s Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, we know best. His only legitimate son to survive infancy, Edward VI, became king at nine years old and died when he was only 15. Here are six things you migh…
14th February, 2020 in History
Love rats: Three of England’s lustful kings
When it comes to love, many of the kings of England adopted a ‘sharing is caring’ philosophy – why only woo their wives, or woo them at all, when there were mistresses to be had? Edward IV Edward IV of England Edward IV shocked the country when he married the widowed commoner Eli…
29th January, 2020 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
The forbidden marriage of Lady Augusta Murray
In the evening of 4 April 1793, preparations were being made for a clandestine ceremony in Rome. The wedding of the son of the King of England to the daughter of the Governor of the Bahamas would not only be concealed, it would also be illegal. That night His Royal Highness Princ…
13th December, 2019 in History, Trivia & Gift
Ask the authors: Historians on Christmas (and people) past
The festive season is upon us, and to celebrate we asked some of our authors about the figures from history they’d be interested in chatting to over Christmas dinner, and the Christmases past that most appeal to them… Which figure from history would you invite over for Christmas…
4th December, 2019 in History, Society & Culture, Trivia & Gift
Christmas recipes from the past
A roast boar’s head along with roast goose and swan would have been the centrepieces of the Christmas dinner table in Norman castles. This rich meal would have been followed by bowls of dates, figs, apricots, raisins and pistachio nuts. These sweet treats would have been expensiv…
27th November, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, History
Why was Edward VIII’s abdication a necessity?
The conventional story of why Edward VIII came to abdicate in 1936 is well known and hardly needs any detailed rehearsal. The King abandoned the throne because he was determined on marrying the American divorcée Wallis Simpson, ‘the woman I love’, a union rejected by the politica…
23rd October, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
Ask the author: Gemma Hollman on Royal Witches
When we think of witch trials throughout British history, it’s usually James VI and I or Matthew Hopkins who come to mind. Historian Gemma Hollman, however, proves that women were also subjected to accusations of witchcraft in medieval England in her book, Royal Witches – of…
11th October, 2019 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History
Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace: The computer’s most passionate partnership
Is it really possible to imagine what life was like in the nineteenth century? I’m not sure it is: biographers are ultimately limited to taking a perspective on the past from their own contemporary position. They need to do their best to try to get into, and interpret, the mindse…
16th September, 2019 in History, Society & Culture
How an escaped slave became the most photographed American of the 19th century
When the first form of photography, the daguerreotype, became available in 1839 photographic portraits quickly became the ‘killer app’ for the new medium. Despite the discomfort of standing deadly still for several minutes while the picture was taken and the high cost (about a da…
29th August, 2019 in History, Women in History
Q&A with the authors of A History of the World with the Women Put Back In
A History of the World with the Women Put Back In attempts to paint a picture of global history, with the women who have often been overlooked brought to the forefront. We spoke to the authors, Kerstin Lücker and Ute Daenschel, about the ideas and aims of the book. Who…